Author(s)

Hongbin Dai¹, Xiying Liu^2*

¹Xiamen University, Xiamen, China.
²Central China Normal University, Wuhan, China.

Structurally, Loitering with Intent by Muriel Spark presents the typical frame of metafiction, having complicated “fiction within fiction” and mise en abyme as well as texts from other genres. The exposure of artificiality in the novel is mainly carried out in three aspects: Fleur’s comments on the “novel within the novel” titled Warrender Chase; the vague boundary between fiction and reality; the imitation of fiction by reality. The metafictional feature in content is that Spark generalizes her viewpoints on issues with regard to the writer, the work, and the reader. The reviews of the creation in the novel itself demonstrate Spark’s self-reflexiveness and self-consciousness in the process of writing. Loitering with Intent is a connecting link between Spark’s present works and future ones, for it expresses her concepts of art creation and serves as a guide for her future creation.

Muriel Spark, Loitering with Intent, Metafiction, Criticism of Fiction

Dai, H. and Liu, X. (2015) The Metafictional Strategy in Loitering with Intent. Advances in Literary Study, 3, 118-129. doi: 10.4236/als.2015.34017.