【正文】 m ay or m ay not be sym bol i c. General y, a set i ng i s mor e concerned wi th t he physi cal aspect s. Set ti ng is cl osel y r el ated wi t h exposi ti on i n that they bot h hel p t o m ake possi bl e t he events i n t he novel. I n f act, an expos it i on m ust have a set ti ng. But set ti ng goes al ong wit h ever y event i n the novel wher eas exposit i on i s only t he i nit i at ing acti on. 1. The elem ent s m aki ng up a set ti ng By t he set ing of a st ory, we sim pl y m ean it s pl ace and ti me, the physi cal , and sometim es spi ri t ual, backgr ound against which t he acti on of a nar at i ve t akes pl ace. Ever y a stor y as short as t he one at t he begi nni ng of t he i nt roduct i on m ust be set i n a cert ai n pl ace and ti me: we have an “ol d, shutt er ed house” and t he pr esent t ense suggests t im e (t hough t he present t ense i ndi cat es m uch m or e t han t im e it sel f i n t he st or y). The el em ent s making up a set i ng ar e gener al ly: ( 1) t he act ual geogr aphi cal l ocati on, i ts t opogr aphy, scener y, and such physical ar r angem ent s as t he l ocati on of the wi ndows and doors i n a r oom 。 ( 2) t he occupat ions and dai ly m anner of li vi ng of t he characters。 she l oved the pl ace and was l oved i n the pl ace. The val e, f ar f r om t he m addi ng crowd of t he ci vil ized ci t y, was as ser ene and pur e as t he i nhabit ant s. Tess, im bued deepl y wi t h the natur al hue of the vale and bound cl osel y t o thi s worl d of sim pli ci t y and seclusi on, experi enced her own del i ght and happi ness though her f am il y was poor. It was, t o some ext ent, her depart ur e fr om her nat i ve pl ace t hat l ed to her t r agedy. I n The Ret urn of t he Nati ve, t he at m ospher e of Egdon Heat h pr evail s over t he whol e book。 ( 3) t he tim e or per i od i n whi ch the acti on takes pl ace, f or exam ple, the l at e eight enth centur y i n hi st or y or wi nter of t he year。 as an envir onm ent, i t absor bs some and r epel s ot hers of t he char acter s: t hose who ar e absor bed achieve a som ber i ntegr ati on wi t h i t, but t hose who ar e repel l ed and r ebel suff er di saster. Som eti mes an environment serves as m ore t han a mere place t o set t he st ory. Of t en, it i s i nextr icabl y entangled wi t h the pr ot agoni st, and even car ri es st r ong symboli c meani ngs. Cat hy as an i mage of t he f em i ni ne per sonali ty, f or exam ple, i n Em il y Br ont e’s W ut heri ng Hei ghts , i s not supposed t o possess t he “wil derness” char acteri sti c of m asculi nit y and sym bol ized by t he l ocal es of Heat hcli f f and Wut heri ng H ei ght s. I n som e f icti on, set ing i s cl osel y bound wit h t hem e. I n The Scarl et Let er, even sm al l det ai l s af f or d powerf ul hi nts at t he t hem e of the st or y. At t he st art of t he st ory, the nar at or descri bes a col oni al j ail house: Bef or e t hi s ugly edi fi ce, and bet ween it and t he wheelt r ack of t he st reet, was a gr ass pl ot , m uch over grown wit h bur dock, pigweed, apple per u, and such unsi ghtl y veget ati on, whi ch evi dentl y f ound somet hi ng congenial i n t he soi l t hat had so earl y bor ne t he black fl ower of ci vili zed soci et y, a pr ison. But , on one si de of t he port al , and rooted alm ost at t he t hreshol d, was a wil d r osebush, cover ed, i n t his m ont h of June, wit h i ts deli cat e gem s, whi ch m i ght be im agi ned t o of fer t heir f r agr ance and f ragil e beaut y to t he pri soner as he went i n, and t o t he condem ned cr imi nal as he came f ort h t o hi s doom , in t oken t hat t he deep heart of Nat ur e coul d pit y and be ki nd t o him . Appar ent ly, the aut hor makes a cont rast bet ween t he ugl y j ai l house wit h a t angl ed gr ass pl ot over gr own wi t h bur dock and pi gweed and somet hi ng as beauti ful as a wil d r ose. As t he st ory unf ol ds, he wi l f urt her suggest that secret si n and a pr et t y chi ld m ay go t ogether li ke a pigweed and wil d r oses. I n t hi s art f ul ly cr af t ed novel, set ti ng is i ntim atel y bl ended wi t h char act er s, sym boli sm, and t hem e. I n addi ti on t o pl ace, set ti ng may cr uci al ly i nvol ve t he t im e of the st or y—cent ury, year, or even speci fi c hour. It m ay mat er gr eat l y t hat a st ory t akes pl aces i n t he m or ni ng or at noon. The medieval backgr ound inf or ms us dif f er ent l y fr om t he t wenti eth centur y. Kenned。 his contem por ar y Evelyn Waugh st at ed t hat he West Afr i ca of t hat book r epl aced t he t r ue r em em bered West Af ri ca of hi s own experi ence. Such power i s not un mon: the Yor kshir e m oor s have been r om anti cized because Em il y Br ont e wr ote of t hem i n W utheri ng Hei ghts, and li ter ar y t our ists have visit ed St oke on Tr ent i n nort her n England because i t pri ses t he “Fi ve Towns” of Ar nol d Ben ’s novel s of t he earl y t went iet h cent ur y. Thus, a reader ’s r eact ion t o a pl ace i s not m er el y based upon t he way it l ooks, but upon t he pot enti al it i es of act i on suggest ed by it. Pl aces m at t er greatl y t o m any writ ers. For instance, t he Fr ench noveli st Bal zac, bef or e wr it i ng a st ory set i n a t own, he woul d go and visit t hat t own, select a f ew lanes and houses, and descri bes t hem i n det ai l, down t o t hei r ver y sm el l s. I n his vi ew t he pl ace i n whi ch an event occurs was of equal m om ent wit h t he event i tself, and i t has a part t o pl ay. Another exam pl e is Thomas Har dy, under whom the pr esent ati on of set i ng assum es an unusual im por t ance. Hi s “Wessex” vil lages cast int angi bl y such as spel l upon t he vil lager s t hat once t hey leave their homet owns t hey wil l i nevi t abl y suf fer f rom di sast er s, and t he f art her t hey ar e away f rom their homet owns