—— NARIRATIVIE A Critical Linguistic Introduction MICHAEL J. TOOLAN , Oe we a D ce 7% ad lr ; [ ee wes fv ] 2 ROUTLEDGE London and New York LOE oxNaaaTaL “2iOdeB IK jo Aysianun euoneyy yp Te S096 Hye 10) YBN 24 Aisnoynarg “meas ‘uoiBuryseyy jo Ausieauy ayy ye 40 queumedaq ayy ut iossejo1g Iuaisissy.s} UeJOo] p @nqeueu Jo Aprus oy ayeuwinyy ue> sonsmBuy Yorym oF juapwa 24R Jo Buipueisrapun paseaiout 193905 1 ;s22uenbasuoa jranijod wun suonduinsse jexySojoap) Aue Paadinasia pue suinoo mel ‘siadedsmau ur soageaeu moy smiotdna Jeidey> jeuy e Uy pue ‘uaspyys Aq pue 0} ploy sono ve ypns S2nNRLEL [RIO JaPISUOD o} UO SanOU! 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Tolan Phototypeset in Linotron Souvenir Lighi 16/tIpt >» Input Typesetting Lid, London SW19 Spit Printed in the British Isles by The Guemsey Press Co Ltd, Channel Islands system, without ps ubitshers. Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Toolan, Michael J. Normative: @ erica i BP. cm.—{Interface) Bibliography: p Includes index: 1. Discourse ‘analysis, Narrative. j, Title. Interface (London, England) P302.7.T66 1988 901.41—de19 88-4407 Series British Library also available SBN 0-415-.00868-9 (cea) 0-415-00869-7 (pbkj Cataloguing in Publication Data cp fe 329377 inguistic introduction/Michael J. Toolan, Contents ‘SERIES EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION TO THE INTERFACE SERIES PREFACE ACKNOWLEDGMENTS, 1 Preliminary orientations 2 Basic story structure 2.1 Story/Fabula Histoire 2.2 Propp's morphology of the Russian fairytale 2.3 Barthes on narrative 2.4 Plot-summarizing: modelling intuitions 28-On comparing,’ evaluating, and falsifying theories of 2.6 in seareh of the grammaticization of plo! structure FURTHER READING NOTES AND EXERCISES (3) The articulation of narrative text I: time, ~~ focalization, narration 3.1 Narrative text: a single level of analysis - 3.2 Text and time 3.2.1 Order . 3.2.2 Duration 3 ‘Summary and scene 3.2.4 Frequency 3.3 Temporal refractions in text: Nabokov's Prin 3.4 Focalization 3.4.1 Types of focalization 3.4.2 Facets of focalization? 3.5 Perceptual focaization as printary 3.6 Narrators and narration 3.6.1 Implied author: a position but not a role 3.6.2 Narratees and implied readers6L2 69% 9% 998 soz 6be lve Sbe Bee 822 92% 9% Lie 918 602, 202 S6r gt sgt XAQNI Avaveooraig AUYSSOT SISIQUIXA CNV SALON cI ONIGVaY UIH LENS uno ul sauoIg 97 SsTIOU UY UT eaiprlaigy G7 epus6 pun sspj9 fo sauorg 5:7 441007 2150 ys 7 saqou @ joowyod fo snyoioddo aysnBuy ayy gy ~ sooLiDU JOSAUOS aT wopoe feonyod se saneueN 1 iSIOWSXA GNY SELON = ONIGVaH AH LuNd WaupIy> YIM PUD 40f saiOIg g'9 yooaiddo oysinBu PY ssuaisiBa1 43yt0 0} vole uF aaHOUDN gg quauidojenap aogounu s.usipiy) 79 suoyoiuaue Suuafip ‘saris ‘Suvagigy £9 fopvary quaBiewa pup Buyjartioig 7-9 BA Suaqu09 est esi Lt SLT BLT 6oL Sor ‘Or 19t oor £8t 9ST est SPL ObL 9bL 6g Lt 6at £20. set zat 6IL OIL Tr e0T 46 86 06 06 ccd 7 1g “HPI Hi pun 44 405 souors [9 Seaneneu suasppys setiapes ur sauoig Be POD Lg Uononjoas joursqiy o°¢ Seno} eanonjoa 2auf ‘sasnoy aunonas eayouou puo 42 Buifos pun Buog ge Yoyonjoay p¢ uauO PUD sPausqy Ee P 20D paxiy Fe soqoy Tg dde oysmBuyfors08 A[e1008 se anpenEN, S3SIDYAXT GN SzLON ONIGWaY YAH NS S2usnu2s a\qoxpadsun fo.Aiooyy SP ayurg sty Sxelfo puo suowaunf ai] Sty, esquiys oy ‘syads ou’ Trp Seinoosip waupur 2ai4 Qty esinoosip Paupur pun DAT 6b SyEnoy Botowspeuwys ainvaf sapounsiey be SPNGUHO PUD sD seDCIDYD Ey FePoUL yUR}90 so: UI) Zp J20UDYD. Tg , Ssmoosip anpuy 904 “Supyse “aeroereyp iy yx03 anqguateu jo uonen Monae ayy,In loving memory of Margaret ‘Mac’ McAloren, who told such stories, and never told on us, | | | | | be Series editor's introduction to the interface series There have been many books published this century which have been devoted to the interface of language and literary studies. This is the first series of books devoted to this area commissioned by a major Intemational publisher; itis the first ime a group of writers have addressed themselves to issues at the Interface of language and literature; and it is the first time an intemational professional association has worked closely with a publisher to establish such a venture. It is the purpose of this general introduc- tion to the series to outline some of the main guiding principles underlying the books in the series, The first principle adopted is one of not foreclosing on the many possibilities for the integration of language and Iterature studies. There are many ways in which the study of language and literature can be combined and many different theoretical, practical and curricular objectives to be realized. Obviously, a close relationship with the alms and methods of descriptive linguistics will play a prominent part, so readers will encounter some detailed analysis of language in. places. In keeping with a goal of much work in this field, writers will try to make thelr analysis sufficiently replicable for other analysts to see how they have arrived at the interpretive decisions they have reached and to allow others to reproduce their methods on the same or on otber texts. But linguistic science does not have a monopoly in methodology and description any more than linguists can have sole possession of insights into language and its workings. Some contributors to this series adopt quite rigorous linguistic procedures; others proceed less rigorously but no less revealingly. ited by a belief that detailed scrutiny of the; ry texts can be mutually enrighing to’ language and literary studies. Series of books are usually written to an overall formula or design. In the case of the Interface series this was considered to be not entirely appropriate. This is for the reasons given above,\ uondyosep ou Atuyeyia0 pue ‘Apnys aqurapese OU 429} uy *ABOI09} weaeny peues soups : ‘Buy YounNe| OF UDI WER 37009 IUa}eOKS UE s{ uolinpostuy aAsinBurT joonuO Y :enKBUDY s,URIOOL faeyaT : ‘suisuorypeur jueiBey ym quesienuooun pue swia|gozd a9sinBuyj 0} ua: JOYS fuexa1y| & pue aBenBur} jo uoyoun; 2ga0d ayy 0} jeap ysinBuy y ‘Aepod quenajar ss9] OU s1 YaIym Ing OBe sive any-Aiuamy Jano apeur uOsGoyE’ uewoy Aq juaUa}e}s a4) asiopue o} JueM pINOM SOLES ayy Yi peurssUO> fe Fey! 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Michael Toolan’s ti synthesize the Narratives are everywhere, performing countless different func- fions in human interaction, therefore the area of inguiry of this book must be delimited rather strictly. As the subtit indicates, this study is intended as a critical introduction, and I hope to be is ground-breaking and both genul itical end genuinely introductory. More narrowly deseripion of nanative orgeniat nes eee that structural stil, this critical introduction is specifically concemed with lang- tive, All thoae weet ve O8 not be neutral and objec- uage-oriented or linguistically-minded perspectives on narrative: pede nee od with the Interface series hope that Saati "atematcally To the feel, 2 useful and insightful book and! thar - that attend systematically to_the "8S we do, that it gives a substantial in; aia as r language of stories, and models of namative-analysis that focus on petus to the series he lnaiste are 5 of thelt linguistically-describable structure. The basic rafionale for such an emphasis, in this book as in all the others in the Interface sertes, is a conviction implicit in the work of all the scholars and theorisis and models dlecussed herein: that systematic analytical attention to the loge and uoym paseaja: s| 3841 uaBorpAy a Joh Bupsal, vuedioqred jequosso ue 51 py axp uot ur Airs Papiné Bis Pouueld e st ‘axhusexa 40} ‘ABOjoIg 20 Ansiwau ‘sos Ul Sepiore Kioweioge| Guy sisied spowjau anpaieu ing ‘pazucoy, 210u Pue [eUO}U ss] aq Att UORZIUASeid 34p joo'>s Aepunse, Ax a2eyaig JY) (Panionut sidzoues op Pueisiapun o; usa ri ss sae BOIUE oy Se ome Sy ON SME gedit S2BkIs 347 uaamjeq suonsauucs Teo150} 24) 208 pur ‘souois 25218 JO ulod aun 126 y,usa0p. PUY? 24h JT “diy ‘Buoj e uo. Bujos elad #22 241 Ut Jeny Sugind pus ‘punowe Burwura 210}2q 1s¥j niva1q Bune inoge sauojs Buyer Aq jooyss Areumd 24yt Ul YBNe 24 1yBiW som pue eIeyp, ‘autos jo suse Suyqurer oui 03 uaisy 30 siyBiayy BuLayinyy § aquo1g 10 zouTeyy juspuy aut jo awiy, s,eBpuejoD peas am vey snyy “SRE Ie SURlar |eMpIIpUT aq) pUe TERT Now sys UrsTTeAS Talpur ay) {serjor omy H2q_Papinip UoHUaHe Ino j29) ~wayO OM * ‘30 [enpiipur zayio swWOs OF UOTUS TE INS We smeip Aiqisuajso VEU “aie © pjojuN AoW se UaRe siqudssiad Ue Juasaid “ABuisudins“Uayo”sxe—sangeMeT BUS] JO Saha] ‘BqDaoHOU AirewoTEK TBijay By yy st ‘ouc uaxods papuara 10 fiero jepadse ‘a1ay Juasayrp angeou soyeus reyy, “uaxods sj jeym Woy aeiedas ‘ioyeeds © ApuD ~Joyur sfiemje s} e104) - iuane yoseds Gur jo pres 2q pmoo Yyanut se Ing 49179) alg pue Iq) a4 ‘GUauOduIOD oJseq omy aséloue sn Aprys anpeneu arojaiayy yey} pur “19I}9} © sonjonut 2/e fue yey) uisinn ou) Sunes fq uiBaq sauinawos siopeUAWUIO? ‘yueoyruBis aq oF 113} $13} Aym pue ‘parenoo aq 0} ujexa} 34} ayeo1DUt jsea} Je Pinoys yore ‘sonss| 2ISeq 19INO PUL asayP UO sBIOU BuRLOM aie BuIMol}o} UL gesino> ouIepere ue UI Guinsind yom sodoy yons a1 Ayo Puy gaq Ayjear 1 ues nydjay moy pule “u; awiod Yseodde opsinBuyl @ s8op axay/y gfpnis anperreu 03 uoNEiar u; aunyonys, tuna} sty Buisn puryag saseydwwe pue suoquoyut aus aze ie, 2.ORWOANS anReUet, Aq ueou om op Feyy canweLteH st jeYM suopejuano Areurunjaig ne suawiBpamouyoy max© Nerraave g here's the distant F temporally distant: here's the present ial ~ hence the sense of gap. This can be represented diagrammatically thus. [TELLER aS TALE | «——» [ADDRESSEE | But since the present teller is the access to the distan is a sense, too, in which narrative eniails making what is distant and absent uncommonly present: a merging rather than a division. Diagrammatically this merging-cum-immediacy might look like this: — TALE «—» ADDRESSEE However, since tellers can become intensely absorbed in theit generated sense of the distant topic they are relating, addressees sometimes have the impression that_the teller bas withdrawn. from, them, has taken leave, so as to be more fully wwolved in the removed scene. TI type of relation between tale, teller, and addressee (a merging-cum-withdrawal) might be ‘cast thus: TELLER file paces a TALE | We will find that these different abstract representations are the bases of quite disti ling narratives. Hawthorn (1985) broaches these same issues, taking a painting by Millais, The Boyhood of Raleigh, as capturing some central to narrative. In the painting an old seaman, with his ba to the viewer, appears to be addressing two young boys who are Preliminary orientations 3 evidently fascinated and absorbed by what he tells them. The old man 4s pointing with his arm out to sea, but the boys’ eyes are ‘on the man, not the gesturing arm or any distant scene It may be designating. | [Narrative] focuses our attention on to a story, a sequence of events, through the direct mediation of a ‘telling’ which we both stare at and through, which is at once central and peripheral to v* | the experience of the story, both absent and present in the consciousness of those being told the story. Like the two young boys we state at the ‘telling’ while our minds are fixed upon what that telling points towards. We look at the pointing arm but our minds are fixed upon what is pointed at. (Hawthorn, 1985: vil) . tics_of narrative conceyns its necessary source, the namator. We stare at the narrator rather than interacting with him as we would if we were in conversation with him; and, in_literary narratives especially,. that narrator is often ‘dehumanized’, a ed to mex 1S a. sdied voice, Hawthom also observes that contemporary interest in narrative is far from purely literary critical: We live in a world increasingly dominated — and chatacterized — by the telling of stories; by anonymous communication, by messages notable for what has been termed. ‘agency deletion’, and by disseminated but disguised authorities and authori- tarianism. (Hawthom, 1985: x) : 9r consumer, To narrate is to make a bid for a kind of power. ‘Sometimes the narratives told crucially lives: those told by journalists, politicians, employers assessing our performance in annual reviews, as well as those of friends, enemies, parents, siblings, children ~ in short, all have authority authority of the narrator and his narrative is one area of controversy, a related one concems the interpretation or interpre- tability of narratives. Even before we attamnt a wuntkina dafiniinn| iaYen swi2|qord Jo axemaq snus ay WIS Bq ACU ue Maoys © TMeELTOT FEU wap} GH IRQ “anpeneu Buyuyfep jo yse) ayy ul oypiny yon sn 726 jou OP TAS Aayp ‘angexieu jo soyspaj>ereuo awios aze enoge (8ST 1867 ‘swIe}4) “monowoy puy 1yBjur Kary 22}90U ayy JayaB0} ssNdsIp JOU S}aaM ySe] PUNO} Aoyp Aei22u AU JO seduaosujuioA ym JeyjoUR auo 2[eBas jou Op. sag Parpewiai sey suey] Aoy sy ‘uogeaiasgo xayai jo puny e Ajaraus nq ‘suas mmo ul angeueu 1adoid ou s} BuBBeM-p DY} ‘SiBurpiosoy. Wuewaredsyp eioduie} ssediio3 ‘aeIpaU JO saainos jURsIP IMoge soya}UNWIICD 1 Jey UL UaUL -208\dsIp yeneds sowcosono 2aulep BubBem-fe asoym ‘2oqsouoy yy JO 2504) upIe saonoeid ano aiedwo; ‘aauspne sy pue 12701 24 Woy aourar Ayouodway ‘Ayjejoruo alow ‘ynq ‘Aypeneds Ajazaut Jou _2q dew yey) sBUUSae JO yeosr-ayyaAGAUT SaAHSLEK) { “wondusap 40 Atejuowos se sepou yons yim fdieys yseNUoD Gay yoodso1 sip uy ((S2S5SIppe 10 waySEGS TOUS Woy “iaT IS | Soe oy pesos eee oan ee 4, ,2benbue] Weuny jo Age ain) jusuaseaR 5 jo oirieay a Ie SBATTELIG JO einyeay UBIsep ee 2 i vs) “zassaippe jo }03 ouios pue JAESETE Buunbas ‘sow Aue oxy uoyeotunuTios aBenBue] S| enpenieu ‘soystiajseieyp jepads sj) ondsop ‘joedsor siup ul uepOduT shempe | ' BGT IO“ i 10 POPUNOIB HE oy ashe pum say ary one or a sles Ly a 7 ” pane — ‘Sasser Sapeareu 30 dopesaixe Buysapun iepeoiq ay; jo jodse ‘uo Asn{ jfosn ‘AqpeUG pu aiNsOP Jo uONEIIadxa oy 0} uoguanE Sty) YOU sajdurexa asayp yy ‘SUAaTING sou Uo}sinaja; pue oIpe: JO saouanbes Buysop ay) ul suediajunoo jeoquapr-ieau sey yotymn ‘ALOIS Oy JO pus omp 5) 4} Puy ‘SUIPINS s topeas-fioys vowwio ayy x ned zonou Hana ayy Sq pahanuca SouDURULIEA UE Ti fl eogou pue + uyeBe uaes sag Jenau sey uoBep ayy ‘uaLy aouls ‘uaye sane Aitddey pany ye Aauy puy 'SovOIS 5 ,UeIpLYD Jo spiom BuIpnjouCD Puy repisuog “(ued fo uy siY UI pareindus sporsuy se} spus § suogeuaro Areuuiaig pue ‘sejppiur ‘sSujuuibaq aney 01 way ioadxe a, *GOBApUTS IS Goan wane pue—jasuddfa ym “SYMOUIOS Ob OT pe aie pea i “7insten, Sne ease TT aE e “angenieu JO syun payeouggjard oq 0} Apenoqied wees anoge paucmuats sBuiyi jo spupj ei yBnoyye “angeueu sepisoq ajeizeds fensin pue Bunum jo sedfy snouen ur uounuo> swizes uopesuqeyaid “ureBy ‘28un09 jo ‘suopeuen yuerodust ym ~ UreBe 1900 pUue 1900 sonjaswiayy yada 0} wiaas (way) punore asoy) 10 ‘sanjasusal} ynoge a10W oncos|p 0 Buywiod ‘s\sanb Guo] UO BujOB ‘ano| ut Buje} ang ‘Buvip pur ‘uiog Bureq ysn{ou) sangexeU Uj op afdosd J0 Spupj 241 puy ‘sem ajqereduioa AiyBno1 ul (iseaj ye au © 20}) peuremyy 2q 01 wars “379 “ApIepY “YO! ‘sUDHPIg Jo s|a0ou 24) Ul Su2}ze1e49 ole “sjonou Ysnug Ainjuao-yiuaajautU se yons 00} suonay parenaya aio ut sauloiay pue sooiey of Ade o; suis Ayesid( jo aas5ap awios pue — sayjoue aytj yonul sw20s e124 40 auioroy 'uoog pue sit 2uQ “(spiom Jeo am sHuny> juaunsas ai uey) raB1e] 19} suNyo JUaLND—i) BiopaqpReay TO “WarenerronrqUIty I ‘pieay 10 re ABT BM SH SACY OF WSIS ‘URYO SanPeuRU Spiom Toyo UL WOHeSHe Fe jo-salbap ¥/Z) Apejoyss ‘sisted ‘sBuny jo suopdussap areioqeye, ‘afdurexo 20] “Yo pres aq pinoo yonus se uayy ing “(yi jo — aoueuuOpad smoqnaid ~ jesieayar auios u2aq sey 21ay)) uaym ‘onHULIeU [eI0 Ut ana) POUTEE Ajenisn aie s3ed pue sseydure “soTaNDsg OTH oqtOme—sT- Sarre ‘uoHesienuoD snoaueuods uj juaredde Aqjensn jou ssoupaynysuos 10 UoREDTey [eye JO ‘B3iBSp WT) sopsuazesey> [eaIdéy sy Jo awos Bunsedsuy pue Bunou fq anneueu auyap 0) uBaq ue ay ‘spunouBy2eq [eauOISsKy -01808 40 ‘siowne syaUp 0} sangeureU a}e[ax O} andy O} sheme Wes 1.UOP apy “Padouses 2q 0} wiaas ‘| jo asuas ayeur 10 “aeno>sip yaudiayuy am moy iano sjonuoa 40 squres|su0 jeuLION ayy Jo au10s og “Waijf ones] IO Way SHE] UES NOK pue ‘apeui sey suoouIOS jod-e-ayy sea | | xOYI ISAT SINsty :35UsipAe papudyut ays toljne sy; vionewuopuf Buinueduiosse Aue TOG ‘SBUIBAT “LaBie| PPaquia you ‘lois puRS Op -Ueyo Ay) ‘sfipm aulos ul [61esS0/5 29s] x9}-03) pue XFWOS) Suipunouns woy yO Io, Kyeordé aie as9yy ey seB;I's4y ‘SenMeMEU jo eaneuEN pto elaborate this idea, however. Thus when Scholes and Kellogg Sefine narrative as hose literary works which are distinguished by two charac- tes: the presence of a story and a storyteller. (Scholes and Kellogg, 1966: 4) introduce (besides the exclusionary term cult and make a terary’) the diffi- ntroversial idea of ‘presence’. They do so in order to ich of language or text, impl speaker, however removed. In keeping with this broader view is Traugott and Pratt's defi- nition of narration as and requires a