ABSTRACT Many of Walter Scott’s fictional plots engage with serious crimes like treason and the violent acts involved in dueling. This article examines how Scott’s narrators draw on contemporary conventions for treating persons accused of such crimes in the criminal courtroom, considering especially how the characters and scenes of the Waverley Novels are constructed and described in ways that emphasize protagonists’ lack of agency. Essentially, Scott’s legally savvy narrators function like expert defense attorneys in their delivery of exculpatory character evidence on behalf of his “mediocre heroes.” Passive, unambitious, and drawn along by the plot, these heroes become a character type ideally suited for denying malice aforethought and evading responsibility.

中文翻译：

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性格证据、平庸和沃尔特·斯科特的倡导者-叙述者

摘要 Walter Scott 的许多虚构情节都涉及严重的罪行，例如叛国罪和决斗中的暴力行为。本文考察了斯科特的叙述者如何利用当代惯例在刑事法庭上对待被指控犯有此类罪行的人，特别考虑如何以强调主角缺乏能动性的方式构建和描述韦弗利小说的人物和场景。从本质上讲，斯科特的精通法律的叙述者就像专家辩护律师一样，代表他的“平庸英雄”提供无罪的性格证据。这些英雄被动、没有野心、被情节所吸引，成为一种非常适合否认恶意预谋和逃避责任的角色类型。