Ever since

was first published in 1864-5, the fractured and disjointed nature of its narrative structure(s) have been noted by critics, both in terms of criticism and praise. Whether the novel is seen as a mish-mash of Dickensian satire and Eliotesque psychological realism, a proto-modernist narrative of fragmentation, or even a post-modernist experiment, it is surely an example

of what Bakhtin would call a “dialogic” text. As Stephen Gill writes in his “Introduction” to the Penguin edition of the novel (1971), “

seems the product of not one but many visions of life, which are embodied in a great range of styles [….] The disparity between these styles is greater […] than in any of the earlier novels. Differing visions…

2150 words

Citation: Taylor, Jonathan. "Our Mutual Friend". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 16 October 2002 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=2949, accessed 27 November 2024.]