essentially a way of linguistically representing past experience, whether real or imagined. (Traugott and Pratt, 1980: 248) ‘The emphasis on ‘representation of ‘er our sense ol the Wee Se of narratives (which some theorists insist upon fo the extent of denying the groundedness of narrative in an external world and author). And here, ‘past experience’ needs to be interpreted broadly: even if the narrative is futuristic science fiction, or novel with future reference, or a novel in the present tense, the reader encounters and grasps it as ‘events that have already happened’: If the above reflections seem too arid, then Roland Barthes’ memorable celebration of the impact of narratives on our lives may be an appropriate corrective: x ( Able to be cartied by articulated language, spoken“or written, ed or moving images, gestures, and the ordered mixture of these substances; narrative is present in myth, legend, fable, novella, epic, history, tragedy, drama, comedy, mire, painting, stained glass windows, cinema, cot conversation ti every place, in every soci between good and bad rature, narrative is intemational | | Preliminary orientations 7 transhistonical, transcultural: it is simply there, like life itself (Barthes, 1977: 79) Barthes goes on to say that although all-pervasive, namative is still analyzable, and can be understood in a systematic way. It is th this emphasis on systematicity that we will proceed. A first attempt at a minimalist definition of narrative might be: a perceived sequence of non-randomly connected events. Note that this definition recognizes that a narrative is a sequence 4 glevents. But event itself is really a complex term, presupposing that there is some recognized state or set of conditions, ard something happens, causing a change to that state, Note also that my emphasis on iness'| means that a lescribed events, even alven in sequence, count as a narrative. #one-paragraph description of something or other, and we then Paste these paragraphs together, they won't count as a narrative unless we come to perceive a non-random connection. And by This curious transitional area belween sequential desciption and consequential description is ‘one of the bases for the fun of a familiar party game in which ‘The important role of ‘change of state’ has been celebrated in the more linguistic term|transformatiomby the French structui- alist Tavetan Todorov (1977; 233): all there is no longer a narrative, for there is no longer anything to recount, Now, (ansform: represents precisely a synthesis of differences and resemblance, inks two facts without their being able to_be identified ~~ Notice also that my detinition suggests that consequence is not so much ‘given’ as ‘perceived’: narrative depends on the addressee seeing it as narrative — the circularily here seems ines- capable. While most oF us would agree that the traditional novel is @ narrative, there can be legitimate disagreement as to the a ?Hah ou a NoYs sdeysad pue ues ‘suouDy f Ou 1e Buiyiione xatyoueG; Winipaus au0 Woy) J0 Ajgissod ayy oda Aew om yoIya 8 Jane} aun UORQHISIp J8aUl| ou) — UOBUSUIIP SHEUIBGUAT 3q) ‘suerpasiut 20 sjepayew mei opeubipered ayy SunjaB 21,2 41 se ‘souanbos Jo sapprajdusos ‘ajduzexa 10} '0} uoquaye wn "RESROUAS' payuasaid axe siajoeey pue quan 2 Auoys & uy “(Caesso[B 20s) a10y SHPEWBT ue spe suuioy opsinBuy ayy Buy‘jdde yrom aq few i] “uosien uaRUN Jeurbuo axp ut se y2q}eq e 10 ‘uoIsIen LOOHeD 10 uuNy & Uy Ajlsee se ‘fies ‘ur Gi03s Lo (s ‘S361 siuand parelor jouoryD pue AyeoiGoj jo sayas e st [AucIs] oMNgof i Ul stopperey> otp yo sajor ayn jo Growuan 8 Jo stuana jequatuepuny ayy Jo UONduosep sISeq e jULsU: 3 sited asauy jo yoea jo wui9} ys1y ay: Ag YSsIODeIB PUP] ‘suuar ysybug s,ueuyey 0} wan Ul ZualenITibS AI ambasi SHY sua} (soypreg ‘aysuanuag} quasar a10W 34} 0} jua|eainba AjySno1 FSyAHls pur 30 ayods ("212 ‘fysnaysewioy ‘ddoig) sisyewuio) uessny A snuyy ‘fainb yuUOS 10 angeueU yo suo jeuORUARuOD ing -auinba: feotGo} ou axe sajnz punosB asaup jo ysoul puy “adh ey uryym suoganpoid aup je adeys yey2 sajru punoad ay jo Apmis 243 St (anayeym ‘sjouuios ‘sangenreU) aoueUloyiod jeqion Jo 904i Sue Jo souaod ou, “BUljeysios pue sayois jo sisetse yusunse: “Pus oneuiayshs a10L aly UO AreyuaiinUiGd jeouBioaYy pu DENSE “RpAneer stp ues | si Ay (SATENEU jo sayPs0M oy) noge, paisaB6ns uaaq sey yey maynos snuy sudideu> aseuj jenpuip) pule angenouul 10 anyize]09 ur jeuoRIPEN E10 20 uayUM “Le Jequan se angeueu Jo suo}senoap peuuojur-/ uy enuanyuy SOW! a4} Jo Atos Ie Yoo] TEYS am siaideyD aa.4y yKoU aUy Ul s208s1ppe 10, srajjay 2q 0} puaqu! foxy 317802} 7e ‘saassaippe pue sio|far [Le A pauuopad aq 0} Ajpessasau Ayande ue si 11 yey) s}eInDads onipp?| UL IYBTU am mou :sAyeTeU IO] UOMPUOT SuNgeUs sy St SeTAS JO 6 suopejuauo Ground ays ue Byfueduiosoe Ue YM “Iapi0 jedIBojouosy> yenjeu ey UI Ss@Upalejo1 (eAUATDSsuO> Buyyastsd yo ‘HAASE BU} 1eqys paysabEns Sprauye ancy | -azeredes éyesnua jou aie sojo1 om auf asmesaq st SUL Jol) uapUsdapur ue joey ou ING, “apeai: ig pads TT “uontuyop jerseys Au “uni J Boisia payfpout © jo uogeioysos ayy 0} spea] (OmUDAIOIU Ue Sdeuied) uoRde Jo Hos auios a10jaq feneoydn puw winuqitnbasip sBunig 22uamnqan; siy] “oualtiqimy Jo $3010} snowen 6q peqitusip SL uunuqiinbe Jo ales yeptuy ue yom ul avo se 11 BUIAAUPL ‘arate; uesssny oy jo aimysnys Bulyorerano au parpms ddory ‘ddorg aumpey, ysBojowene uessny Bupjeaiquied ayp jo 7eyp OF FeTUAS S| ORTUFAP siKp ‘so¥deyD mou ayy UL Aas eS am sy {421 “0461 “Sq100) ‘paystunup 20 payeunune s1 wssu09 a | Weiye Ut Gem ayy Jo pue FUiane BuisnIeI-Us3U05 aioul 10 suo J© vonduosap jeqian ayy sj uuoj ysajduuis sy ut PARBDET 303} wanum sey AQIS UTUTRTESy sn “28 0} 58 yons soja ajduus, amb uj wane’ SOHO ‘SWOPEAHOU xo[dwi09 jaadxa am ‘ABOU, Aanuas-yaquamy a20U! U| “(age ACLORO|, WoY UoTe}ONb ay} uj Yodn payuaWWOS jou Sulyjouios) sappym pue sBuruujBaq se jam se epua ppadxo om ‘onowsuay Aq paryBiyBiy isuy stro) ou) ul “sonneueU jo siuana ayy Jenuanbes pue ‘sseuwopuel-uoU ‘ssaupaizautUcs xerduioo siour yonur pueusap pue yoadxe am aaqoeid uy ang ‘Sessa Peapod ayy iim ing Jae; oy yA Jou Seel SAeueT ese v9) & BuIAReD Ij Ma I 3G sea] e adsar-spy uy eee, be H 298 1,us20p isn{ aassauppe ayy x anneueU @ s} aioy Tey) asisui 0} 2) asja auoAue 20) alpy si 1! :aassasppe au jo Ys 1 siuana Jo aauenbas & ul ssaupeiauLos wopuer vou Bulnia2ieq “Aphis angeseu yo aunjeay 2yewe[qoad ing jeWuaul “EPUNF B UO Y>NO} O} S9L} ‘jearsuYM zanamoy ‘2{dweXe Jey, isi saluap Kpoy ysUoouRs ayy YBROL + ROM aiojaq anyesseu e 29s nok uN NO; ® puo yse ajarebis aos sey pany ayy aun IBIS IMTYD e s,a1247 au puoses ou} UO pue “dh: sey IslUdOHED ayy o1yM ‘BuL-aayjor e st BuO astiesaq ‘syexp YBNos aq oj wees fay soido) parejaiun ioge aq 0} waas pur “23a ‘aan JO x9UL09 ay UO b tary ‘sBumias ‘sx2}2ee49 juarayip aumb aney Soy >}89p sty uo ‘saded Jo sazaid aje1edes Uo ‘souteay Penh Puy pue oIpnis sisiuocHeD e Ja}Ua NOK auiBew ‘ajdwiexa 204 ‘seamionuys xajduic> pue iemusey ssa} Jo ‘anqeueu se “stiles anyeuen g ! |a ZZ ae al 10 Narrative ‘of event and character presentation, disclosure, elaboration, and So on — is severely attenuated, Above I used the term ‘version’ to refer to actual cinematic or dance realizations of the core story of Great Expectations. And (ess ‘Jis as good a word as any to refer to the business of istrative and creative working on a story to produce the discourse we actually encounter. In other words, [usher or iscoursiroughly denotes all the techniques that auth at in their varying manner of presentaiion of i ‘AS far &s literary-mminded people are concemed, disc thermore interesting area of narrative poetics, focus on the pre-artisic, genre- and convention’ everit-and-character patterns of narrative, with scarcely any room. for, evaluative contrasts or. discriminations — a level” at which authorship seems an irrelevant concer. (DiscuTsalooks at the istic and individualized working with and around the- genres. 1] &e conventions, the Basie story paiterns, in the distinctive styles, ices_ar manners of different authors zi et -od or ill ~ as will become clear, i have my doubls! — the binary picture (of histoire v. discours, or story v. discourse) has jh recent discussions been complicated by the argument that we/heed to posit three levels, not two. As { understand it, this redrrangement does not involve adjustment of both the. binary categories outlined above, but rather is simply a bifurcation. off 4 Re the second one, discourse. In the accounts of poetics of Genette (1980), and in the two books | will recommend as supporting [textbooks in this area (Bal, 1985 and Rimmon-Kenan, 1983) ly of technical manipulation and presentation of the, to involve Is. That is to say, if we think ‘ of Ristoire/story as Tevel T of analysis, then within discourse we ave 2 Ahe level of text, at which decisions about the sequencing ‘Sf events, the fime/space spent presenting them, the sense of (changing) rhythm and pace in the discourse, together with choices as to just how (with what detail, and in what order) the particularity of the various characters is to be presented, together also with choices as to whose perspective or viewpoint will be adopted as the lens through which particular events or descrip- tons or characters are seen and reported (the business of focallz- are all made, and 2h, at. which the relations between the Preliminary orientations 11 posited narrator and the narrative she tells are probed (an obvious contrast is that between a stretch of narrative embedded ‘within fs novel and told by a character, on the one hand, and a narrative told as if by a detached, extemal and omniscient onlooker, on the other); this is also the level at which speech presentation (the etic effects of pure dialogue, the deliberate ambiguities of ee indirect discourse) is analyzed This distinction between what we will call text and narration comes principally from Bal, It amounts to an attempt to separate a layer at which a narrative agent relates the text from other aspects of text (the level at which choices are made over how the story is presented). So text presents story in a certain manner, and in the narration an agent relates that presentation. However, this fatter separation is stil a source of controversy, and we may well want to question this confident separation of narration from presentation, Two-level_analysts, who find the st bifurcation always. counter_wit i@s_Of_ speech and though présentali of part of single domain of discourse. ‘These complex arguments will be returned to, but for now the lef thing to keep in mind Latterly, in place of: STORY — DISCOURSE we have: 7 STORY ~ TEXT — NARRATION (as in Rimmon- Kenan, 1983). ~! with the added complication that these three terms are translated in Bal (1985) as, respectively: FABULA ~ STORY — TEXT | shall try to stick to the Rimmon-Kenan terms wherever possible, even though I will also make frequent reference to the Bal book”(gare SUOHRo: jo uowssnasp ap JO Jana] jeNsge Ue s} B20y) EYE }2aya ay) 0} sUMTEPD OF asu LAND aney ‘Jjasy AIO}S 215eq, JO UOHOU Ais ayI yim sayieBO} ‘asud “Ipjua jeonsjeue quaiayoo v se ABojouoyd jo Buyysunoy Oyj {Pept ypea Jo suarjo) paonpold-ffjeride Sif Sez UHnISS SdLiON yn aBenBug| e jo spunos jeepf, Jo WisisAs aiisge dup SoyAUSP! jouoyd ew sisowp ayy st spuNdS yseads jo ApMys au Jo UO|SIAIp si Bulueisng “uoyeuen Morne 20 oysnose yb out Ie ur 'spunos yovads yenize jo Apnys ayy si ‘isequos Aq “SSPIUSGG “ypaads jenjoe Jo Jana] ayy Je ‘seouanbas.jeym ul ‘pazuBoxal ue ‘peonpoid axe spunos jo spunj ym Sutuionoé sejdiouud pue sein Aq pazuaisereyp ‘21Bo) [eutayUs umo 1 YIM WOISAS e se “ana poensge Afennejas 2 ye aBenBue] v jo wajshs-punos ain jo Apras 2y) s| ABBTOUSYY “snouoyd ay pue jeoiGojouoyd auy ‘syanaj 0. surewop omy ou! aBenBuE| e Jo spunos dy Jo sishjoue SpsinBull jo uorsinip peoag op yum s} ABOfeUe oy “SIXSTTSUNSIP pur jenioe Se-sangenew lejnoqied pue jansl PENSGE ue se AIS UdoMISA | payonut Uayo st YeUy anoqe Paya Duo uRMYsWOYD aY) Sepisag ABO[eUE oRsINBUY a4JOUR si 330445 "asno}y yoayg ur are quaied s .ayisy Ym 0} se 10 ‘suonoTadhey jap) UI sf Z01D}U9q Sdig oym 0; Se voReWo}U! 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DUO S| “i2juNODUD am onveueu padeys ‘paziueSio Ausna Suruepun “uo Pezmuauisezun, “payeioun ‘podeysun jo uoyou 24} 124) 1821p 2q Pinoys it Ing “SBMBUET Se yons uoujeovunuwos jo UIMIpaUt e dope oO aney am fuos aqudsap pue ssnasip ot 1apio ul 'b saydey ur ‘edoy | ‘Atparejag 001 10u) zonemoy ‘poururexa aq jm Bugjas pue seeeyD “wideyo siyp ynoyBnosp quasedde aq JO j99(8au 243 0} fjeradsa ‘ainjonis quand pue siuone tim uonednodoaxd seyuns @ puy ‘snowfuouds Ayjenuin wees ain, “ona jana, pue einioniis uo}s seq, suO|sseidx oun mRLOsy Aueus 10.4 IO\d Jo sisuo9y1 Aq JeuowepuNo} pue yuauTUis-oud Se paleay uaa sfemje ssajayuanou sey asaup jo rsiy ay} “Alo}s JQ Suawoy juenodur ye are sGumyas pue sxoyserey> ‘stuand J, (ahOU ONO si Ue GY BuRiss Uo siseyduse anyoja ayy (6quanbaxy} PUR ‘TehOW-souer-fuua{e Ul TSEIEYS uo siseyduia angela ay en (eee STsueny Ue Task UO siseydwa aagejer ayy ‘azedulo? “uoueD Janou 24) Lng duis, Sulios To BUNEEAESS YOURS Ae Wink ssiiadsip OF aiqissod ah YBNowpre “angouce uy juasaid seme Awa are salu) (fe Jo sejdurexd nq ‘2iqeuen Aige ~yreusai ale sany asoyj usamjaq suoneje au], "Seuss pue’si; DERRY ‘siUBRe sasuduioo (suopesyrenb yum) pue “|UB}U AISTS PaMBYSUT oiseq amp si es “(snoasip 10 “yayenfs 10) asinoosip Pue (auoisiy 20 ‘oingel io) Mos Jo suyewop ayy) cy! Jayeut BelQgns 21949 Jo vo[sinIp feonazay} e YIM Pexjiom uo} eney sue ~n20d engeneu “saidey2 snojnaid ayp jo aso[9 ay ye poreaiput sy im ‘waqeLeyD aatOIStH/DINQDI/M0IS {°Z ainjoniys A10}s diseg G14° Narrative story from which all concrete narratives, embellished by variations ‘of content, are derived. But this is untenable. We can begin with the banal bedrock observation that all narratives involve the report of some state and some change or changes to that state. But even as we attempt to specify the allegedly core events and characters of stories (the core ‘types’ of which. events and characters in particular narratives are ‘iokens’) we find that content stil remains. It has not and cannot be wholly removed. if we look at what Vladimir Propp (the pioneer Russian analyst ‘of story structure) and others actually did we will find that, in search of basic story structure, they started — inevitably — with the Tich performed narrative, and tried to ‘sift through’ that material, discarding all but the most basic patterns. And yet even those patiems ~ as we shall see with Prop — are quite clearly at best {as he conceded) genre-specific, but al worst corpus-specific. We need to see the implications of saying that certain identified pattems in fact hold only for a particular genre, or, more limitediy, hold only for the small collection of narratives actually analyzed But let us tum now to the detail of Propp's theory of story structure. 2.2 Propp’s morphology of the Russian fairytale The starting point of Propp's famous study (Propp, 1968; orig- inally published in Russian in 1928) would seem to be very much the sort of minimalist definition of narrative introduced in Chapter 1 — a text in which there is recounted a change from one state toa inodified state. As noted earlier, we can label the actual | change of state an ‘event’, Thus ‘event’, or ‘change of state’, { the key and fundamental of narrative, And Propp’s mo! of the Russian fairytale is basically an inventory of all and only the fundamental events (which he calls functions) that he ident- ifies in his corpus, which comprises 115 Russian fairytales, In other words, Propp analyzed his collection of fairytales, looking particularly for recurring elements _or. features (constants), and random or unpredictable ones (variables). He. cGncliided that while the characters or personages. of the tales might super ly..be quite variable, yet_their_function: tales, the significance of their actions as viewed from the point of view af the-story’s development, were relatively constant and Basic story structure 15 asserted to be fixed: there are just 31 functions, » and they always appear in the same sequence. \dependent of how and by whom they are fulfilled. They constitute the fundamental components of a tale. (Propp, 1968; 21) 7 Here, for convenience in subsequent analytical tasks, is a full ist of Propp’s set of 31 key, fairytale-developing actions (functions), which bring sequential changes to a specified inilial situation: 1 One of the members of a family absents himself from home. 3 53; (An extreme exponent of this function of ‘absenting’ iswhere .\y + ad aA the parents have 2 An iptandiction is addressed to the hero. 3 3 The interdiction is violated 4 The villain makes ar, attempt at reconnaissance. [4% 5 The villain receives information about his victim. 6 The villain attempts to deceive his victim possession of him or of his belongings. 7 The victim submits to deception and thereby unwittingly helps his enemy. 