Topic 9 (session A) - Speech Presentation > Varieties of speech presentation in the novel > Task B > Our answer

Varieties of speech presentation in the novel

Task B - Our answer

Tessa's remark is represented in Indirect Speech (IS). The reported clause 'it had been wonderful' is subordinated grammatically to the reporting clause and all the deictic items are appropriate for the narrator's 'voice'. In the rest of the extract the narrator tells us about Edward's internal emotional state, and we clearly have his viewpoint being expressed. By contrast, Tessa's speech, in IS, seems rather reserved and distant. In context this suggests that Edward is carried away more with his own inner emotional state (extreme guilt, followed by pride) than Tessa's feelings, which are external for him. Out of context, you may well have felt that the actual sexual experience was perhaps better for him than for her (that also might explain the IS distancing effect, after all!). But in the novel it is clear that they both achieved a very satisfactory sexual climax, and so that possible interpretation is ruled out contextually.

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