Narrative Silence as a Device in the 20th Century Novels: A Multimodal Discourse Analysis

Abstract

Silence in the narration marks the deliberate omission of deeper ideologies left unspoken to evoke reflection and critical thinking. This research explores the role of narrative silence as a device in Twilight in Delhi, analysing the physical spaces and examining the narrative silence underlying them. Gerard Genette’s concept of descriptive pauses, under the category of narrative duration in Narrative theory, and the spatial mode of communication, under the umbrella of Multimodal Discourse Analysis developed by Gunther Kress and Theo Van Leeuwen, serve as the theoretical and analytical frameworks, respectively. A qualitative research approach is used within an interpretive worldview. The significance of this research lies in its contribution of offering profound insights into the interrelation of silence, space, and meaning in Twilight in Delhi. The findings reveal that narrative silence serves as a powerful device for conveying cultural decay, the decline of past glory, and historical transformation under colonial authority. The research contributes to the existing body of literature by appealing to deeper, unspoken truths and by exploring spatial mode as a peculiar mode of communicating them.

Keywords: Narrative Silence; Multimodal Discourse Analysis; Spatial Arrangements; Descriptive Pauses