8 The villain causes harm or injury to a member of a family (defined as ‘villainy’). 8a One member of a family either lacks something or desires to have something (defined as ‘lack’) 9 Misfortune or lack is made known; the hero is approached with 2 request or command; he is allowed to go or he-is despatched. 10 The seeker agrees to or decides upon counteraction. 11 The hero leaves home. 12 The hero is tested, interrogated, attacked, etc,, which Prepares the way for his receiving either a magical agent or helper. 13 The hero reacts to the actions of the future donor. 14 The hero acquires the use of a magical agent. 18 The hero is transferred, delivered, or led to the whereabouts of an object of search. 16 The hero and the villain join in direct combat ~ 17 The hero is branded, 18 The villain is defeated, 19 The initial misfortune or lack is 20 The hero returns. order to take juidated.i wee. 30 Weup ‘21@) xejdwiod a1ow! 48} @ UO yom oF y Ind MOU YBN 2m ‘asea juanboje yim AroIs anoge au) sy eULayas s\ddoig jp (b96r ‘0 19 anny 28g ZE6T “iuay pue Bury woy sishfeue pue yxa1) “saye rane fiddey pony Aa pue gf saigeg Auung xis pey Aauy OS St (Guppam) sR pres aye PU PL} roi 01 Aung jw5 ayy payse Aung oq 94, eT “wary Buynes 20) ‘Auung pS ay) paxweyy Auung fog ay) oS ZI premay wyebe aouc 9013 06 Aan pue TT — payrinu sure, uewi eu) paddiy Suung pS ayy uaw iySu ing OT aj85nS “mou jyBneo a1am Sau] & “saquung 1004 § “diys Big e UL quam pue saluung om ayy 105 ay pus / you Big e ym pareadde wei e pue g —_-aouessjeuuozay Aur fem @ 40} 124960} ua Fat pue ¢ uogeisuel | Paivadde fog fuung ® pur aingedag spoom au uj Bupyjem sem ays Aep 0uQ ‘stamod oie pey ays pue Z ° yusSe jeowGew + ailueg paureu Auung e sem aay) wy e uodn souQ | —_uoReMs jen soje) a[duuis 14 ueo sewUuelB s.ddosg Ajayeudordde pue Ayseo toy aensuoWEp oF anias Keut jJo| 243 UO pepuadde suoHouny ueiddog yim ‘py pjo-se96- 2 Ag uayum Alors BuIMotjoy a4; (Uaxdeyp Sy Jo pus ay ye vogoas sesfsioKe ue s2i0u, 243 22s) uteNs Yoni 00} joyIM sisjeue UEddoig ©} Sanjasuiay} pu2] 0} wiaas Op 2IoyAule} ueIseNy ay? WOM aOWO! sayjer SUOHDY UMEUAD yeu 5; Bury Bupyns ayy Puy ‘sauo's roo ur sluaWo|a Tews AyMUapL UD Bm JeIR os uO Os pUe ‘enous, 7 2{03, " UOROUN}, Aq suvauu ddosg yeYMn DUNO 0} s| axatj asodind fiyeus’ ayy vsndioo siy uy sajer sejnogied oy) oj ABojoydiour siya soydde ddorg moy ysnf Buzueusums aw puiads jou jim | (26 :9961 ‘ddo1g) ‘pouasuy s} snow mau ® pue ‘sasned unBaq sey Y>iym juauidorsnap 2 ‘aneamierut osje Aew Aey} ing ieyoUe mojjo; Ap2aNp ew snow 2uQ LT ainonys Aioys seq SsISUO? 11 Y>IYen JO Senow Jo raquinU ay) auIWdIep {Ie Jo 3s3y isn 2u0 “yxe) © Burzsjeue ual pue ‘sonous jelanos ancy Seu ae) 2UO “now mau w sajz—19 HDB} MAU YDLA ‘Aulesa jo 1e mau yor 21a“ unsind woy adessa ue’: suMMoySt fo wonepindy oy) yeruas uw Jo ‘ujeB e@ ~~: premat @ sowip Je axe suoRoUns jeujuzay uaUaNOUap e se pano|dule Suonaunj s9yjO" OF 10 **~ aBeueus 0} .suoRouTy. AreIpoun sraqut uBnosyy "*-y98, @ 40 *** éurwyA Woy Bulpaasoid Wuaurdojanap Aue potas) aq feu °° afer e “Sea\Bojoydsoyy ssapnysuce ddorg ‘jeep snojnayaur ut sauoys Jo sndioo sty 0} sme uiedde aanduosep stu} jo. uogeandde ayy Sunensuowag “(Ure s0djey se Suyuopouny afdoad jerenas 2q pinoo aiay)) sfenpinjput te1aA2s 4q pally 2q YBu a[0: auo asino> jo pue (ox9y asqe} Puc Bn Hog 2q Sew 2}e% a4 UF FenpIAIpUI awOs ‘ajduLexe 104) B}O1 jerperMy9 duo UeY) atou! ly Seu! JajoeseYD yenIde Ue EU ZION, ory asia (wanaja 0 (.0uney 4+) sseound 3247898) o104 tadjay sapordtouop saysyedsip: ures “S3jorIe sour TeppereyD 5829 Z soynuap! ddoig ‘suowouny te ay) 01 UORIppe. ul 7 “uogiubo2ai pue ‘uinjal ‘a/B5ANS ‘zousrajsuen apnjou; SdnoiB yexua6 2a}e pur ‘uoprestduo> 24) ate OT-g “Yonexedaad ai Jo suoqezieas fequaod a1 /—T suonoun; sn, sSuipeay jeiauab spun padnoib 212 suonouny jo staisnp Puy “(zz pue 1Z) eauerantiap pue ynsind pur “(gt pue 91) Atoja pue a66nas"(g pue z) uoRejoIn pur uomaiyord se Yons ‘sured se seyiaBoy of Apeapa ‘ajdurexa 10) ‘suicyouny urea) “souenbas Si ungim Bumuoned jewsorw auios sajou ddoig “Buoys ay) spuacse pue pouleW st ory auL TE paysiund si urea ayy og ‘souereadde mau e uani6 sj 134 BU EZ. ‘Pasouxe s1 uleyjin 10 O94 asia} aU gz peeuBo2ai si oy ayL 1Z Panjosas st yse} ayY gz 0124 aun 04 pasodoud st yse1 Nay Y SZ suwep papunojun sjuasaid c1ay asjey W bz © auOY sane “paziuBovesun ‘olay UL EZ unsind woy o1ay ayy jo anasai yy Zz pansind si ory ayy TZ anneueN Ot ‘Agunes sayjour uy 218 Narrative ‘Eveline’, from Joyce's Dubliners coll i be discussing this story in future chapters in relation to @ number of issues.) Propp's very One of the members of a family absents [himsel ‘ble mechanically. We might say, for instance, that the ‘action’ of ‘Eveline’ is a dramatization (chiefly @ mental dramatization) of a stage within that first function: One of the members of a family reconsiders a decision to absent herself from home. Where Propp!s fairytales proceed through developmental actions, ‘Eveline’ is very largely @_mental projection bathi_Torward 10 possible future events and backward to actual past ones: remem- bered before-events and imagined after-events. Notice how her Opening revery, up to senience 24, ifs Corigpectual review of past circumstances as they impinge on Eveline’s present situation. As Propp notes, a story has to begin with an inital situation, one ipto_which lement_of wilibrium is introduced by the inother of the seven preparatory func- iuation Itself that is extensively 3t 23 sentences appears to const- ing function, Nor does this tendency lapse just that with sentence 24 comes confir- tute g narrative. with Sentence 24. ™mation that introspective indirect discourse — the processes of thinking about living out a narrative of {unctional departure from the current and continuing situation — is the chief narrative mode adopted in this story {a mode | discuss further in Chapter 4). But. the emphasis on elaboration of the multiple habitual circumstances that comprise the initial situation, mere prologue to a story, remains. However, we can do some reconstruction of a simple develop- mental story when Eveline’s thoughts turn to Frank. She meets him, is taken out by him, at first-finds this ‘an excitement’ but later begins to like hi ll of that, one imagines, would count as simply one function in Proppian terms ~ ‘The heroine meets with a (benevolent?) stranger,’ Eveline’s ‘liking’ for Frank seems related, not wholly ironically perhaps, to the latter's implied story- tellings, which themselves form a skeletal story: He had started as a deck boy, had sailed through the Straits of Magellan, had fallen on his feet in Buenos Aires, and had come to the old country for a holiday. Basic story structure 19 1¢ heroine's association with Frank is a first {unetion, the second and third must be her father's discovery of that association and interdiction of its continuance: ‘{he} had forbidden her to have anything to say to him’. But subsequently had to meet her lover secret so that now (function 5?) she was to go away with him to Buenos Aires to be his wife ‘At this point in the textit seems that the gap between the story outlined in the two paragraphs above and the character's current tions closes, for the next series of thoughts that are reported, idents of family life (centred on her mother) dwelling villain, Of course in this psychological story impulses are not pure and simple, but complex and clashing — a counter- impulse is to stay, keep her promise to her mother, and submit toa ‘life of commonplace sacrifices’. The final paragraphs are ‘about that clash of impulses, the ‘maze of distress’ that renders her helpless and inert, unable to respond in any way to Frank's summon But while in one light Eveline’s refusal to leave at the story's close can be designated as helpless failure, as an abortive move or episode or, worse, a succumbing to the villainy of oppression at home and at work, in another light, with Frank as the villain, her rejection of him may be viewed as ‘manipulation resisted’, as @ positive act of sisterhood uniting Eveline with her mother. We shall find the pattern of these contrary readings neatly highlighted by Greimas’ typology of character roles (which he calls actants), to be discussed in Chapter 4. But now, and not for the question of reductivism. Is no a_procedure, t time, we may want to raise the oscur, and also ignores the varying details of sto retort to this that a structuralismorphological approach has to ‘reduce’, and quite exp! non-essential. Essential {and non-essential) with regard to what?, we might ask. Essential to the meaning, or rather, to meaning, would come the reply! For just as the phonologist, in positing all the core and distinct sound units of a language, the phonemes, deliberately discounts all the phonetic variation which does not constitute a meaning-bearina, word-chanaino variatinn cn the& ajar yun © Bie ysiym “seaqpuy (q) pue suousuny odf-ddoig, (peo 1yB1w am yorum) TatOTe sue ES, paurest ueeur am qaiym AG ‘[Aresso|6 eas) SLUOUDUNY SMYL “(68 :L/61) [ena] WifOUe Te “aryRAS TO [PAG] auUs Sif, US SYIio — faye MORITA Oy SUIOD TRA Te) JuOUITIS ue Bugueld ‘enpeneu syr ur smos S| WOHDUNY © JO eouesss ol] “uanup, st anneLteu Yorum Aq YeuT “uONDUN Jo JEN ‘Janay yxy ip YIM Op oF FjarqUE IsoUNE st sioNO} Tey (yayzn’s 20 ‘sinoasip ‘esinoosip pauuay aney am yeym o} yuajeainba) uopeneu ¢ (stuoi20 se wroi 0} sraja1 — mojaq passnasip — sewed se sayyel ‘ siajpeieyp, 0} siajai ay YDIyra Aq) suoIIe z (puowaig ‘doug ut se) suoouny ~ Tainjonns sagedieu jo sjanay “rwleiit sang sesodond 9p -Aesso Awea sq ut ‘syun jo ABO|odA) jeoypzeiaiy e 10} peat ayy pue ‘sisAjeue Jo sia areredas 0} paou ay sozseycuua soypeg Ayenoqied aro (8 “L261 ‘Sauyueg) *asinoasip, yoOY: 51" * aouatuas @ se ysnf* * aotialtas, Buo] ® st asinoDsip 7 spourouoa st — SSUBUTRST- SBI, - SpeoyAds so 10} se ysv2j Je “asINODsIp pue souatuas uaamieq uogejar jeriSojowoy e sod soop ay Ing “20UaIUES 94] puoseg BuI0B soysinBuy puocas, e unbor Bpnis asinoosip yey sajou yng ‘sisjeue eageueu 10) |apow Ipuno} @ se p|euosear suees, sousinBul eI siseBbns OL, (tg LL61} “PPOU ayy wos} yedap puR oj ULO;UOD doUO Je YatURN sajzads anjeueu juaraiyip ay) spiemo) japour sy) Lio UMOP yeYm) UoRdudsap jo jepow jeagaurodsy e esinap 04 ssiy pabyQo ‘ginpaooid aauonpap & 0} pauUepUdD si sishjeue anneueN, eq 298 cp aidey ye12U2B ay 0} suonentesqo zemaqred ayy wos} Suynow ul payee TZ aanyonys Auojs 218eg Aeuorstnord aiqennaul ayy ayidsap ‘xye] aty spuayep pue ‘{Apnys anneueu pue ssysinbuy ul) spoyjau anonpep snsian angonput juounfre ue yim suiBaq (9961 UI Youers uF poysygnd 61) onsnponuy, snowey saypeg ‘Ajareudordde Ajamuy eayeueu uo sayueg ‘ddoig Jo suopensads anyanpur ayy 10} uoyesynsn{ fenUasse ay) are dsei6 jo Aypeuowuod pue tuauleaabe jo Ayjeiaua6 sty “any “anys jo dsei5 UowUoD e “Yoys ut ‘Bulsopsip ~ uo os pue uoRe -TyayeIeY> ‘O|d UI jequassa-uOU pur JegUasca si Jey sano JUL! -2aiBe yequeysqns Buisopsip (soprunuiuios ajoym uana) siapeat jo sdnoaB puy Appear op am ing ‘seninoyyip quasard seme wn (seagonys jo\d pue sjojd jnoge Supe} jo shem pauogipucs pue opgnd ano wey we) sIuaWEpN! ang ino ye BuRIe5 fiyeat jo ssouisng ay “axe sIs6jeue pasea-soyuieg 30 ~ddoig 8 JO suogerzedxe pue sjeoB ayy yeym sn! pulu ul daay osje am ssojun Spadosd passesppe 29 jouues suogsanb yons ing “parep =jreauy si snyeiedde engduasap ajoym au so\aym 10 ‘aiqisuajep st uisiuoRIMUE Yons 29yIayM s} JapIsuCa Oj LONSANb ayy “sndiod ayy uy souoys ap jo aimjongs uoNse etUassa ayy Aj;sads 0) Aressa00U Suonoun) Ajuo ay are (sadéy jo SulBrew payysniun 20u uoReD IGnp ssa{paeu Joyiou yin) paynuapt suoHDUTY TE ayy. “(aemnoND juado azinb 51 Buluosess ay) “sisuoatp papuiul-ajduuis yin ajtym) luiod sup 2e uomiul 0} sjeadde s2|UNo2DUS ayo Ke ayy, é,p2au, si JO spunoiB ayy aie ‘yse [Ins 1YBIuL am ‘eym ing sndio3 UaAG Ou) 40} ~ papaau axe suoyouny TE ysnf ‘siamsue Aproydun ddorg vasnesag ¢zf 10 OF iu Ay” {SUONIUN TE Kym yse YB om Pareax ‘Puy “seu TT asoyy ysnf ‘oyDads alinb sem sndioo WY 2uIS ‘PausaUOD Sem jlasuY ddorg se 19} se YBNoue dreys sem Atepunog ayy yBnowpe = siséieue uerddoig e fq paisnc Atpasoddns sauoys jo jas Aue 0} Rrepunog dieys e ‘uodn ysisul 10 ‘2as oy Asea ssaj $3] “Uo Os pue ‘spiom ysBUy ‘spunos ystBUy JOU are pue aie jeym moqe sjuautBpn{ anginjul Buogs ancy ata Yo apisino pusys o} prey s,1 Bujyawos st as aBenBuel 124 s} ‘2500 aurauoyd ay Jo taBuans ay, ¢ABojeUe au; s| aiqeuar mop} Uuiygimn suonIpUuod jeAUaSsA at BuIAjnUapl si Bulop os Ut pue ‘saje} fares ueissny jo aBensuel ey oxy ‘aBenBuel-rurur e jo sun ang -pueu oseq au) BurAyquapl si ay ely aNBue jim IsyeIMIONNS A10\S, eageueN Oz es| lich is nevertheless necessary to | meaning of the story. (Barthes, 1977: 92) They include indices to characters’ psychological states, notations of ‘atmosphere’, and so on. While functions proper are distribu- tional, sequential, ‘completed’ Turther on in the story. = and so have a kind of syntagmatic ratification, indices are said to be integrational., hierarchically-orjented, realized by r some higher, integrated level, a paradi; fi a broad continuum, Barthes suggests, there are heavily functional narratives such as folktales, rather sharply contrasted with heavily indicial ones such as psychological novels A further cut is now introduced. Fynctans proper are of two fypes:, «D Cardinal functions or nuclet or, to use Chatman’s attractive label, ‘kernels’ (in Chatman, 1969):' these are real of narratives, moments of risk (when things can go they occur consecutively and with consequen 2)Catalysers (not the best of terms): these fill in the narrative Space between nuclei, and are described as parasitic and unilat- eral by Barthes, areas of safety and rest. For example, a ringing telephone or a delivered letter may herald a real nucleus in a catalysers, indices proper (charged with implicit relevance) informants (depthless, transparent, identificatory data), i} Indices involve an act of deciphering, | know a character or an atmospheré reader is to learn to formants bring ready- their functionality is weak. (Barthes, made knowledge 1977; 96} Finally Barthes notes that a unit can be a member of more than one class at a time: one could be both a catalyser and an index, for example. And he notes that in a sense nuclei (kernels) are the special group, with the other three unit types being expansions rovide the necessary framework, the other three Basic story structure 23 Barthes goes on to appeal for descriptive study not merely of the ‘major articulations of narrative’ but of the organization of the smallest segments, which he sees as combi into coherent {gequencesy fia sequence is a logica! succession of nuclei bound together by a relation of solidarity: the sequence opens when one of Its terms has no solidary antecedent and closes when another of its terms has no consequent. (1977: 101) For example, ‘having a drink’ is suggested as a closed sequence the following nuclei: order a drink, obtain it, drink it, pay for it, (But is paying as obligatory and integrated as the other three nuclel?) Now thé business of seeing a sequence in such a string ' of reported events, and labelling it as ‘having a drink’ (rather than, say, “quenching one’s thirst’ or ‘making oneself socially: available’) is for Barthes the kind of projective interpretive activity} their narrative processing. It's what he later subsumes under his proaleretic code (Barthes, 1970). Naming is a key act‘of mentai processing, under the assumption. that the reader can’t remember everything she reads, and instead registers, and may even verbalize, the broad scenario, the main threads, in a narrative - a kind of incremental and revisable 24 précis-making and paraphrasing, It does not appear that Barthes 2 drew on psycholinguistic evidence in his assumptions and theo- rizing of ‘sequence naming’, but there are some interesting paral jels between his proposals here and more recent psycholingu ist research on narrative which I will refer to in Chapter 7. FUNCTIONS ~ ACTIONS (characters) ~ NARRATION (discourse) Barthes’ scheme can be set autas follows: named sequence: [nucleus... nucleus. . nucleus} {bound together) ically ‘An invaluable ctitical demonstration of the Barthesian4 (1 16961 ‘ueuneyD) {Buran ayy Suryoyem pue Buns ays st Ay eAyyy, UoUsand au sasjes 11 asneseq — anuane 24} apenur Buuand ay Burysyem mopuyn ayy 1e yes '2yS, — eusay ev se pajaidiaqur aq ysnus auijang, ut aouRIUIS js1y 34 suasse ay uaym suogsand Aureus sBaq uewReYD “(sajou osje ‘qv Eq ‘21ND se) ApemIs {q0U 10 ¥| 1BmsUR JaypIO UeD, dassezppe AYR Uo[seI00 Y>ee UO JeUT spuNoIB AY} UO ‘jaLUDy e se Janou UY uiny ya2ads Jpaxp Aiand 10H 0} om aie 'yset LaMsUE 0} JOU LO Jamsue O}, ay) UO 'Uay) ING] ’sN Pula UORESIaALGD Jo syssyeuR se ‘onows Butuado ue ‘suowuins @ ‘uoyeniuy ue st SuibuL euoyderoy B Ayureria> :anBen O01 isn{ a1e ary Pooujeulay 10 BUA ay]. saquinu Suoim e 5,1 ‘Ges 01 pautjout aq 1yBiut 2ndans aug iON + sujey ro/d yuaLayIP omy Jo S198 aD1049 a4 OU 20 i Jamsue J2ypIs Ue Plog sawler ‘mou :sBuu uouda|ay