Preface: The Conceptual Connotation of Servant Narrative

Introduced the origin, conceptual definition, and importance of the study of "servant narrative" in literary research. Servant narrative focuses on the narrative function of servant characters in novels from the 18th to 19th century, revealing the role of servants as "conscious narrators" in promoting narrative and shaping character images. The study emphasizes the value of servant narrative in revealing oppressed reality, constructing unconventional social relationship history, and subverting the discourse status of the lower class in traditional literature by deconstructing power discourse. Jacques Lacan's "mirror stage" theory is used to explain the dialectical relationship between master and servant, emphasizing the essential interdependence and symbiosis between them. The study of servant narrative not only helps to understand the social reality and cultural background in literary works, but also deconstructs the marginalization and inferiority of servants, and subverts binary oppositions. This research field combines various theoretical critical tools such as Marxist criticism, postcolonialism, feminism, etc. to form a diversified literary critical concept. By paying attention to and empowering servant roles, servant narrative research provides an important way to deeply explore the multiple thematic connotations of literary works.

The main categories of servant narratives

Servant narrative plays an important role in literary works, and its creative modes can be divided into three categories. The first type is to use servants as the narrative subject, reflecting social class and power relations through the servant's first perspective, revealing the complexity and moral diversity of human nature. For example, works such as Pamela, Joseph Andrews, Moll Flanders, and Tess of the d'Urbervilles showcase human experiences in different social environments through the perspective of servants. The second type is to use servants as narrative objects, reproducing the multiple discrimination and survival difficulties suffered by middle and lower class groups such as servants. In this type of narrative, servant characters appear more as observers of the master's life, such as Friday in Robinson Crusoe and the black servant in Vanity Fair. The third type is the new servant narrative, which has developed on the basis of the traditional servant narrative mode, using servants as first person narrators, or following the perspective and thinking of Western Marxism, with strong class consciousness in third person works. The narrative of new servants tends to adopt a multi perspective narrative mode, such as "Strange Music" and "The Penelope Chronicles", or parallel texts created from biographies of celebrities and classic fictional works, such as "The Girl with Pearl Earrings" and "The Maid's Book". New servant narrative also refers to telling stories about the "new servant class", who are usually educated or have special skills such as home tutors, home secretaries, home accountants, etc. The new servant narrative presents the lives and experiences of servants through various narrative forms and perspectives, breaking through the inherent roles of protagonists and servants in traditional literature and presenting us with a more diverse and complex social reality.

The Evolution of Research on "Servant Narrative"

The study of servant narratives in Western academia has gone through three stages since the 20th century: exploration, cultural shift, and diversification. During the exploration phase from the mid-20th century to the late 1970s, scholars began to pay attention to the forms and functions of servant narratives in literary works. George Orwell and Kenneth Burke raised the issue of the absence of middle and lower class groups in literature, and Erich Auerbach's "Imitation" became an important starting point in this field. In the 1980s and 1990s, scholars associated servant narratives with social life, with works such as Bruce Robbins' "The Hand of a Servant" emphasizing the symbolic function and social power of servant narratives. The diversification stage began in the 21st century, with research methods and disciplines becoming more diverse. Scholars have focused on the diversity of servant narratives, including issues of social status, gender, race, and cultural background, as well as interactions, dependencies, and power relations between servants and employers. They have also studied servant narratives in multiple literary genres, such as slave narratives, African literature, Indian literature, etc., to re-examine the significance and impact of servant narratives from a global perspective.

4 Conclusion

Discussed the development and shift of servant narrative research over the past century, including the expansion of terminology connotations and the evolution of referential categories. With the advancement of globalization, the boundaries of literary research have been broken, and servant narrative research has provided a new perspective for understanding Western literature. At the same time, this field has shown new vitality in the context of the new era and requires deeper theoretical exploration. The chapter emphasizes that servant narrative research should be wary of Eurocentrism, seek diverse understanding, break away from Eurocentrism, and achieve regional neutrality. In the face of opportunities and challenges, it is necessary to trace historical principles and clarify research and development changes as response strategies.