hand, the passive high obligation with Mavis as the recipient M.2.6c carries the meaning that she was incapable. Last, the high value of inclination in M.2.11
indicates that Mavis realizes something very important, more important than her suffering or her condition at that time.
4.1.1.3 The Modality System in Excerpt 3
Unlike the modality system in excerpt 1 and excerpt 2, the modality system here only employs the probability, obligation, and inclination. Their distribution is
almost similar, three for the probability and inclination, and two for the obligation. Almost all of them use the median value. The low value of modality
only appears in the probability. All of the probabilities in this excerpt are used by Mavis to express about
her action connected with Connie. M.3.2
That would please her. median probability M.3.19a Perhaps she ought to admit, confess, to Connie …
median probability M.3.21 Connie would know. median probability
The probabilities in this excerpt ranges from low to median. However, Connie always appears as the participant in those clauses either as the complement
M.3.2, the adjunct M.3.19a, or the subject M.3.20. It uses the implicit speaker, Mavis. Only M.3.19a employs the objective, low probability. It means
that she is not really sure whether she should talk to Connie about how she handles her nightmare since Connie has told her to fight, but she does not want to
fight it. Instead, she has her own way by accepting it. Still, in her future action M.3.19a and M.3.21 and the progress she has reached in her life M.3.2, she
always considers Connie as part of her life.
The next modality is the inclination. Similar with the analysis of probability, in the analysis of the inclination, two of the three clauses also take Connie as the
participant. M.3.3
She would take a plate of it down to Connie and tell her what had happened. median inclination
M.3.16 But Mavis couldn’t or wouldn’t. median inclination M.3.20b She would tell about the reception. median inclination
The positive median inclination takes Connie as the participant M.3.3 and M.3.20b which means that, the same with the analysis of the probability, Mavis
considers Connie as the part of his life by taking her as the receiver of tell. On the other hand, example M.3.16 shows the negative inclination about what the
nightmare. Mavis is still not really sure that she will follow Connie’s advice to fight the incubus.
The last modality to be discussed in excerpt 3 is the obligation. The subject of all the clauses is Mavis, and still, most clauses still employ Connie as the
participant. M.3.17 Now she needed to know if what Gigi said about her was
the reason she welcomed it. high obligation M.3.19a Perhaps she ought to admit, confess, to Connie … median
obligation. M.3.20d …, then ask her what to do about the night visits. median
obligation Mavis gives herself a high obligation to find the answer for her condition. Later,
this obligation leads to the obligation to ask Connie’s opinion. In other words, the role of Connie in Mavis life is important. Connie is the one she trusts.
In short, the modality system employed has supported the narration on the mental condition of the character. As she tries to escape from her house, the
modality system in excerpt 1 talks to support her analysis on the situation
including the prediction about her husband’s and children’s action and how she should make the decision related with the action. Then the modality system in
excerpt 2 occurs to support Mavis’s contemplation on her suffering and incapability. Last, the analysis on the participants in excerpt 3 helps to show the
important role of Connie in Mavis’s life.
4.1.2 The Appraisal System of Mavis