oy] (EL 56961) Sam UeWITeYD 7XA1 Papua Jo JuALUSSISse pue Suyuuess Inj e Jo 1YBi oly UL ‘Klannoadsonar apews aq jue ued suoss}pap Yong “ALepUOD’s AjUstaYyu s{ WOE DY) SsOIIe Buinow s,puog 1ey) ‘Tapnu dpuaiayut ae Suuamsue pue Sulu ouoyd ayy Jeu) UoRdunsse auf st day LONSAND IyBIU am YEU, “moy jo yuer ayy Woy ouoYdalay speiq ay dn payoid af ‘due Buipess papeys uaas6 ayy fg jse9 34yBy] jo jood ay? pue ysap [enue a~ OF ApjMb panow pue peuin) puog “woos yop ay; u! Buai souoydajas ayt fo eu s{eusey u2emiag 20u2 ~r2yIp ayy JO voREURIaKs SueUMFETD Bunumwwexa Aq pauigno oq zd swajgoid asaiy jo auiog jueUo;U; Ue pue redosd xapuy ue ‘zastjeyea e ‘snajonu e jou s| pue S| Jey aBpn{ 4yuapyuos ues am. {evalu 24m Aq) moy Jano zemoMed U! pue ‘fepour sayLEg jo Auqeondad ayp Burwzedui0s ureusas susaigoid ‘jeusreus dageneu Jo voHRzuoBares Aem-mno} 2ISeq sate Jo suouseMe axg ayidsoq, “Ayjeniza}j0uN pue ‘inp 01 VoIssituqns ‘aouapUadap Jo SoH) -jenb ae suyjang, wos} azqeiauab Auew yey sooipuy au Buowy SZ ainjonys Aris aiseg ajoum e se sayeueu siaulgng ays jo ainjongs sIseq ay jo asuas @ dn ping fay se ‘uo os pue ‘siuewuguut ‘seaIpul Buyeu “Wop J9eNXe O} paadoid fm + ‘srapeas Auey “Slangzadse: ‘uoisnyuos Buyupua pue ‘voyerioen pue Aeujunaapuy Jo ‘Alojs augue ay) o} aouaaja1 ym “TeOK ~2pul ose aie Hay) ‘saouauas asayy ul uoHerydde oy;gads soup SaP9g “enoge 9 pue g suoHoUNy Jo asino> ay ul pasn aie 1eyR az pue Busoms spiom ayy ‘a[dwexa 20} ‘aanon “jor e Aejd ‘anBie 1B am ‘syeiap yenzxa) Jsaljeuis ayy Uanq “uoqeUaseld PaveBauy ue oy anquyuos jJe ‘xadoud suonsuny ayy Aq uanuip, Syedound sj ey) quaudojanap anyeueu ay: Buidueduosse size “Alere> pur ‘ouijang ioereyo ay jo sjueuLiojul pue saziput yeu 2ouapina adie sapinord uewyeY- ‘A10}s payer e Yyons Ul JedxD JBI am se ‘Puy “uoRDafar anguljap e UeY? 130/01-0}-BuIULiBag @ 1OUL Sj! 3S2BHNS pinom ‘ Jesnjo4, 'sso/6 s,ueUNey> UeYY IHeYdWS ‘Ss9j $1 pua ay) 1e Meme Buuuny s,autjang wang “senjaswiaty suoqoe uo wey) Joye ‘Buryjawos op 0} Apa: Buliab pue ‘Bulyjauios Suop joge Bupuiyy ‘2oueostutwias ‘uopoayar punoze paaryonys Gaoys ay) :eBueyp yeoishyd ueu sayyer Alnnde feUaUL oF LOR “oye s Aioys au 32aya4 adoad suoNuNy 10 sjauray aya Jo sasso[5 paaqendes s,ueuqey puy ‘senowi 10 saBeis jo ssoupa}souu0> esnbar ayy yum ‘Aioys w sya} Aqureyed: eantonus (ea[ays STH (ivsns3¥) iON iON iON g (09 O4 SH ONION SsiNYHA) ‘puRY Jay a7[95 [yUEL] Hay 2yS Z {ALaIXNY OL SNIONVHD NOISIOAAN!) “AMMP Joy sem JeyM 194 MOY of “124 ENP 0} pod 0} paseid ays 'ssensip jo azeu e jo INE 9 (nivana OL ONTEvETEd) "TEM, UHON au 2 uoRers ayy UE prow Buriems ay: BuoWwe poojs ays ¢ (ONINOLLSAND) casim Jey sey, (09 OL NOISIOG 3H1 ONISHVSHSY) ‘euloy say anea] or © -Aeme OB 0} BuoB sen ays mon g (ONIOSININGH) °° * Aaj ©} Pasn Kays YoIyen ut azoyr play e Aq 0} pasn aiayy aU DUO Z {ONTHOO CNY ONILLIS) juana ayy Bulyojem mopuins ayy eres BUST “anuane ayy apenu i 7 papuadde sBuiyjaqe] samardionin s,uew,2yD yum ‘mojaq asauypjsif | 80S ayy Ut SpoUIOY 40 suoRsuns anneueu e109 g ysnf sayquapl UeUNeYD “Ja;deyo siyy UL Sjanisuayxa ssnosip | eWy * aUIJERg, “ios auzes ayy UO 410M OF ESOS YOIYM "(G9GT) UEUIYD st 7X2} e OF paydde AusUIyDeW a angeueN bZ26 Narrative Any utterance can prompt, in the listener/addressee, the question Why? a reader, through the grammar (in a broad sense of the f the text, in pursuit of more local and grammatical marks of the core narrative events. Ultimately, however, when we offer a determination of what the kemel narrative utterances are, we have to operate holistically and teleologically. And assumption is necessary in order fo apply any criterion of wx formedness. An analogous truism is that you can't parse a sentence until 4"A/9%f you've tead it Notice, however, that y before you have finished reading it - I think we typically do. But we know that the analysis is provisional, may not ‘go through’ if we find @ configuration of relations that is out of the ordinary, the unmarked form. We know, then, not to put too much trust in our parsing until the reading is complete, and we've seen all the structure there Is to see. Thus as we read It was John who. can, start to parse we expect that John is the ‘underlying subject’, the ‘doer’, made the focus through a clefting device. But if we read on and find John is in fact the underlying object, the ‘done to’ — It was John who the boys attacked, — we're not at all troubled by the need for revision, To revise the truism, then: u can begin to parse a sentence or text before you've ished reading it, but you know you may need to revise your 1 analysis, yee 58 The well-formedness test mentioned above is related to the grammatical distinction between obligatory and deletable material. In narrative ‘grammar’, there is a similar assumptio while catalyser_and indexical material on character and setting are deletable, the functional kernels are obligatory material whi ‘on.their own, constitute a coherent “bare” narrative (and recooni ably related to the full version) ~ the etd wml cons tute no sort of coherent narrative at all. The upshot of these qualifications and reservations should be that we see more clearly that keels and catalysers and so on. ‘are not so much textual ‘givens’ as analytical constructions; and ain 5 2s into which Basic story structure 27 lains, using a Saussurean phrase, they are in one plot or at one level of description wil nother. For the hero wait for the since it logically requires a temporal consequence: the villain arrives and is shot down. But at another level these functions are sat the kernel ‘revenge’, a consequence of an initial kemel such as ‘suffering harm’. In ‘Eveline’, for example, the actions of the past which the heroine recalls could be organized into kernels and satellites, but within the story they become satellites or expansions of a kernel such as "weighing the evidence whe ‘must accept thal we recognize kernels only when we ideaty the role of an action in the plot or,, ib pa it another way, (<< Promote an action to a_constituent of plot... One cannot \y"~ determing the role or function of an action withouf considering | hc: ifS consequences and its place in the story as a v ce int tory as a whole. (Culler, 1975b: 135-6) ee in this retrospective process of sense-making and plot-determi- nation, Barthes’ notion of ‘sequence-naming’, or something similar, must be crucially involved. That is to say; as we read through ‘Eveline’ we must be constructing a model no leaning Fer head is always ti ‘around’ all our involvements with narratives that Barthes says| we have ‘a language of plot’ within us even before we approach| any particular story. ‘An outward sign of having made sense of the textual data is the production of reasonable paraphrase, l.e., a paraphrase that neither we nor other readers find incongruous or absurd. The paraphrase could be very long, many times the length of the original (as most literary critical articles on ‘Eveline’ are), or it‘yeym Bufjauepl 1e poob 18 Aayy ‘fe jo Aijeronuo ysopy “sang, -RUPU UI SjuaNa pue sIo}eIeYD weLOduU a1OW ai BuIKyDeds U1 SuIDYS palepyen-fyunuui0D dojanap ajdoad yeu st ‘jsaBBns pinomn J ueaw st jey/y ‘saueuUns jo; Bupueysiepun pue Bursnpoid ye adape awiovaq op ‘suogisodsipaid jemyjn jesientun-uou snouen uadi6 ‘e006 ut ajdoad yey — pincys Ajains am se ~ 6pa -Jmouy2e am uaym Raw am Jey" PuLIsIapuN o; paau am ‘Udy “yseordde 2ouatedwios anyinyu, s,10Q JO vOREDyIpOU! 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Narative relative to their own frameworks of world knowledge and cultural One of the questions we need to try to answer is how on earth they do this. That they should do it is surely no great surprise: it is merely an instance of the process of ranking or ordering things that we do all the ime in all sorts of activities, making rational decisions about what things most need our attention ~ again, given our limited resources of time, money, eneray. Some such emphasis is attended to when Culler goes on to examine ‘Eveline’, first noting that we can construct and agree on hierarchies of appropriate plot summaries, from very succinct to rather detailed ones. If we set a culturally homogeneous group of people the task of summarizing, say, a short story, in 20, 40 and 100 words, the degree of agreement over what to mention, and what to discard is often gratifying (sharp disagreement may be due either to weak skills of summarizing or some covert subcul- tural clash). Culler notes how various potentially important plot incidents are eventually rejected by us as not central to plot, more an indirect description of Eveline's consciousness: for example, the man out of the last house going home, Eveline watching irom | her window. But ‘She had consented to go away... Was that wise?” is immediately recognized as an important structuring element ‘which enables us [lo re-interpret preceding material}... and to structure the material. (Culler, 1975b: 130) And he adds: ‘As we move through ‘Eveline’ we must decide which actions serve only to characterize _her and the situation in which she has placed herself. which of these are crucial attributes involved in-the change compassed by the pla, and which actions are in fact crucial as actions. (134) a Well, perhaps. But most readers reading ‘Eveline’ know that it was written by Joyce, that it is therefore ‘Literature’, and that failure to nominate a clear developmental plot, in such fiction, has its own cultural warrant, In other words, perhaps ‘Eveline’ is too category-marginal, too de-automatizing of plot logic, to be a suitable exemplification of our standard ability to summarize. (A rather more straightiorward story, also about leaving home and the familiar, is supplied in the first exercise appended to this Basic story structure 31 chapter.) When asked what happens in ‘Eveline’ it isn’t absurd to reply ‘I'm not entirely sure’, although such a verdict-on the plot of, say, a James Bond novel, would be felt to be defective. In the case of ‘high fiction’, perhaps more than elsewhere, the force of James’s famous observation seems especially telling: What is character but the determination of incident? What is incident but the illustration of character? (1963: 80) At any rate, Culler goes on to defend Propp's teleolosical conception of plot structure — rightly, | think —in which evaluation of acts is held in abeyance until their significance within the encompassing sequence is perceived. He also notes that such retrospective definition of units relies very much on internalized cultural models shared oy readers (e.9.,.sitting by a window and recollecting the past need to be recognized as a cultural index — cliché even — signalling introspection and serious reflection). And ‘on another level, leaving home (as Eveline contemplates doing) is deeply culturally significant (with a special resonance for Joyce and readers of Joyce). On comparing, evaluating, and falsifying theories of story In his celebrated ‘Introduction to the structural analysis of narra- tive’, Roland Barthes asserts that ‘it is impossible to combine (to produce) a narralive without reference to an implicit system of units and rules’ (1977: 81). Propp’s system was just the first of very many ‘grammars’ aimed at describing that system of units and rules. As Culler (1975a: 206) notes, the diversity of proposals teecomes baffling, but the real problem remains ‘the lack of explicit procedures for evaluating competing approaches’. Relat- edly, Rimmon-Kenan (1983: 14) has observed that in story descriptions (whethet these are in the form of one-word labels or clause-size propositions - Prop supplies both} persistent prob- lems concern consistency and uniformity in the description. And without consistency in description, comparison and generalization would seem to be very difficult to achieve. As Culler later added (Culler, 1975b: 125), reliability and replicability of the procedures of analysis-cum-descrigtion depend on the explicitness and coher- ence of the governing criteria: 7 Each theory, constrained to define for itsel! the ba” ot 2.5saino atp uC “SSAHexTeU UTS UND 1S SAIS EITT|ODIay ath jo ‘part sseyduia Apeaie ‘aouenoduyy ayy jo Japunuas e si ajduexe sigs ‘payeiozapar Bulaq sem aovid ay apym ‘euioy ray anea| oF ‘Aeme o8 0} paruasuos pey aus p ssquana ayeipauruy pue 2yeueIp aio jo Aeue ue uantS 1209 HeUNs Aron, aq 1yBtus awWoY ava] O} payyasuo> pey feNpinipul Ue yey) ey ap 'SOUOIS jo SHOs auios | “HopialLS anueiairKe-oo B ST opt o} HURT ey qWAWarsheMIe PInoUs Sm ‘os Buiop uj “A10\s ayy uy BiMDTAIS TOF JO SSINSSPDRIP TuCCdalT a10u 94 Jo BuO s (ve Bouauas) “awoy 194 anea} o} ‘Aeme 08 0} payuasuoa pey 24S, ‘umes siapeos Auew se ‘Ayr 28s 0} Sulfin Aq peescid sn i] yng 2BHeeY> 0} puane ‘pears ‘40 ‘s|UEP_UI 10} BuP{Oo] 9q — Sqjewuou se — pynoys am zeyjaym ains KloxmuE 1OU 23,9m AzOIs SIA peal am se ‘sjuasaid auyang, yey LoHeDydUIOD aty ayeISA1 Of, ainjongs Jo]d yo uopezjoeuUTeIS ay Jo YoIeas Uy siojd payejar-Aqpeuoneuojsuen, AAUEpL we? am pur jojd 0} jequasse jou sy yeum Buidjuapr ul aaiBe uayo ueD am ‘sjojd azueununs of Ayige ue eazy op am ‘ueay 10 pear am sangeneu ayj jo sjojd 21seq ayy Inoge seep} oMUYp euNb ancy, op am :2zeys 0} waas siepeas jeu) 2ouajaduiod, angeUeU ayy Jo uogeiojdxe raeuoid Buneutase} e se ‘arp ‘ddorg 22s pinoys ayy, : 3yoog ay Ut siuIod snoHen Ye UIede uodn yono} jn | JeUB sanss! ~ Moar) Ares2iq| pue soHSINBU YiOG, uy asue Squanbay yey) Amgeysfe!-ioayy pue vogenfene-lepoui JO Sensst BYy JO UORUBUI ISI BU} JO Mem Aq ote SyTeUiAL asouy, ‘uonsanb ul einge} aun 01 1uenafa Aiea eq 10u pinom symsax ayy yey) 2ase10} UeD am esnesaq Ing PIIeaLt aq inom 4 asnesaq JOU 'UONerapIsuO jo No Ya} 2q Osje ued ang “{sjssyeue yeanyonns jo} siseq e se pasn aq Ue japous [241] “yuaquo9 aqueuias jo M1094) auo jo uoNRUasaId AugBua] @ Jo aso 24) 12 ‘SauM ays Wak aouendiar jo suORTIU! jeUOsiad (gen aauapuadepiotul s,fionewieysss uo siseyduio 1y8x out snl saved (€Z :Sg61) 12g UousuOUaLyd autos jo Burpueysiopun ano gE aryonys fois 280g Bujpuenpe jo quaqu! ou Ym UoReNsads ‘annemoeds Ayessa—u St "aouais ye ai “Aioayy Ry “Aa;oos sejnaq ed e@ Woy} yehleue 2emoured @ jo (amyno ay) "2"! seouazajaxd jenuiqey pue sisozajut aun jo'STaTr ow: uy papunoué syzewias jo wetaneyo, Dt pue “Maors ynoge Surzuoayy ye uj ureas onneinoeds ayy pum ut doo pInous 2M “Puno} aq oF ax2ay 51 Buy ayy yey Ysqeise 11 s2op JOU “}: PUY Iles ROA saatuELeNB hem ou ut Bulyjawos 40) Yo1e9s OF Ing, * (unaishs Buyeag-Buuesus pue aituy e jo Led (njBuyweau. = SLX ‘vo os pue “uoHoUn! peol e 1e paris AIQgeuns ‘jo ate yy SIUBY pax pue uaei6 uaamyaq ‘pareuluuny sty} Uaym Ng “UMO sil Uo "yan YON) <,ueaUL, IYBY| ZoquIe Ue sop IeHPy “2UO a[duaIs & are stub ayjen “vos sty] jo sui2jsAs xajduio2 are aBenBuel 2 Jo Spunos pue Areinqe2on at11) “urEIsAs ayy UY sue: Aa4IO 24 © wouejas ut parapisuo ueym Sulueow ancy Auo pur afqeuyon Stuo ae 184) suisa) — waisés 2 ut suui0) fenuossa oy) atnisto> eu s\uoUW9|> PareouayUy jo 395 w 10) $1 YoHEAS ay), {1DaIq0 10 afgns yo uogouny aig Buruuopad Aishouen asesyd unou swies, 2 39) a1e1 BM O1 UoIsN|DUE> we 40 ‘AioIS Oy UL LOReDielutos Sea ue aq pinoy ‘paysinBuysip os 1 pue ‘suonsun; angened }ouNsIP ain Om Jo uopeaea: ayr aq ue> (AauiOW Jo wns e vani6 $1 oxay o42 B'2) uoyae awes ay) Atjemxo;u09 Yeu) UI pue “uapio awes 24) ul an300 sfemie Aaip Jeu ut “Uo sneuiS\pered © se jem Se aouEDy!UBIS HeMIBEUAs e aney sucRoUTy s,ddoig 292} Uf “(BOF SZ6T “22IND) seoueIEYN Jenjoe ul sem snouEN Ut parseytuews oq” Ue yoidm jun jeuoKoUR) e st awouoYd ou S@ jsn{, ‘siaquious snouen ym swibipered paypusn aie ‘ajdusoxs 40} ‘suoHouny pue s9j01 siy :s/iem jo Ajauwn & Ut jlfeinianuts st 9b} Suuep e804} 0} 1uasse anginjUL Ano syoas ay ple '{siUsWBpN sf voddns 01 wy fq pasn sana sem stueuuoyur Buisn ise uoweaqdal 0u) 2for 1eNSqe e[BuIs v Jo suogezqea: alisuOD yUeUeA diaulE aie Salois snoulen ut siojpereya snouen yeu) Buiosse ut “aldusexa 20) “annyra Bui aejfioqred Bupiasse “Oy SpuNoAs si -UanuiniaT auNd nq sisSjeue jo SSINpSSOI Ty Fo Weney ur sspears 37 OF AUCU JOSH ayy SAGs daoT vainjanaas yofd jo sisspeue Ue 49 sjpoB ayy ynoge aouay pue sayseoidde Bugadiuos Sunenjene ui pasn aq 0; sua ay) ynoge Asnoues Suny) fq nq warshs 1yloue rahi Buysaxe Aq aq OU [jm yt speuL 2q 03 54 ssauBoid Aue jj exeduioa o1 ynoyyip axe hayy AQUanb -2Su02 pue ‘paquasep 2q ued yo1d Aue Ayjeonzed yoiym jo sua} UL wieists pauleIuos-jjas pue yuarayoo & souioraq ‘onneneU anyeuen 7634 Narrative 3 hand itis only fair to say that ‘permanently leaving home’ seems “fl ~ a significant and “‘ellable’ event in mos i 4 in probing the high plot-structuring status of sentence 24,we % should first compare it to the 23 i When we come to look al we must relate sentence 24 to all that follows it as well as Precedes it, but it should be worth first approaching the sentence the way a first-time reader would, ‘rom the lel, seen im the textual light only of those sentences that precede ‘it And wha: we find, in those preceding sentences, are various grammatica Cues that deflect or argue against treatment of the content af Trany of those sentences as crucial namative events We 5 cruciai_n may begin by looking at the finite verbs of the opening sentence ‘in emphasis of the finite verbs) She sat at the window watching the evening invade the avenue. (1) Her head was leaned against the window curtains and her nostrils was the odour of dusty cretonne. (2) She was trod, All ate distinguished by being stative verbs (see glossary), cr ion, with no intrinsic implication of change. Now one im ly questionable assumption | seem lc is that if we are looking for the reporting of narrative events we should Jook particularly and only_at. the finite-verbs ln fesponse to such a complaint | should stick by the ‘particule but not the ‘only’. Almost any major part of the clause can ‘express: change-of-state, including non. ite verbs: (2) Chick watched the men confront McAndrew, shoot him, carry his body on the back of a pack-mule out to the bottom piece, and bury him. And narratives can be expressed through nominallzations (sce glossary): (b) Chick saw @ confrontation between the men and MeAn: drew, the latter's death by shooting, the transportation of the body by mule to the bottom piece, and its burial Basic story structure 35 looking for narrative events ‘particulariy’ in finite verbs. The finite verb, in_short, is the unmatked, preferred and unexceptional Vehicle for expression of plot events, while the other forme have mentioned are marked and noticeable aliernatives. Accordingly, and while mindful that our assessment is probabilistic and cor. gible in the light of later text, we calculate that, for example” the embedded clause ‘the evening invade the avenue’ (embedded under the Vérb oF static condition sat) does not express a crucial plot event. : The text continues: Few people passed, (4) The man out of the last house passed on his way home; she heard his footsteps clacking along the concrete pavement and afterwards crunching on the cinder before the new red houses. (5) One time there used to be a field there in which they used to play every evening with other people's children. (6! What of sentence 4? Are there any intrinsic grounds for doubting this clause’s plot-structuring importance? Perhaps only if we compare it with the nearly synonymous A few people passed. The latter could be used to describe the passage of a particular group of pedestrians {e.g., ‘A few nuns passed’), where we respond by wondering ‘What sort of people?’