The Non-linearity of Line in Virginia Woolf's "The Mark on the Wall": A Millerian Deconstruction

This study provides an extensive deconstructive analysis of the spatial, temporal, and structural mechanics of the narrative line in Virginia Woolf's seminal modern short story, "The Mark on the Wall" (۱۹۱۷), using the post-structuralist narrative theories of J. Hillis Miller. Challenging classical teleological and logocentric assumptions that view narrative as a straight, unidirectional vector guiding the reader toward a definitive center of meaning, this paper argues that Woolf's text realizes Miller's concept of the non-linear narrative line. Utilizing Miller's theoretical formulations from Ariadne's Thread: Story Lines (۱۹۹۲), "Stevens' Rock and Criticism as Cure, II" (۱۹۷۶), and "Narrative" (۲۰۰۰), the study examines how Woolf concurrently constructs and deconstructs narrative linearity. Through the deployment of stream of consciousness, spatial-temporal disconnections, metonymic associative chains, and a gyring, spiral narrative trajectory, the text continually digresses from its physical motif. Consequently, the mark on the wall functions not as an illuminating signifier or an organizing center, but as a "false center" and an inevitable aporia―a blank wall that reveals the structural absence of a master principle.

کلیدواژه ها:

Virginia Woolf ، J. Hillis Miller ، Deconstruction ، Narrative Line ، Gyre ، Aporia