. This is not true of the textual alternative without the indefinite article, which lacks the required sense of deietic (see glossary) or spatiotemporal specificity; it is, rathef, a summative, retrospective and hence descriptive, rather than narrative, comment. And the term denoting the participants here, people, is one of a group of noticeably general, all-purpose items {others are thing, person, stuff) noted in Halliday and Hasan (1976). While lacking the deictic delimitedness that would render it suitable to be followed by a punctual temporal phrase, the clause readily accepts qualifi- cation by a durative phrase: 2Few people passed at 6.30. Few people passed between 6 and 7. ci A few people pasted at 6.30. A few people passed between 6 and 7Apeaiye ue jo asn sy pue ‘ares Jo aBueyp zeal e Buyssardxe qian plweUsp % ‘220} angRnyny ‘yDadse ‘snap st JO swe) Ut QT aouaqtas Jo ssaUIDUNSIP anyeLieU ayy WOH} }eNAP Oo} 6: ‘Op say anisayoo Yans ty “smoTTO} IeYY jowOH, MOIUIEIOXe oul UL paoype s1 SWOY, JO UORUAU ai} PUR ‘asety Jo UONeUIqUIOD fue so ‘uung aay pue sayour peep ray Alqissod 10 ‘sraye yy, ayt 10 ‘siajsis pue siayoiq pauonLaUI-‘jsnoma:d ay) .or pay Ayjeouoydeue Kayeuuuarepur s} siayJo oy} OMI, UT sIDyIO, aU, SpT aouaqUas JO Y>eq aUOB, ay} OF payejer Mypertxay si Teme o5, aut :inyauayd axe 7x01 Buypunouns aun Due QT 2ouatuas usamiaq syuy a4 “009 Ssinoo aunjny Pepuayuy Ue BUISSTEK ‘2210) aaguininy sey osje 3 quasaid szayuny otf O} paiuaHo zoueiann AY $1 Su 10N] "adse anissaiBord ut (AuyiqeainyssauBoud s| sys DIWIeUSP 40 359} Aton ayy) Qian TELA Apiaydxe Ue YUM ‘JuEsoud aaqeneu s Jequyaayeads ay 0} paiuauo 5] *,Uuayp, Jo SadUeISUt snomnaid ay I]2 01 seTUOD Bupjins ul ‘MON, WHoIep Tewrord our Aq paonponuy ‘Bulpasaid asou; ye Woy JUNI aNd AyjeaneEs -weiB 20ueialin ue s2junovue em Op OT SIUBTUAS {RIM SUD Seep ‘GT Ut SOURIS “ust (PaioipuEUN Ajjeonsiep “21 ssjun e pue ‘qian ‘asuay oapied sed ‘uesip @ ym BuSoP “pl pue Et seouaiues uy suogdussep jeuoneja! onneys jo sous. e aney am ‘Urey (ou) ‘@uoY 194 anva{ O} ‘siayIo ayy axIj Keme OB 0} BUIOB sem ays ‘mON (ST) ‘SeBuey> Sunacuang (pT) “Pue|Buy 03 4>eq 2u0 pey s19}e/M ay) pue ‘0o} ‘peap Sem uuING ee2IL (ET) “Pesp sem J@yJOUL Jay ‘dn umouB jIe a1am siaqSI5 Pue S1aiO1q z9y PUe ays sanuguod 1xa} ay (raidey> you ay) ul paonpoxut Kuadoid aq jim auaBaipenxa, tiie ayy) “052 aun Buol & sem Tey], ‘suoHDeyas asey) jo aimreu TABSIPEAKs, aup sereimidesar smojjo) yey) UOMeaiasqo ayy Inq ‘{Aresso|B Bas) ‘@aysuaruy pur angels aue sqien urew soy 2ouIs Aenviue Suner lui |uand-uoU Apuaiayl asinoD JO 218 SedUaTUAS snoge ay], (ati ‘anije sem sayjOU 204 ‘SepIsaq pue “ALB Peg Os JOU sem 194) sa} (LT) “uaty Sddey s24yer uaeq neyo} pausaas Sain YS juquywioad Sqeyseusss 21e-(uo-05-pue-youruayy-arays “BUNT BuO) SoUDPP [SIG asad [szaqUIGT aul “seo Siu) Ul '20) soyeeds ai Woy UONeRIS pu sitians Bij 0 ssouD|ows! oonee! ou) Sulioyuted “Sissies PRodwarcyEdSs 15" Sfep SuUEIsIp jo asn 75 panuonys Auows aiseg, t I aniseed ayy sf ausyes-uou od BuysoBEns punois puoges aijp ; (soseyduio ad ‘xu wio4y wede) x1u day oy pasn ySoay api dyjonsn nq Play 24) JO MO UL wy) juNY o} UaYo pasn JaMes 1a} Buymonjoy “3qj Ul ~enysseaxe—sousje—sausossq Tey seqeltiio ue ‘pavesder pue jeruigeiy se-potiodar quand ayy us sseydwS juahbay) uy sf 300 4ueuldojeAep AIO O| eps Se jenate Si JO sou! BUNUNOSSIp TO] SpUnOI GAG Ajeosseq aie ary (g) “siaisis pue srayioig ray pue ays ‘addy ayy yBooy oni ‘sung ax) ‘sie ayy ‘sauinag ayy — pray Jey ut satpaBo} Geld oF pasn anuane au jo uaipyiys ayy (2) “sjoor Suruiys wpm sasnoy yauq jyBE Ing sasnoy umosq ay OUR OH, Ou — 7 UI sesnoy Ing pue PAey ay) YBN Ise;jag Woy UeUL @ way (9) “uarpAyD s,adoad sayIo yum Buluans Arona fed 7 pasn Aa yom ul 2x34 play e aq O} pasn a2ay3 Bu 2uO sed yueisip ay) 0} uojsianax angooyas sasudjuas Bumoyloy aul ut sidor aiqepuaixe ue se papiessip jlesu “(sdaisjoo} sy pieay ays,) yoiwas ayaipoww ue s} a1 “AxeHUOD O4Y OF ‘2194 ~[MuRssO{B 29s) aurayR pue yra{qns se roPoRIeYD YI UleyUFeUI 0} Buteq LoRdo paxzzjaid ay Yim *(198/q0 ‘oyeorpaad ‘i2/qns) juattiafa jesnej 1uUT auiOs se LORIE JU /SIY 1, s2peteyp jusuWosd ay UN UEIUTeU! sasne|2 BuIMo[jo} 210Ur 20 aud Jey Yons ‘ajdpuLd dn-moyjoy, & Ayonsn si aio “sordor asinoosip Se papieasip fjaieipauiuul pue pauoquaui Ayjensn jou are suogoe pajouap iuevOduH sey) pue Siayerey> jueuodull Z {We au, se UeY) Apeoyoeds a1our rayJe! (soysHayeIeYD BurysmBuysip ‘uossajoad ‘gu1eu fq) paiouap Ayonsn axe sjoid or yepn siaserey) ‘umouy Aquaiedde si ay USnow ‘pauieu HEU -2YF SI MOJO) Tey as04) UI JOU g eouAIUAS UL YAN T ssjeusis ~s2\UNOD Buymoyo} yp jo 222} BY} UI Lend “JoId au UT feIOTUD 9q 0} JWEPIUL SI} 40} aiQIssod aq Pinon 7 yeu) Aes 0} sey auo “Urey auioy Kem siq uo passed asnoy Jsej ay} Jo INO UeU ay, jenpiapur zeqnogred 2 Jo Uouduosep ayuyep si ul Apeinoqied ‘sasne> anqeueu. Jo osua}eeyo pauajeid e se Sunisod we { ANoyioads Aioies “yBUEPI JO PUB au UQIXa saop aauaitias 1xaU ay} IseAUOD Aq, eaneueN OFvo varranve textually-prominent participant (‘she’, Ev. subject and theme. What i have done, perhaps a little laboriously, for these fi Paragraphs could be done for the third, leading up to sentence 24, which Culler and others have identified as important to plot Briefly, paragraph 3 displays many of the same non-narretive characteristics as the previous two, particularly either stative main verbs or at least ones implying no change of siale She looked round the room . .. Perhaps she would never see again those familiar objects... He had been 3 school friend .. . ‘He is in Melbourne now’ babitual_or iterative processes which she had dusted once a weel Whenever he showed the photogray pass it or both ine) as sentential st two for so. many years ph... her father used to from which she had never dreamed of being divided... during all those years she had never found out the name of the priest Again, by sharp contrast with all these, and now with the additional impact of being a near-repetition of sentence 16, comes sentence 24: She had consented to go away, to leave her home, But it is, note, an iteration with some differences which make it all the more salient to plot. For while sentence 16 can be read {5 the expression of the subject's own purely personal decision to ‘act, it now emerges that another party is involved, has proposed a specified course of action to which Eveline has agreed And if we compare sentence 24 with: She had decided to go away. She had agreed to go away. the subtle semiotic overtones of the ver’ consent ~ so promi nently used in quasi-legal discussion of sexual matters ~ should be quite evident. In this final section of the chapter | have tried to offer some simple principles which may guide a teader's ‘real time’ processing of text in the search for@fp}) In this way | have tried to uncover i cpl in the sca rcpt el Basic story structure 39 conviction that such links quite typically do exist. But notice that 1 repeatedly argue in terms of preferences, expectations, and tendencies (we expect main events to come in main verbs, we expect main characters to be designated — and designated recur- nngly ~ in individualiting ways, and so on). The procedure is thus necessarily fuzzy and provisional, but not, | would argue. haphazard. There is litle that is arbitrary or haphazatd about the grammar of a language or the grammar of stories. And as conceded earlier, this whole exercise of provisional plot-assess. ment may need radical recasting alter the fact and act of reading, when a synoptic and teleciogical perspective is adopted. Further reading Ciearly the place to begin further reading on basic story structure ith the seminal works to which I have referred: Propp (1968), and Barthes (1977). In addition, Chatman (1969) is both a sympathetic overview of the early story-structuralist work of Barthes and Todorov, and a source of numerous narratological insights into the story ‘Eveline’, while Culler’s book Stnicturalist Poetics (1975a) and his article (1975b) contain’ lucid critical commentaries on theories of plot. Chapter 2 of Rimmon-Kenan (1983) covers some of the same ground’ as this chapter, and students might like the ‘bivocal’ effect of having two introductions to the same topic; Rimmon-Kenan also includes many apposite literary examples. | particularly admire and recommend Chapter 1 (Fabula: Elements’) of Bal (1985) ~ an advanced and authori- tative introduction to both theory and practice. This text (a trans- lation) requires attentive reading, but is a rigorous treatment rich in intelligent insight. Also well worth reading are the opening chapters of Chatman (1978). Several more specialized contri- butions are referred to in the course of the notes and exercises below. Notes and exercises 1 Below is part of the written text of a text-and-pictures story for children by Nigel Snell entitled Julie Stays the Night (London: Hamish Hamilton, 1982): ‘One morning the telephone started to ring. Mummy answered it. She said, ‘I's Sally's Mumm, She has invited you to go and stay. Would you like to go?”» shquaugied saieinzads sopung “pabiowe Aaup Yo!ym Jo Ino (ueadoing-opyy, ‘vetssny) aaryjno aty 0; punoy ddoig suo} aun ayeIa OF Jey suIaVs y ‘}fasy{ U] PUD Ue aq OF JOU S| SIS6peUe fern} -oniis J] “ABojoydioyy au 0} voRIMpoAU s,sepung ut paiou are ‘yproudde ueiddorg @ 10 ‘ddorg asn ued am sfiem ax jo aos p ‘wi29u00 jepads Aus are yeu} euawouayd paseq-aBonBun) ayy woy Aeme 1; anous Aary os Bujop uy ng “sayo3s jo (Ayjeuous uewny Jo sioey aup 01 sasuodsaL paxapiosip yim shers xojdwoo ut oesoqut suogelas-UNy UI SxpI0sIp ‘a[durexa 20} ‘axaym 3002 pajBuey ‘Ayperidy) s}oos eonpAws-ssend Jo eonphn pabaye ayy Aypuapt of anus sjuNEIe YONG “{ZL6T) seyme} PUue (EGZ6T) 22ND 995 ‘ssneNg-ine] jo quouNeaN 2219 20} \(ET-TT “EB6T) UeUdy/-LoURUIN WI passnosip Kyaug are (9961 ‘SeUNEID PUR !g96E ‘ssMENS-1A27]) sjuNCDIR Asay) Jo Om], ‘aaqeieu ye am anoIAeyoq oBeUUBeUAs oy) jo osUAsSO syeUL -Bipesed jeirauiepuny aug aq 0} aye Maul rym jo ynsind ut sayy uana 0B yorum saviors Jo 2160} at Jo suno22e amanns deep, Noeysge aiow aie a104 syeUuBIpeIed Myoind you s} A1o\s JU Bjou Ing “suoIsien anyeUeL jeryIe jo sUONHO|dxs 2euibenUKs asianip 241 Yilm IseNUCS fq ‘YoReIUaLO ul HeUIBEIUAs Apyeam ue opewibipered AjBuoxs se fuois paquasep | T sideyd uy {suo} Jo waisfs @ se aBenBugl e sieay ainssneg yeu) Gem ayy Ut sw0} jo uraisfs & se payeay 9q sangenieu ued “(papuauuodai 2q OF ALE -nowied st [Ege ‘ainssneg] sure}y Aq Wogeisuey sifu yuace1 aup) aBenBug @ ut aouersqns pue wi} jo aor ayZ UO VONISOd Sainssnes Jo aouiasse au) saizinsdeoua six, ‘anjen ousinBury, papnua ‘asinop sainssneg jo I] wed Ulf JadeyD peey ‘ll! Jo sainyseB ayy 40 ‘Saamyoid 20 ‘sp20M sy WK au r2yioym — uo} (euoneUaserdas ‘Buriytubjs ‘poziuebio-peaye yng 2oueysqns ssoywui0} uodn jas) Suydeys 10 Burpynow jequa you S20p angeueu ‘Wayshs-puNoS e ayYfuN ‘yeUy Uoseai ajdusis au) 104 “oAMRUeU UI UO s2OB EUS BuIyyiue moy Das or prey st at ING, ‘aBenBuel ay} Jo wayshs jeoBojouoyd aun ut pauyepzo sadAy ayy o1 uuioyuoo asey) 1eLp OS spunos jo YORIMPosd ano Joos OF weet am :faayoe yseads no UURYD 2M YDIYM YBNoIy! UB e if] S{ SUMO} Jo Wayshs Jey] “ULO} oRSINBUT Jo ATs ayy St ABO}UoYd ‘aBenBucl e jo wiaysiis punos au jo 2150} at Jo Aprus e sz sq, aoueysqns uodn pasodiu tio) & 5] suBls jo Awouose ajqezfieue ue se aBenfue] e rey) suaIsisut siy eIMoMed ul — aznssneg Aq pesnpogut Ajjequanyut sow aBenBur} our sqysisur op Tp ammonas Auors eg op 0} séy Burpeafsuu st jayered au Aym uoseas ayy ‘sangeneu seInomied pue fos usamiag suoNejar ayy ‘jo [apoul e inq ‘yw ‘ABojeue axnonnsut ue AIai9ul jou se ssyauoYd pue ABojouoyd jo soutjdiosip ousin6uy payejaz ing uysIp ayi Bugean uy suxajqoid Jo saquinu @ ore s1oy anoiaq | ‘TZ UoHDes UL pareipul sy Zz, {s0u0 onneneu a1oo Kyjequayod aie sasnep quan-ojueusp ayuy je vey) uoNdunsse, snoma:d Aw Aqyenb 2m pyrioys ‘abuoy> se yons sqian sweuAp ajuy Aueduiosse sqien jepour a1aym ‘saoualues Yons jo 1yBi] ay UL “spuey paBueys 2q 01 1,uIyBno ayg ‘Buea st sane] ay) ajiyn Kqeq ayy 1200 Puey 0} aoupianjas 124 sayeoipun AuueRY YoU Ut ‘Suimojjoy aun se SSG], UF seduaTLas anhenfenased‘Gojoy>ied yons sapisu0d ‘sisoyy UogeasyewmesS fur 0} vouai2Jo1 sejnoued yp -pauoguaLs snl saibojopoyau aaiyy ay jo atow 10 avo oy Bulpioze 1 arhreue pue ssiig, (GIS s,pjaysueyy auUaYyey o} LIT MON] éAraanoaye ysow aanyonas Atois JIseq YB YYBIY 1 NOK 0} suiaas spoyfa fo UoYeUIgUIOD 10 PoYaw YoIyyy ‘sesnep nyeueL a1oo Jo uogeroneUIUe:D ayy joge [esodoid Aur 10/pUE ‘saorput pue suopouny soypeg Jo/pue ‘suonouny s,ddoig jo suai UL saneis pur sjuana Guijaqey ‘Aro}s sup JO sisspeue UB }duaAY ‘anne 1yBnowy ,'204 awoY 1e and suiaes a4, ye © umop Juam pue xoqusteU! ay) Jo Ino pajmeio ay nq’ YapUe -xaly “p9aq Joy ANes Pamoys atInp pag o1 uM fey Vay” anoy yey, eHXe ue dn Fes 1 pemolje Yiog alam fijeg pue aynp 1yBRU FUL ‘shor jo sjo} pm pated pue ea; 5iq & pry Kay] ‘PUP, fan sem iYIOW 22y 's,Ajje 01 108 Kay) Uaymn ING “Y>IsOWOY, Aran ye} ANP “UiEH Aq ashoy s.Syeg oy ay yoo! AwuNyy “2se> ul asnf ‘xoqyatew @ ur Buoje repuexary ay21 ©: papiap™ays “auns os 1,usem aynp 2124) 125 Nod vaym ROA, “AWN ples ,'pes aq 1,U0g, ‘19 0} paueys aynp ‘awoy 424 pue pag say ‘sor Jay pue Appeg pue Awump) 124 wos} Aeme BuloB sem ays ‘pauw0s [2} OF ueBaq aynp “y2ed of auin sem 11 uoos pue fq quam sKep ayy ‘2p22q Yed 104 ‘repuexely fe} 0} veX ays Puy 0} ano} pI, “aINP pies sa YO, 200} I anpeueN OvDoes not the fact that Propp’s last function is a wedding indicate that Russian fairy-tale structure has something to do with marriage? Is the fairy tale a model, a model of fantasy to be sure, in which one begins with an old nuclear family... and ends finally with the formation of a new family? Propp's analysis should be useful in analyzing the squcture of literary forms (such as novels and plays}, comic strips, motion. and television plots, and the like... Do children familiar enough with the general nature morphology to obje: fairy-tale to or question a deviation from it by a storyteller? , . . Finally, Propp’s scheme could also be used to generate new tales. (Dundes, 1968: xiv-xu) Apply Dundes’s questions to the next awful episode of a television series that you watch (The A-Team or Knightrider or Loue Boat) How predictable is the villainy or lack that is grappled with, and ‘what form does the resolving ‘marriage’ typically take? Compare these predictabiliies with the functions (villainy, ‘mariage’, etc.) of a rather less formulaic series, such as Miami Vice. 5 One of the most influential objectors to Propp was Levi- Strauss, who complained that the approach was too oriented to the logic of formal structure and was neglectful of content — especially, for Levi-Strauss, of the underlying logic of that content (Levi-Strauss’ own work really offers a structuralist approach to anthropological content, in terms of myth): Before Formalism we certainly did not know what these tales had in common. After it we are deprived of all means of knowing how they differ. We have passed from concrete to abstract and cannot get back... Propp discovered (mag cently) that the content of tales is permutable, He came to the odd conclusion that the permutations were arbitrary and had no laws of their own. (Levi-Strauss, 1960:124; quoted in trans- lation in O'Toole, 1975: 146) As Levi-Strauss argues (see also O'Toole, 1975), Propp was insufficiently attentive to the possible transformational interre- latedness of functions, roles and plots; he should have moved beyond his relatively modest enterprise of abstraction and considered the general structural conditions which a story must fulfil, and have treated his functions as realizations or transform- ations of more fundamental structures. Such developments are «© “ "tin the work of Todorov (Todorov, 1977), which seems Basic story structure 43 to have won few adherents. In fairness to Propp, however, and indicative of the breadth of this seminal study, it should be noted that he does recognize that ‘inverted sequences’ occur (Propp, 1968: 107). An inverted sequence is a marked variant of the unmarked order, e.g,, where the hero meats a helper -before the misfortune that the helper is to assist him in overcoming has attually taken place. What might be one’s grounds for siding either with Propp or with Todorov in this dispute? 6 One of the best critiques of the whole formalist orientation is F, Jameson's The Prison-House of Language (1972), though this is not a book for the beginning student. In a slightly earlier article he concluded, only a little unfairly: Formalism is . . . the basic made of interpretation of those who refuse interpretation: at the same time it is important to stress the fact that this method finds its privileged objects in the smaller forms, in short stories or folk tales, poems, anecdotes, in the decorative detail of larger works... The Fogmalistic model is essentially synchronic,.and cannot adequately deal with diachrony, either in literary history or in the form of the individual work, which is to say that Formalism as a method stops short at the point where the novel as a problém begins. (Jameson, 1970: 12} This pregnant summary is almost prophetic in ils references to diachronic recentian (the way a community's assessment of a iterary text changes and develops as the years go by), which is now so central a critical concern. But it also advertises. its (Jame- son's) own preferences: its interests are in a world where ‘the novel as a problem’ js an important problem, rather than in the world of so many people today, whose narrative consumption! reception is almost never in novel form, but rather in that of the newspaper story, the television series and commercials, personal anecdotes, and so on — those that he appears to dismiss as the ‘smaller forms’. What arguments coulld we develop either for or against devoting our attentions to those smaller forms, such as the television commercial? 7 Taking Propp’s 31 functions and 7 roles, attempt to apply them to one or two narratives you know well. Deterzitine how much adjustment of the scheme is needed for it to capture the basic story of one of the following: a medieval morality play; onesoueuiuins yo{d a[qeredwio> eanpoid am ysiyra 0} UAIK SUL 7 sapeuiuins yojd sano (apimpyom ‘alam sity J! Se) juauiaaiie jenueysqns, jo uopdumnsse ayy sobua] “Jey ays Uayr suoNsanb Bugsaxaqul2siex soop 2ys "aNE}UN ou ©} usaes Jaded s.ajng jo swispNyD s,yjlluig jo Auews yBnouny {BL61) yg aes Sieedde (ggzet) INO YU WI (SLOT “pa ‘xamO4) YOO ey JO anbyYD Ay;ua! e Woy poured aq ue ainjongs 101d Jo Aloay) UO UOWRIUaUO jeoydaas pure [uy Y IL ‘Buyeonas axous rye aq Kew sium syssqeue pazeso-qinul, @ y2 snuue jm NOs “Ais a[BuIs 2.0] wan} U; UOReDYISSeID JO sajdiouyd asayt Jo jeAMnas Kidde nos }1 ‘Syee[ “anyenteu yeu Jo souueUp ay) jnoge 3saBbns pasinap sny} sSujdnosd oy) — Buryyiue j} ~ yeym Japisuco pue ‘quad jean ypns fedar YB siauygng ui sauors ayy jo Aue ‘uiebe) ‘2ojoy> anof jo ongeueU e UO sajdiouud asauy Jo BuO Jsn{ as) ‘goed aye) squdAs YDrYM Ul UONDDO] Jo sad au Jo sISeq ayI UO 20 ‘sseupayejasun Jerodusay juaredde yin uostediuod Aq ‘suena JO depano 10 AnBquod ‘ssoupa}auu0> jouoduia) ay Jo siseq au Uo payaye aq saumauios ues Burda’ fuopeoyisse|> “AURIS, g2una}ap 0} ajgissoduss s1yy st 40 ‘yey Aun ‘op ‘jnyssazons sioeju09 asayl ary {12eI09 fypoq 20 “{suoRes -rasgo ‘sBujaa} ‘siyBnowg ein) jeyuau *(uaxods) jequan aay} S} ucneitoyyoo au jo amu aug Jo siseq ay) UO aUOP aq UR> UOLEDYISse|D IQ “‘BuYfgd ae fou) (uo OS PUR ‘radjay “ULeTIA “wuHD!N ‘12¥295) 2IOI JO PUD} ay pUe ‘panjonul (si12e1e4>) sioize au) Jo AAKWAp! ay Jo sIseQ au; Uo seauanbes oyu! padnoaB aq uayo ue> siuane yeUR sisaBEns ays SHY “zaxdeYD sIy} Ut UO PassN99} aney am asour oF Buunjons, jo sajdisuud angeusoye jo saquinu © sist (p2 :GR6T) Pa OT eenneyea yemnyna 2q Kew uogdesied jojd yey soydeyD sey ul pastor eapt ayy 0} BOI—A Si [Je IBN mop gseoua:ayIp asoy} 104 2q aiauy 1B spunosB ajgissod yeyyy, estseydure Jo saouaseMP 24 (0) wiaas azay} op azaym pue ‘Arewwuns ou oyUt ind oF yeYM Zane 2q 0) wi9as a18iy Sop JusulaaiBe yoru mop] {ipuanMuLZe}U! 0 njunyp uo Ut fe AUl09 11 s20q ¢lje Ye stzadde 113 ‘gui0o ArewNs jofd Buy sa0p majaar sy) UI Bey, “UOKDY gIqeioU wou @ Jo ‘suoyeaygnd jo aBuei @ ut ‘smainai auy jseNuOD pus aredwio> {\ ayeidwuoo YOU Op ing [WaIdey> 2yj jo Buuedo ay ie Pi gp eamjonns A038 o18eq sapoBayeo aaiyy ayy asn 0} — sjuana ma} ys1y 24 [UO Inq (s)/BuMAS ay ‘siajeeyo ay; Sufjquap) uayo) Arewumns Arojs e yDIs smatnar urey20 FU} 2q IE TYBHY AY ge Fe BuoU jsouTe siotfO. ‘sauewuins {In} Aue} 25 uoysy Jo sadA} urewaa aioym ‘uone “en sty) 0} waged fue aas NoA UD ‘suzBas }{ ‘AiuessazqU ION eseueutuns yoId uIeIUES UORaY Jo sYO0q Jo smnaynas ssaid OG 6 "m2 ‘sarydelBorq ‘syooqnxe) aouajas ‘syoog)xay soysinBuy, ‘wspRUs feI2il] aWepere ‘uoRoy-uou sejndod Auedulosoe 12UI squnjq ay Yum sqinjg UORIy ANOKA aieduICD oF UO enoul JUBIU NO, “pear o} awn sey JaseyDINd jeNUaIod jeoAND ay) IeyT ya} By} JO Wed Fluo ay aq Kew Giniq ay) ‘asipUeYDIaW atp Ie 2aue(B yoINb e Bupjer ‘doysyoog @ uj “are squnig yons juepoduut ue papiom-Ajinyeied ‘parmonys moy ysn{ nos 0} Uaedde Ajmaut ‘UU099q jm I “PUY MOA HTe}=p Jo saouarayIp s9naFEyM “se|noMed ul Uousanb sy) jnoge Bupfurj ‘uoysy Jo syoog aaiuy jo sqiniq ayy azfreuy efayy are yeym You J] gseueuuns o(d — sjayzet spy] UO aiaymawos readde yey) s4O0q 10) sjuatuasqienpe 10 ‘Sialy Jaug ayp — LORDY Jo syoog MuedusooDe Tey; SqUNIQ at ay g ainyongs Jo ssouparejes SuyAyauay ‘pajeiaua6 are sauois snouesginus Yoiym wos} s2[01 pue suoRdUTy J9 Spun ay) 10} Bupjoo; ut jUJod ay) saeu) puy Payeiaiuny inq ‘panoulai ~ ddoig jo aso wo penouial s2yTel Ta army ons (ao3s 215eq 24) Ul Panjonuy s2j01 pue SUORDLINy jo Spunj aU yeUR Padxe Pinoys nof ‘sajep4jo} paseq-je10 [euoAIPeH Woy Aeme now nos sy gait Son|MoYNP PU suIa[qoId ayy Op aay ge y261R, uasoyD Ino 1 zeUNUeIB, ddoig ay) S20p jjam mop “2[@pyI0} uaszapu sue}{ 10 wu & “Be ‘ddoig Aq pousurere ssoUy, OU 00} JOU St [92] NOA “Fiangimquy “yDIyM A20}s & WAIN UIBeQ.AtUTEND PINCD NOK ‘ABojoydiou pue sauojs s,ddoig woy jUar2ysIp SiqeaBeueutun aouej6 ys1y ye Oo] sanyeuteU asayy uana jt ING PueY Oo} anzy jYBIW NOA Aros $ uarpyiyo ajduuis Aue ye YOO] PINe> nos 20 ‘{jaBeweu yim sapnpuoo 1 <\qeuinsaid ing ‘aay LIEN ou s1ayy sdeyiad) zaype;puexB anof Aq diysunos pue jnsind 304 Jo fuois pasivayai-Yo sremowpUeIB snos aq wyBIW yf ‘adAy Aue jo aq pincs azfjeue 0; asCOYyD NOt sangeueU ay) 392} UL 291G AqoW S,2IIaW 190" ayy Jo adey au, sadog ‘sorepipuea 2iqesbeucur fucpored waes asnopy 402/g pue ySIm 1 4anijQy yBNOW ‘Jnou suBy>IC) Aue shed wa|goid sly jo auc 10 seipawior s aieadsayeyg jo auo 1 BRL SUG JO aytyy aUL, “Bre — ‘soley Ainquaiued sz2aneyD Jo. ayefaun jou - anueueN pb PIO} payjuWios paaput are amy,= 46 Narrative may have 2 good deal to do with who we’ are and how we leamed both what ‘plots’ are and aiso what means to ‘summarize’ them. It is doubtful, for example, that a South American tribesman would produce the same plot summary of one of his myths as would Claude trauss. Or to pu another way, wouldn't our explaining to the tribesman (or, of 2 child) what we wanted when we asked for a ‘plot summary’ be the same as telling him how to ‘process’ the story the way’ ‘we' have learned to? (Smith, 1978: 183) ‘Take a narrative io you and your friends jit doesn’t have to be highly literary, it could be, for example, ET or Raiders of the Lost Ark), and attempt a summary of the story which is not @ plot summary — but feels to you a fair summary in some respects (e.g., of the mood or tone]. Now present. your summary to one or more of those friends and ask them their opinion of it as a summary of the story. Your problems in producing a non- plot summary, and their reactions to it, should be instructive. 12 There are other approaches to the ‘basic grammat’ of than those discussed in this chapter, perhaps most wotk of Prince (1973; 1982); inguistic format. This research rameworks, of arche- ‘in our minds, and that we use these frameworks as a mi when we attempt to comprehend ot recall particular stories. though space-limit ns forbid review of the theory and assumptions, some applica psycholinguistic approach will be discussed in Chapt typal stories, which we hol The articulation of narrative text I: time, focalization, narration Narrative text: a single level of analysis In this and the following chapter we turn from characterization of lementary particles’ of narratives, grouped under the label to the vario i elemerts that go on in the production of text. We can think of the move from the abstract level of story components to the concre:e lével of textual realizations as both a process and an [rarticuletion. The main_processes_or articulations involved are disted.by Bal, following (I have teplaced’her terms ‘fabula’ and ‘story’ by story and Text respectively, to avold contusion} 1 The events are arranged in a sequence which can differ from in the text to the various the story is ‘determined with respect to the amount of time which these elements take up (That is to say, our experience-based judgment of how long various events or states would take or last in the story is the baseline or yardstick for our sense of the relative abundance or scarcity of time allocated to presentation of that event or te in the text.) i 3 The actors are provided with distinct traits, In this manner, they are individualized and transformed into characters. The locations {settings} where events occur are also given distinct characteristics and are thus transformed into specific places. 5 In addition to the necessary relationships among actors, events, locations, and time, all of which were already describ- able in the layer of the story, other relationships (symbolic, allusive, etc.) may exist among the various elements, 6 A. choice is made from among the various ‘points of view’ ‘ffom.which the elements can be presented. (Bal, 1985: 7) 3.1ze panna ae Auo%s 24) ul poumace Kquspins sane Up ut 9p ( yp Woy 1x21 a4) UL UOReIUAseid jo Zap10 ayy Ut sainedap Auy Ea oedse sity 0) aoeds rareax6 sayrer atonap eys | pur ‘vogeinp jo 1ey) st sigadse asat jo uewaiqoad Ayenud}od. sou! ay} ‘uorssnasip BuloBa1o} ay) Woy juaiedde aq few sy 6 1%} UI payeiieu s} 4 uayO MOY YMA pareduso> fuojs ul suaddey Buiyreui0s uayo Moy ABTENBATy : ‘siupne ouies asoi Buguasezd 01 paronap 1X94 Jo junoWwe ayy puie ‘cn uaYR Sijenoe ancy 0} pasoddns axe sjuane rey) aus Jo UAE a4 UaamMaq suoge|as ayy suLeDU0D AyaIyD sil OHAUED 10; ToReIN g 7 Peay a UT woNTUSsaId ~JorrepiojeNnDe By pue AORTG TM anbae POTR ‘our voomiaq sone 9) OF sinjal sah BPAY jot OF AIOE Woy Tusa sy wl OREM “TOT uonENdjireis” jexoduuay jo Spadse soleus saiyy SBTEOST OM BAUD PII si wy IX} JO jsuosYy [enUANyUL your ayy, “Bupjeads jemoe Aue u} juads aq pynom vey qdussuen, uanum yeu) Bujpeai 1aBuo; A\qeiopisuoa puads am eur Stony $1 (enBoxeIp 40 anBojouows) ysoeds youp Ajoind si Mois & Udy ‘Aes ‘uaRT “Paure}UreUU s} auapuodsaxos Apests jo pHepurrs au 721g Puy Ajai 9m “(Sh :EgET) ABojouciys ,jexrweu,, eapt ue, sj2o ueuay-oMUIRY Teun Oo} CUNT TRS; axeduios om. aye uand ing ‘s12DeIRYT IO Sos [UoISHip Buysayje SeouEISUrTANS Buidoyanap jo Jas 2uo Uey aLur sf alsin sé UOOS SE Aes OF STI :2UI-ALo1S 9UO UeL e1OU! sanjGALif SAGELiCU SY Se UDOS'se SUI 3x2) OF 3iuig [eas JO UOL[auSD Wau Kuo [O-WOUMRIN oyeIpaunt pub snomgo Ue st alsiy TALI Algedessour S| oun Tey asnesag payidap squana 2 Jo ssousnouas ayy pue “o} sBuo|aq 3X9) a4) YEU a1Ua6 rejnoqIed ayy Yum AER) Ino ‘aouaedxe Burpea: sod ino fiq papinS SiaBiej yuawbpn{ e st you 10 ajeudoidde se yoyeur senoyred © pacBar am sayoyy “SAgelitu jet Bulpear jo souayedxe an Suunp Birssed awy jo astias"ino ple “Sayduil saqeTET sy) jeu) ‘au jo sieniajii-ans puie S[eAIaUN puor-jeor, au UBaMiag YDS 30} FBOTSM yotym ut “Lom ye st aaymUe jo! puny y “Aueioduia, 20) Hoos ‘ye si 304 jo uonoiubseidar jeqiah eeu aul ina WoisroBord jeiodia [eae OF BuTajar JOU aie am sose> Woy UT IS) “AUT Kal pue 6p wORRUeL ‘uoREZeI0} “aU atin MWS payjes-os jnoge uapel-uoRuanuos Ajineay pue jeasun Buyiauios sj aiaya vey sequiauras oF peau 2m uoRippe Ul Ing -aBueys aiqisianauy paniaoied uym uoynsda: pantesied st ulti, shes pue ApYBIS st Spous oF ueM 1YyBIUL am YBNoYTE , ‘aBueys eiqisienany uiypien uonada: ‘Ajeoropered ‘st, Su, (bb ‘eg6t) Wind ueuayy-uowurny sy “su9} asouy ysn{ uj uoWaInseeUt feroduta} jo uoganpoayut at o} asi sani6 14B|u pue Aep Jo uorssanons Buyinsa1 peniaied ou ‘Ayes "uoNe20] Atyutes s,2u0 uto¥ Meme pue Spremo} suauenoU suns ay) JO 2f>Ad yn} e Burysieus ‘pyom [eiMeU aU) Jo PUue suDSeAs 19pI09 puke JULIEN ay) JO [949 |InY aiBuis © se panioozol js1y U20q eney snus JeaA e, {fe am TUM, sa}e}s paysads uaamyaq saouaiayip z2noqied pue sagueUS sejnomred jo uoRiuBose1 sno Uo selfor If Se 12) OS UI ‘YsHesny -OTUAS pUle ‘a}eIS JO sabUEyD 10 sa}eIs Je|NopLed Usamiaq suOHDjOL saienonre pue suasse asnesaq ‘Buuintanyg “vogou jsljeanonns ue Buunyoruys e sosy st ‘uo quaserd ano pue soreis ised zeqnomied ‘a{durexe 10) ‘uaamyaq sourjsip 24) JO luawamnseow oyeUL2ISAS ayy Jo asuas oy} Ut ‘yasi auIy 14) a>HON “JapLO Ut jsiy Sdeyrad are suopentasgo jeisuaB auios ‘xa; ay ut oul of Buluiny, auny pue xa, SuCURLUWIeLS pur sisHooU anneneu 4q aep oj uaujean si} jo (main Kul ut) 6oenbapeut ‘ayy sioayax si “2124 Ateienbape passaippe eq i0U II\m ISI] § [eq UO G UAH Jey Ose BdHON) “souala}Ip siuy JO YONUL OOF ayoU 1 Ysim 1OU Op ing ‘siaidey> ayp uJ sjuIod snouen ye Bulssed uy UOIsDap si4 PUdjap jim | "UeUBy}-LOUNUUN! pue jeq Aq Painone) U0 enaf-aaity ayy vey rue “WOGINpoId SAVIN “enspWMiF JO pu & 61 BuLanaT Paya ut use| “(Ixay antyenieu Jo uogeiname oy) siadey> yiog oF saydde vey apa eyeiquin ue Buruyeyaz aye Mem siqy Ui sishfeue 10} seare a4) Buyesedas ul Jey) OHON| “asanodsyp Janpry say se UMOUY S}YBNOY) 10 som sopeeya Buysopsp 10} anbruypa ajiqns ayt pur ‘(Bunies pue Japeeyp) p pue ¢ Swill UO sna0} jm JaideyD IX9U. ay] “LOYeLEL 2 Bulag Jo Buyjerieu jo sem yuaiajjip xajdwo> uy = uogeneU Wossnasip @ Ulm Bulprypuod aiojaq “(uoNeZ|e20y pue awn 3Si[ Siqy UO g pu Z 'T SuIoy UO SayeAUadUOD zardeYy> sty aaneueN gb at50 Narrative by Genette fanachronies.JAn anachrony is any chunk of text is earlier or feler than. its natural or logical position in the event sequence. Strictly speaking, we can find anachrony even within a single sentence. In ‘The king died of grief because the queen had died, the subordinate clause of reason is an anachrony, presented after the report of the king's death even though it contains the report of an event which logically and naturally ~ in the story ~ preceded his death, But anachronies in extended narratives are more complex than that example. They naturally divide into flashbacks and flashfor- analepses and prolepses. An ical movement back in time, So that.a ‘chronologically earlier incident 1s relate Taier in the text, a. 15 is an achronological movement forward in time, so that Satie event is felted textually "belove is time’ Delore the presentation of chronologically intermediate events. Any delayed disclosure (the reader expected, on the basis of chronological sequence, thus analeptic, while a sequence, to be told this earlier) is thu premature disclosure (the reader did not éxpect, if strict chron- ology were observed, to be told this until later) is_proleptic. Incidentally, Bal's useful terms for the two types of anachrony are retroversions and ant ition An analepsis_may be either homodieaetic or heterodie- getic, depending on whether it carries information about the same_character/evenl/storyline as_has been presented in, the immediately-preceding text, or about some different character or event, Examples of homodiegetic analepsis are easy to find. We could cite the second paragraph of ‘Eveline’, with its movement back in time to the games of Eveline's childhood days; actually the analepses in ‘Eveline’ are more complex than this suggests, and will be returned to later. But if we turn instead to Nabokov’s Pnin (1957), we find many clear cases of homodiegetic analepsis dotted throughout its opening pages. The following is the novel's second paragraph, describing the middle-aged Pnin’s appearance as he travels by train to an engagement as a guest lecturer: His sloppy socks were of scarlet wool with blac lozenges; conservative black Oxfords had cost him about as much as al the rest of his clothing (flamboyant goon tie included). Prior to the 1940s, during the staid European era of his life, he hed aa 4 Time, focalization, narration 51 always worn long underwear, its terminals tucked into the tops ‘of neat silk socks, which were clocked, soberly coloured; and held up cn his cotton-clad calves by garters. In those days, to reveal a glimpse of that white underwear by pulling up a trouser lag too high would have seemed to Phin as indecent as showing himself to ladies minus collar and tie; for even when decayed Mme Roux, the concierge of the squalid apartment house in the Sixteenth Arrondissement of Paris where Phin, after escaping from Leninized Russia and completing his college education in Prague, had spent fifteen years — happéned to come up for the rent while he was without his faux col, prim Pnin would cover his front stud with a chaste hand. All this underwent a change in the heady atmosphere of the New World. Nowadays, at fifty-two, he was crazy about sunbathing, ‘wore sport shirts and slacks, and when crossing his legs would carefully, deliberately, brazenly display a trernendous stretch of bare shin, Thus he might have appeared to a fellow passenger; but except for a soldier asleep at one end and two women absorbed in a baby at the other, Pnin had the carriage to himself, Here fs analepsis within analepsis, From the story's present time, the text jumps back to a description of Pnin’s ‘staid European era’ and his relations with Mme Roux. But then during the description of those relations with Mme Roux, there is a further jump back, in the text, to youthful Phin’s escape from’ Ru ‘Thus we see a simple demonstration of how complex transform- ations of temporal order, in the articulation of story as narrative text, make that text more entertaining, engrossing, and polished. Nowhere in Prin do we get a plodding, blow-by-chronological- blow account of Pnin’s youth in revolutionary Russia, his escape to Prague, his fifteen years there, and so on. That important background only emerges ‘naturally’, as it were, when, as part of Pnin’s ongoing narative present, his past brielly ceases.to be und and becomes currently experienced fore- ground, as in Pnin’s grieving recollection of a girl he had loved in pre-revolutionary Russia who was subsequently murdered at Buchenwald (see p. 110ff.). In fact the recollection is remarkably intense, more like a living-through. Middle-aged Prin is taking a vacation, along with assorted other Russian emigrés and their children, in an upstate country retreat. But when the name of Mira Belochkin crops up in conversation, Phin withdraws into aniy wore! meen Ho Sek duin{ 0} 10}2ueu eB Yons 10) jerMYeU asou Waes AeuL y esnes9q fiqissod ‘Sangeiteu uosiad-jsiy Uy youuu? = sisdajord yey) aiqeqoid s| 3} ‘sSujuaddey Suuansjur ety" jo teat OF penbpiU BIOW Sy [le S| puR ‘pojeanai AjainyeUeRt-suo canyny ues ay) 0} uoneRys juauno iru Wdy JOB SIUBAS PUR siapareys Moy oj sb juawayjed Umo Jay jo seme Spear Ajustbay st apesr ayy ssasdajoid Aq" parasoy's| juatiiopzrid piadebiia jo pul TWaiayip & ‘puey ayo 241 uO (ID; a OLLI Sle SAneincTeEO| -ouolys due alojaq Sud} hot oF sesuejsitinons SmMiNy [wsAar AST “gous ‘asuadsns @aowlar 16 noiapun — razes yoNuE “eestor i 19 :S861 ‘Ieg) “22tNap fexnionys juepoduuy ue se anbyuysay sy }dope sajzznd pue ‘sepexonbseu: ‘sauaiswl punose payanuysuog axe yotymn 7x2} Jo spUn4 ffe Pue sjenou aagzaieq ‘asayy se yons sonyigissod Jo apeur st_asn. quanbayy ‘00 amnyesoyy 12jduyjs yonw ul yng sed anisnis ayy jo Bujionosai pile io) Bujyaives Ui AjueouT 047 jo uondnusaya ven Biiord Aeayiseds pue snowe) ayj jo wad @ uno} suoIsianona1 ons "ysnoag ul “pabuvi Seij Bujueour yoy) Inq ‘Sues day Sle Sef si qualayIp PUepoMApr Mog shi SF eq. ‘04 3} panayjag Ajsnomard pey am ueuy yweyoduy 10 YUas0UUT ‘yueseaid sso] 10 ‘gio se payuasaid st ian auses ayy Wane 1ByF JO DuGesaT sin uo siseydiuo aip ‘0 ppe 10 ‘oBueyo 0 santas Ajjensn yuana paquosep Ajsnojaaid e jo uoRNadal ay. TSUOHEAISEGO Bfenfen SUIOS SAHSU [og ‘sisclajeue angnadas vyons jodaa Asnojnaid sjuana sen09 Yam asorp xejnoqed FS USSUTY SG jo pres oq Aew siou! omy y paivadde sey sisdaqeue aug zaye ygun sdeB se poniaaied aq jou few pue ‘apm ayy JO aoueayyuos ayy oq senjeswam Kew sdeB asouy yBnoy} ‘soyoys ul sdeb jy, 0} pauBisap aq 0} waas Kauy wey! 2q qyBnu Uogeniasqo s1y @ yng ‘sasdajeue jo UOADUTY ay; UO LyLN; yoayar oy paau jim ayy “POX, Ssdajeue aup sjaqe] ax2U99 ase {yorum ut ‘ageneu aup jo nes paystigeise-Aisnowaid ayy dopanc JO aIppars pInoo sisdajeue ue asino> 1Q “2oeld 23k radoud aay (rpstenteu A ishowaid SuopwuT jo SuoguedsT apniaui Aiquiou pue ‘Biiiwado's Ray si BuLSSOw Snjonuroy se yseY DUROUTeiper e YSIS young ‘Lois ayy ul SPeq-SUINGUT Teryxaye SiS SIC HUIS] War ayy fo Huldedo ayy TOUT SUNT EO ypeq Bijnotl ‘sje are sajdurexs asoyt Ny TI6T ul RissnY UL YIHOK umo syoyeueu oy) 0} Uoisiona! @ ssisdajeue sgaBaipoiziey Yim £5 voReLeU ‘uoRezte00) ‘uy, suiBag yuno20e yey, ‘sIuaNe Jo 1UNOIDe UMO sIy aniB 0} preMIO} sdays ‘ainpedap s,ulug sasne> aBalfoZ j1apute/y\ 78 juauqujodde asoym [enti s]wapece pue ,pualy plo, ay st azjear AyenpexB am wio\an ‘yjeswity soyeueU a4} Yotyen UF "janou yeIp jo La}deyp jeuy Aueurpioenxa 24) Japsuod ‘ulug O} LuNyai O| ‘pooysiog s,fa2e)y "| uoysas jo snag juaiayIp anb ay) a1ojaq Buoy paunssc Area reyy suena inpiad sduiar np aysuayoai of Y SasMOId JO Z voHDes Ul sjuane wIeHa2 Jo ystuOBeoId se uUEMS UO'sn20} ay, Sf ‘2YaUED Ag patayjo ‘sisdayeue anaBaiposajay Jo aidwexa uy “2INNy ay 0} Yoo}, pue quasard oy Uy antl, 0} UaxDUyS-jeU5 oy} O} suoHSUN{UL PaYyr!> IN UT Pereyer ‘yapoereya e Ut sauapua} ondayeue jo uotssaiddns jnplamod @ ‘or sjunoUe jauB yitm Suds jo suvauu s,urug siiey Buraquiawial “Jou, pain aup ariym ‘sisdajeue paseg-io}retey> jo (inpramod yout 2uy sdeyiad) JabBuy Apamod est jou ‘moys saBessed yons sy {E1-ZIT) “poomysaag jo arid payeos-surjoseS uo yd e Ut anqfe pauing ‘pise aissrud ym yieq-remoys weYs 2 Uy passed ‘sseI6 uayoig ‘iqoeq snueIAr ‘yNY UM Pareinsout ‘gsinu paurey e fq Aeme pa] ‘uleBe pur uleBe aIp o1 Au ‘suopsaunsa: jo 1aquunu ywaiB @ SuloBiepun pue ‘pul sau ul sueap Jo saquint yeas6 e Buikp iday enyy ‘pepsozei u22q JOU Pey Yeap Jay Jo WHO} yeXe oy 9UIS pUYy “*** ps pue dues uogeunmiarxe ue o} 229 ae e ul 1ybnoig uoaq pey ‘punoiByzeq O43 UI smous pue 5 JeUT ‘saa asoup YIUA HeUIOM BuNOK 1puay ‘ayBey ‘[NjaeIB siyy Jet 1YBNOY au) LAIN any, JoU'pINoD auO asMe22q — 12610} OF ey UO °° UP{UDO!G BY aqQuiawsas OF J9naU ‘sIeAh U9} Ise] ‘aun Buuinp ‘yasuny wONe) pey ulug ‘Aipeuoner IS1K9 OF APIO Ut RY Pasoy (TL) PO 294 jo 1H axym [INP 2s04en siamoy o2deq01 Jo yho Buiddys eaypy pauiBeust ywims ‘ajdoad ayy peyinyser pue sduvey Inq 2ujsoJo and IYENoY) [e2IBO} yeu 329} ‘ayy ayidsap pue ~ ey 40) ep ayy ra “BOQ, pjo-1eah -u2ei\Bye ‘ajeunsqo “Aus ‘AStUN}S ay) uleBe sem UIig KE;OUNL ‘yepuelan ayy JO 12uL02 @ UF AWS ssay> srayy Us pessouBus 0ype} sem pue JaYre] si jo “Wosar Injeg 72 SIOWUINS 2snoy AnUNOD jo “YIN siy jo AroWaUN asuartt eaneueN ZSforward occasionally to subsequent events which are closer to that narrator's own present. Like analepses, es can be homo. or _heterodiegetic, depending .on whether they entail a switch of focus to a different character, event. or storyline; and internal, extemal” or mixed depending on their chronological relation to the endpoint of the basic narrative One qualification one might make concerning certain examples ‘of prolepsis, such as this one from The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. ‘Speech is silver but silence is golden. Mary, are you listening? What was | saying?” Mary Macgregor, lumpy, with merely two eyes, a nose and ‘@ mouth like a snowman, whe was later famous for being stupid and always to blame and who, at the age of iwenly- three, lost her life in a hotel fire, ventured, ‘Golden’. is that they are typically examples of proleptic ‘traces’ inscribed in a narrative, rather than the full-fledged shift of temporal orien- tation where an extended stretch of text — a chapter, or a section = Teports distantly future events. Similarly, my first example of homodiegetic analepsis in Phin might be’ regarded as feeting tracery rather than structural temporal reordering (in Barthesian lenis, Wore an index than a function), Thus there seem to be {wo strikinaly different kinds of anachrony with different functions, ie_ former is a coniribution to, dense narrative texture, but Is often more_a_local insight into a character, or the narrator, than @ manipulation of the event line; the latter is’ more substantially @ contribution to narrative ‘structure, sometimes requiring the reader to revise his or her assumptions as to just what the story is that is being told. In characterizing anachronies Genette also suggests we can distinguish their chronological distance from the present moment in the story (which | will call their ‘reach’, and Bal calls ‘distance’ and their chronological duration (which 1 will call their “extent and Bal calls ‘span’). Before leaving the topic of ‘order’ it perhaps needs stressing that in discriminating the types of anachronistic deviations that a narrative text makes from the underlying story, all our obser: vations are relational, That is, we proceed not with the goal of simply unravelling the sequential jumble of a Faulkner or Joyce novel, restoring the wholesome chronology that might salisly scientist. Certainly unravelling is involved and is important, but equally $0 isa of th Time, focalization, narration 55 of the text, where chunks in the order A B C D E in fact denote events that occurred in the order B CD A E, with considerable gaps or ellipses between the first three of these, temporal conti- gulty of the last three, and so on: a potentially quite elaborate network of temporal relations. (The picture becomes considerably more complex if we determine that any two or more of these chunks are at a single point in time in the story.) And in emphas-. izing relation one is also emphasizing scale. An external analepsi that reaches back twenty years with an extent of one month, embedded in a story whose extent otherwise is just twenty-four hours, should and can be distinguished from an analepsis identical in extent and reach but embedded in a story of year-long extent. DURATION What is text duration? Can it be reduced simply to the reading time of a narrative? Even if we do so view it, itis clear that any posited reading time will be a source of controversy: readers read at different speeds, decide to break off from reading at different places (or not at alll, so that every reader will have a different reading time for a narrative, On the other hand, granted absolute differences of reading pace, we might siill want to argue that there are relative similarities of reading time, for fluent native speakers, for particular types of text. The application of such posited norms of reading duration, against which one would then compare the likely temporal duration of the events, etc., that the text relates, are pretty much limited to scenic passages reporting monologues, dialogues, sequences of physical actions which are punctual or of short duration, and short journeys. So many light- weight novels seem to be aimed at the travelling reader these days — the person travelling alone by train or plane, on’a journey lasting four or five hours ~ that one imagines some powerful effects might be achieved by contriving that both the reading time and the text duration of such a book be just four or five hours. Some such pan-textual norms of reading time are sometimes invoked in stylistic commentaries on effects of (variation of) pace, but this is not the approach adopted by Genetie. Genette opts for an intra-textual strategy, where textual pace at any particular place in a narrative is assessed relative to pace elsewhere in that same narrative, and that pzce is then expressed as a ratio between the indicated duration of the story (in minutes, hours, days) and the extent of text (in pages} devoted to its telling. This leads to 32:eze OF BAnRjai F (Bulssed Sjuana’ pur duig jo UoteTTasaid jo Aupides Be] POT e Jo TOMER Mie Jo soeT sip yeuy Busssans usaq ancy } ‘onaupiLY “ut eq deaio ‘uoyseiayU femjeu ‘year jo ved yp YL uosuedwios }an09 & puke suogduinsse oysipeinyeu ‘ved JMu208 Buyssnosip uy moy ‘oo} ‘anon [IPIaas]} sua) ueweys yaya “fuors uel pepuarxe azou srixey Yorum wr uoHeMNS otf 2255 uey) Uand iamois si Tei SU ‘Arewuns 0} jediayunod Jsdreys e yisod ued am yey) 2}0u yng “Gequinu e Buowle ‘yauing-uoydux Aaj ‘KemBurwayy ut se ‘sabessed anBoyeip Ajaind “5'2) palapisuiod Ajjeuonuantion aie UoReINp ikei pur Arojs(oue (Hog ay3.ul 42746n07 ‘noyogeN) ‘atuddjam shemye si weep ‘afij s,UeUL e Jo UOIsIan pabpuge ey) ‘ssour Uy punog ‘ujeyUo> oF suoIseneiB e uo aovds jo Ajua{d st! 27049 yBnowye pue ‘Buyer oxy uy ainseald pue yoid uaaq jou oxen ey yeyy 28 IE yo] DARY IYBIU om PUE ALOIS ajOYrN OA SI SIL Je}SRSIp Uj Papua ajq| SI PUR ‘Pano} jou sem ‘Pano Dy ‘ssausILU TyYINOA e JO ayes DY} 10} aJIm siy Pouopuege ay Aep duo ‘Adidey ‘aiqejsadsai ‘you sem pj ‘snuiqy paijes uew 2 ‘Auewuag ‘uag ut pany aia eu @ uodn a2uQ, Teiteunoyyy pus sad|/pUT “(sayy[ayes) eas" APTES syyeo soyreg yeym Jo Pue YoRZNp JanoU Jo Yiog suoRei 9adxe [eUORUaAUOD INO YIM Held snoIssuOD pur Papunoifeio} © ‘AreUIUINS UBACHOgeN JO ajdwexa Bursmue ue sa (eS -Eg6t) ueuay-voUUy ‘senjeay UjeUN SIT} WSUIS|e;s poys sjannejare iUi polled Mois Uanib e {6 UoiSsaiduios jenixer e YDTOAA peyeia Jjaoe sy coed sip fueuuing uy “Sjanyoedsaraus3s puk Aewuins se soyaod uelsoulep jo TUNos2e anyardiajut s,j90qqn} souIs umouy “uogRuasaid payer2jacap Ajangeja1 ayy pue pajeiayeoze Ajangejai ouy ae esau uey Buysaraiuy pue vowed aiow ing NGOS ONY ABWAINNS “ploy 2B saop yeum jo Bumpy uy Jo Mppidea ayy se aoed jo main e 05 BumnBie wre | spiom sa4,0 Uj 's]u@na fuojs jo Buyjay ayy fo Supides ay inoge sjuawiBpnt zno uo quapuadap se sane] ayy Jo anteauo> am jt ‘aed angeueu jo adéy Aypeas you sting (71 I Wo Buipuadep} Abayens FRTOTEN 1ofeur 10 rou v si“VAOdS 20 deb peroduiayoyeds 2 JO Uno; ayy ut ‘sisdiya Jeu) “WAY! YseBfins pom | ‘sasHY Os ung ay jog pue ¢ sieideyD Jo uoHDUN{ ay; ye ‘uoReIaje222 LG voyeUeU ‘uOReZ|200} ‘BUIE fue ‘aed jo aBueyo Aue jaa} yOu op Ajains am i0q “zed jo. aBueyo Buyjonuy se panraoiad aun yoiym “Aueuuns parenaiqqe Aidieys ayy 0} uoyeuasad yo suoneiajeae ay; Woy ‘(s20p sppereys & Bury |Inp Aiena inoge pear o} aney },UOp am.os) SaAM@URU INO Ut Layad A\geqord Jnq apexa{O} [uo Jou am AyINU -guoosip yexoduia1 atp jo uoperiojdxa ue Actus st uowyen ‘sisdyya Jo {#98 su) BurysinBunsip yom surd9s 1 sonamoyy‘sduun{ exodus} m TasBid DIUSIS poyleIop [OSES Laat FAUST Wshutapour ut peardsapim Sie ‘sandie Weuneye) *esdija WHS yop,0 any ye uoxg 10) Bugjem s} ay uaym ‘9 sajdeyd Jo Buluado ay pue ‘2oyjo siy 10; Jo sas pue youn; paystuy Sey aHeP araym ‘sosIY Os|Y Ng aYf JO ¢ yaIdeYD Jo 250 aly Uaamiag yey st URUNeYD Aq pail sisdiya jo ajdulexa uy ‘(s10u Auew pue ‘anyon ays fo winray ey s,Apieyy ‘uo aigistauy suostr ‘Dipuy 07 aBossog Y Jo sBuiuado anydussap ayy ‘a{duzexa J0}) uoReInp Aoys jnoyrin 1x0 TENET Sapa ass pst uogenns aysoddo ay) ‘uoyesnp Auoys jo zai e uo juads st aseds 19} Ou alaymn ‘SisdyATS zinyysuco oF ples sj paads whup ‘uopeiojeoep 10 uoneiajaoce [euonejuasaid e si apisfenb Bu] Je |UADS 2a}Q} aYY JayJaYm Oo} se ains aq om UD JaYIOU “uonejuasad Aranai ayy Jo a3ed ayy mnoge ains aq 3,9 aM BIUIS (S005 yoqjeus oy) way) Butuan aie] pue Ayes usemiag avid 52310} 3 ssINOY [etanas 0} saNUTU may e Woy SuIyKue aq pinod 4 fanaa saujang s1 ‘aun f20%5 uy “Buc, moy isnf ‘ajdusexe 404 “posdej ouig aty Jo no-peos jenBip e poured ixay aug Jo aBed yea Jo Burpeay ayy #1 se ‘angeneu ayy woxy 12]U1 10 2onpap 0} Asea st auip Atos 10 Juana Jey) UONduinsse ay} si ‘oo} ‘oysyduuis 1ayeEY ‘angeneu e jo sueuNOHed reNoNIed e ysn{ 4 angeja1 aded inoge squawBpn{ aye pur ‘anyadsiad aoueuuopad-onut ue aye) Alann. -2UIDHe Pinos am YSnoyjje — Guanijep Jo UOBeINP, aig 10} WOU Burisemodéy o} yeq aq pinom am Agewnsaig gsongeueu Jo10 0} uoneaydde 205 oper sity ayenuOjar am Pinoys moy Puy {22ed Jo uoReLeA 20 aoed Jo AauesuoD SIM} st ‘SiABUE] JUDNOHTP Sayer Jo aram siaydeyo asouy inq ‘afl szoqerey> @ Jo 2eah ‘Kiana 10} saydeya e aim a1ayy asoddns ‘ajdurexa 104 “aie sixor qerdoe uewp Jeowreypeut aio! Je} uayO Aan st oYeL s,212UaC) “an szperwyp & JO YOU! Arana 10) aBed e “6'2 ~ ajgeuenut axam uopRjuasaid jenyxXe} JO Ua}X9 pue UOReINP-~TuCIs UseMyaq OEE au) 4! aBrouta pnom ved jo faueysuon e pue ‘punog-yxe} smut si uuou ayy “Panjeoted oq ue suoner2|a29p pue suowera[e0Ie yotyyn suiebe “angeuieu sejnogied e 10} aoed Jo uuou @ BuixyuapE angeueN 9S58 Narrative the textas.a whole, ox relative to the pace of other texts. But when we Start thinking about scene, and especially the representation of direct speech exchanges between characters, some! happens. We tend not to assess the pace of a scent co-textual standards, but rather in relation to real-world standards. This is a telling reminder of how our usual unquestioning view of fictional dialogue is that it is the most complete and mimetic representation of real dialogue, that reading direct speech dialogue ‘amounts to the same thing’ as being a witness to actual spoken interaction, so that to talk of the "pace’ of such written- up scenes ~ as if they could go faster or slower - barely makes sense to us: obviously, scenes go at just the pace of the actual interaction. Well of course the point is that what has obvious to us is not an inescapable feature of fictional dialogue, but a convention and an effect. The fictional direct speech representation of any dialogue can go faster or slower, and we neglect the artifice in fictional dialogue, the ways in which non-naturalistic, is not a full transcription, at our peril. We wi retum to the riatural and the conventional tation when examining free indirect discourse in the next chapter. is ation of presentation, she will often interpret the shift in pace as an_authotial or narratorial indication of the mar fon the one hand) or the centrality and importance (on the other) of what is being presented portant events and conversations are ually given in sceni Chackground_anes in summa jul again, these are norms from which wnters o ‘strong motivation. A writer may play with our conventional expectations, a narrator—character may attempt to suppress or retreat from certain important but distasteful events, and so on, Shock and irony can be created by disclosing a central 7 event briefly, following detailed presentation of tivial events. _| Chatman (1978: 76-8) also notes the contrast between nerratorial summary common in the traditional novel, and what goes on in many modem novels, where characters provide summaries in their own recollections of past events (as in Mrs Dalloway and many others). Hence we ae really witnessing scenes here, if the duration of character-derived rémembered events, and the extent of text devoted to their presentation, are commensurate with ratios for reflection-cum-presentation else- where in the narrative. The puzzle hinges on what counts as a story event, the presentational duration of which is to be When the reader encounters relative acceleration or deceler- 1 A ‘Time, focalization, narration 59 compared with comparable events elsewhere in the novel. Is the story event ‘Clarissa reminisces one day, from moming shopping to evening party’; or is there here a series of story events, the various incidents from her past that Clarissa reviews in memory? Perhaps the best answer to give is ‘both’; we see the frami namative, a day in the life of Clarissa Dalloway (and¢éme others narrative within which the reminiscence is just a single event among others. We also see, as the reminiscence unfolds, that an ‘embedded story is being disclosed, spanning a much greater period of time than the framing one ('a life in the day of Clarissa Dalloway’). fee In saying this we can maintain {a dual characterization just as, in sentence grammar, we can say that an embedded nominal clause counts simply as an object relative to the clause in which it is embedded, but has its own intemal structural logie when viewed independently, of the-embedding clause. Thus we can ming narrative the remi- Q text-normal duration (allea- edly), and singulative frequency, But as a separate narrative embedded within the framing narrative, we encounter the text of a story (of thirty years of Clarissa’s earlier life) which involves various anachronies (many of the events are analeptically recol- lected, and their normal order of occurrence is departed from), variations of duration (some material is sharply summarized), and some instances of repetitive frequency. But even this dual characterization, we might argue, leaves unremarked certain effecis that merit comment. A dual perspec: tive seems all that is strictly required, distinguishing the embedded story of incidents-remembered-by-Clatissa-Dalloway from the superordinate story of incidents-on-the-day-of-Mrs Dalloway's- party — two stories at different levels: two distinct configurations of order, duration and frequency. But while our account of order can say things about that dimension in the two separate stories, it fails to identify the reader's experience of retroversion as she finds Mrs Dalloway's thoughts jumping back to moments in her youth. As readers processing the linear unfolding of the text, it seems we do not keep levels and stories quite as separate as the analytical approach outlined above does. In sophisticated ways that resist analytical unravelling, we unite the story of things- happening with that of things-remembered-as-having-happened, and understand Mrs Dalloway's recollected experience to be both timely and achronistic, utterly past in actuality, wholly present tovee sounyea}fesocwia} axe uoneanp pud J9pi9 ‘aU, Uh PRY. TeM) uy sayjeBor fed oF pasn aruane 8 1 PID 2un,) Banjonaas aseiyd-quen ayy pile Soseayd jex ‘Aipremiopysiens Ajirey 2 e si yon Tpevar_pajaiauio> dodn, ‘Bjant BIAS aigeut jatuos sii] UdpeMp pub Tapio wo) PUP] UI juaiaynp Weymawos s| AVERbATy “sawn U patisddey yeiyw s9u0 Bul, ~[fauaniBaal_aAweratty si sese> yons uy oudo uy ‘adiy 2jBuis e Jo yuappuy ue jo souaiIn200 ajdyjnun ase aio) 214m ‘356qTS pue juepunpal Ayabuexs se sn ayLS pJnom uogejuasaid angeinBuls sauljoulog “siaja1 snouen fq ‘souy J01 S| uading A1ua}y Aq vog seyeys jo xepanur ay} yorym ‘wopsqy SouxNey Ul payyidwaxe si Aauatibey sBinig uw pauadeley yeym SUN u Busjion) ADUSAb 5] UuOU ayy jj TUEP|DU! Mos ajUS e JO BUIOy [eMIKS, pareadai jo ss0UIsN ay sIOUSP am/ Pousnbay] wm om Ag AONEND RL (payoda: uaeq 3,uaaey 3nq pauaddey aney yn yeu sBury jo yuyP seme ued om) angeueY e oj Paquose 2q sfemje ued jeyp AyMUUODSIP Pue AynRsa[es ay, UeY a:OW! Buy) wos Ueatll PInoys am UoNeIMP hq “iaiyes panfue ancy | se Ing “gouiaime"] ple aovior 0} a8 am Uaym an JeBUo} OU si Siu]. “Buyso EST ales PaHD sasiyy Os uNg ay Uy NU jenparequi puy Tenrxopenu! Se [jam se jenixauaruy spued aq jsnus uogeinp jo suondaoied §no yeu) os ‘Siapinu Pue S9ua9s Yeap PUL satia2s ano} jo suo) -uasaid 1124) Ul ssaupapuarxe Jo eaiBep ureueo e ‘Aezoyseu | pUe suayaig Aq sjenou u; pooupliy> dee s,c19y e yo sjieiap aip JO uowequasard jo 435ua] jo pup UleHeD 2 } pasn jaB ay YwapIOUL DaweLeu juales-Ayjeuyns jo spud{ UTELED YIM Pax UOeIMp JO spupj Ulead 04 ‘srapear poduatIadye se ‘pawioysnaoe ai002q ‘am W92s SdOP Y} 104 ‘poured pue a:tiaB oF anyisuas pue ‘Aijent Seoyaquy Burpaaooid aie am os Bujop uy “(y2uuag pue Ayromsyes) “Apiey] “satuep) sfanou Ysa qua JW UL pue ‘pouied ayy JO s[enou jsTUIAPOUE 1YIO “s[anou joo) ZY] ut souanaL {eylulis of angeyes savuasstumUiax s femoyjeq sayy Jo a0ed amp ssasse Aynyasn yyBua am ‘Kes OF S| eYL “APMIS e101 10} syeo yeu eae Suysaxaqul auo are suosuedwo> [enyxajeidns ‘2oed Buerjeue Uy eK “quODsIp 2AReUeU JO ase By) UI S 9 voneueu ‘uogerttedds “UN, pers mccain mm ‘pazyouoguanuos pue Areniqie auind 0q Mew siuapput iualjes 10 spuDy snoyen jo uoReUasoid ay] Ul WuaRCa-yxa} Jo suOU ay? yeyL BuIBpajmouyjse wioy Aeme 38} 00) pue ‘angeueu ayy uli 3se2] 7e ‘iy [einjeu e Surunsse spzemor se} 00} suea] UoReINp jo UogeMo}e> ajduiis sty Jey Uureiduros pjnos am ‘ABojouluay aAsinBuy Ul “anyesxeu aig jo aoed [P12N0 BU} JO asuas UIDs UanIS ‘sjuapIoUt Lenoped UO puads oF 1x2} JO supBua} aIqeuosear pue agstjee1 se aziuBooas am yeyM US aoueqas uayodsun ue "2 ‘yseoidde s,ayauag ul apryypusiien 0 (fuzssoj6 225) souetquiasreda jeusayur-1xai jo Suyuuydiapun ue st 3124p Jey SwI9Vs I PUly “mojs s| Bessed royjoue ‘faved si aBessed auo Aes Fey) uaym 0} Buipuodsar are siapear yeym Burssauppe. 2g 0} wiaes semfe 3,us20p 31 ~ UoNBINP jo UOTOU s,nauag uj suraiqoud yezanas aq 0} was IIs a1yj “uo ayepdoiddeu ue sdeqad puy jSujuoysar pear pue ybnor Sure e — saser quaseyIP ay ul dn pasn s{ 3x0} YonUL moy aiedui0s pue ‘awn [ea4, seus Ajuasedde jo ‘janou ax ut Burosiujusos jo saseo ayo. Puy 0} 3f ‘mouy am "ys24 PINS aty “UONRIN FULIOU Jo MpaBa]/0 Se souaostujeL sfemoweq SW] equIsAp | anoge Jey} ZION, "@lOn UII B9!0n Jo Burppaquie aif; ~ uogzjuasaid 1yBnowy pue yraads jo yey 0} ‘Ayjeondajord ‘pue 21do) uaumMa ay? oF YIOg Pareja: se pamain aq ue. sydeBored anoge ayy aoua}y ‘00} 2184} sojeiedo ‘otpassip jeonsfeue o Wessex ANenp sqeabiourun sweywys Awan v yeyy suives 1 10) ‘reqdeyp xOU alg Ul asinoostp 12aupUl aay auJUIEXa 0} aUIOD am aye mata ul squjod asatp Ploy o} jjasuuty 22pea1 ayy a6 Pmnom | worsuadsns spewiBiua xajduio> © uj Walp ploy ing ‘seouenbas OFS aIquiedas esau FeneiUN ZOU (are|WISSe jo asuas ay) Ul) aba saypteu am ‘oun autes ayy ye saluoLyeUe YoouENo pue 2auBove1 0} wiaas a/y\ “ASO|OUOIYD yo susa) UI sishyeue S02] 7e ~ sishyeue sisisaz sapio jexodwiai a4 jo aouauadxa ano domojiog SA >| FanoU Pavors-AueUL e UL IBY) st “UALA “UOISRIDUCD AW, ‘yeiisu 20 jeatsiyd zayrayen ‘uopDeaL wewiny Jo (3591 24 [Je pue Femoyeq essue\D UI) SIB0] ay 0} UOK vane 01 pajeurpiogns axe angeiteu ut uogejer [esne> pue A5O{O -uosya jo squawaxnbai ino ‘Burpeas au uy "uourjos yey sn sajuap wo} Jen}xa} Buy yDURSIP se Ino wey) ayeredas 01 aiqeun Ose ang “Go}s new, ajBus 2 ojut Wout aeBayUt oF ajgeun ‘main ‘UL Ploy am sauoIs asouy ly iOW AueU PUR “Ys|eM 12IEq JO uRgsny Jay jo ‘YNWIg VALLE; eZaIIN7 Jo sauOIS palaquawar pur Bulobuo 3yj ale atoys ‘janou sil peas am se main Ut POY 40 a}IUN am UY SAUOIS HILO 243 Asay) aie ION) “ssoUSNOIDs}109 aageueN 993.3 that the reader grapples with experientially in the ongoing processing of text, features about which we adopt revisable hypotheses as we work through a text: there is nothing so ‘exper ential’ or tied to ongoing text-processing about frequency of telling Tzmporal refractions in text: Nabokov’s Pain So much for theorizing, We now need to return to some text, of manageable length, and see just how insightful the Genettian model can be. And here it is important to remember that although It seemed best to present order, duration and frequency separ. ately, in the practice of text-articulation they are dimensions that reinforce or interact with each other in significant ways. Devialions along one dimension may give rise to deviations along the others; an event or ¢} told with repetitive frequency will inevitably involve _anachronisms in terms of ord ler, and more complex oddities in duration. But we should also keep in view the possi- bility that other, non-Genettian methods — e. . stylistic ones focussing on tense and aspect in the vero, adverbials of temporal qualification, and an appeal to readers’ norms (rather than the textual norm) may be more in tune with our judgments of textual teorderings, pace and frequency. As attractive a text as any for these purposes of demonstration is the novel already mentioned several times in this chapter, Vladimir Nabokov's Phin. In what follows 1 will focus on temporal processes in the first section of the first chapter of that novel, Chapter 1, section 1, of Prin recounts part of middle-aged Russian emigré, US-naturalized, university professor Prin's mishap-ridden journey to a women's college where he is due to present a guest lecture. The first paragraph is almost purely descriptive (1 will return to this ‘almost’), with, therefore, no scope for temporal classifications. It consists of two sentences: the first locates and names Professor Timofey Prin (and hence concerns character and setting, not event), the second supplies a brief evaluation of the prominent features of his appearance: ‘The elderly passenger sitting on the north-window side of that inexorably moving railway coach, next to an empty seat and facing two empty ones, was none other than Professor Timofey Pnin. Ideally bald, sun-tanned, and clean-shaven, he began rather impressively with that great brown dome of his, tortoise- kan Sin Time, focalization, narration 63 ell glasses (masking an infantile absence of eyebrows), apish upper lip, thick neck, and sirong-man torso in a tightish tweed coat, but ended, somewhat disappointingly, in a pair of spindly legs (now flannelled and crossed) and frail-looking, almost feminine feet. Paragraph 2, which | have quoted in ft trivial anachrony: in 3.2.1, has an early His Oxfords Kad cost him as much as all the rest of his clothing... (my emphasis) But, as we have seen, more significant homodiegetic analepses follow. Are these ~ the references to his European era, and its several stages (Russia, Prague, Paris) — intemal or external to the basic story? That, of course, depends entirely on what we take to be the basic story and since the whole Genettian exercise is an uncovering of relations between parts, it is quite reasonable, in principle, for different analysts to adopt different — but congruent — solutions. Thus if we adopt-the implied time point of paragraph 1 {October 1950) as the opening of the story sequence as well as that of the text, then the European references are clearly analepses (of varying reach and extent), of sharply summarized duration and ~ at this stage at least ~ singulative frequency. Such 2 working hypothesis is, I think, supported by the content of the rest of the novel: | take the novel's basic story to be an account of Phin's last few months as a professor at Waindell ‘College, 1950-1 (an account interspersed with analepses providing ratr limpses of Phin’s earlier life). aoe But one could, altematively, see the basic story:as about and including Phin at all the stages of his depiction, There are several reasons why such a sclution, in this case at least, seems unattrac- tive. Broadly, it casts the novel in its entirety as a very oddly formed narrative: some fairly full presentations of parts of Pnin’s childhood and adolescent experiences, often of brief temporal extent and repeatedly interrupted by extremely lengthy ‘prolepses’ concerning Phin in 1950-1, with — and this is oddest of all — very few relerences to developments during a huge chronological span from ¢. 1920 to c. 1950. And more specifi- cally, tense and temporal qualification in the opening pages compel us to treat the Prin of 1950, on the train, as the Prin of the narrative present.‘ajoword siuapiour yons yeuy AyeduiAs pue AnjgezuBooa: ‘ueyuey jo quds ay) saoueyus jos ‘ior si yeym Jo aameu paueay-yysy ay: uanB ‘uayo pauaddey yeymn au Buyja} ‘uoneueu Aouanbay-aageiay: yons puy “aie “yBno} pue Areulpioenxa aio! ay) j[e eouaLN2—1 sro ayeW O; Se 2yppads pue payerap os wiaas “yiaei 25/8) siy Jo 2ouaBiow2 uappns au) an BuneuRMind ‘soueuLoLad s,ujug UW] asdeyjoo jexséyd jo soBeis 241 “(pnom) Aayonse jenmigey 10 Pareiayt JO jepow Buy Jo ‘a8n Si! S| 2910} ap sno} aNsyAS siLp Jo UOYDeNIe yeasH 19Y0 Oy Tanaos}eymtt nage syeyap Aue ‘aunbos 10u aes xoyou em UY ie) BY Aq PalyjvapUN sj Ho uiug S}9S Jey) St jUaUOD-aBessed ay} YM jo datienajaust jeoyoed oy), sn wloy} WAY) JO YJoq PUR ‘sjuapNIs SIy VIO UlUG a}etedas yeu juawaBueuse jo spunj 1usiayip ay) Jo ssouareme ano 10) jueUBIOd alow! ay) qe “noWNY UL ssouidiqiabo, jo Buyjos) Sujuem e {UAWASNWE 5,UlUd 12 ]WaUiasure TuapNIS ayy Jo BUI} IE a4} Je juaurssnwe sJapear ay} s1 ong asoiy Suiwey PUY ~oj[o1 au JO apenads Buiqiosge ayy wiox panuep Ajezqua si juawasnwe $,20uaIpne quapnis siy 's}xa} ayy Jo mnowiny Bune|senap AjBuL99 aly Ur paguosge st jjasuuly unig oy 204 "2]e) ay) pUe Jaya} oY ‘[ Faideyd Ur pajou anyexreu jo suauddwios jequassa omy oy 40 joedust pur aouesyiubis ayy aes am ‘soueaBuan @ yim 22944 SaUDINS UI SJUEPMYS sty aney plnom ay I UAL ssojdyou sem oy aumm ty Ag “2iqusisaus anoad pmom woman tumo sty 0} Japuans ajajduiod siy ‘ssei9 ou) 0} aIQSyjoruUN 4jqnop mou sem puey Bursuep sty puryeq parayjous ay ysaads 24} UBnowye puy ‘payor pur yooys sipinous Big siy ayn “yinow sty 01 Ay pinom puey sty pue ‘Bunids ua2q pey xoq 2y-ul-yzef e 31 se ‘Ino dod Atuappns pinom anssy wnB-Jaddn yurd jo junowe Burystuojse ue osje ing yjaa} Bunjsous siy ‘Aluo JON “S¥aaX pauUR} sly UMOP apyou} pInom siesy padeys stead ‘wiry 40} yon O01 BuIODaq Pinom uNy ay ApUasag “nowny ueIssAY sem pasiuNs Sjayljod siousssy sty FeUIA jO ajduzes 10ye ajduzes peonpoid ay se souym ajenud s1y uo HUMP 126 pinom ulug "NO anndase: pue praia} sty jo sfep 2Wy premoy ‘Bulwuus-e pun ou} jo sysew oy ye pue UO SYS yy fe Yim ‘Auourau siy Buysarig ‘ayenbyyee aiqeiuan e 2:04 2ui022q pjnom uO}XauO? JayjOUe UL PajoU Apeayfe aney am Surneay ayy x2} Sy Jo Sanepgns anyewosse 243 Buifolua ut auoe 2g pinom ssUuOped ey) “JEyHIEU PeY ssejo any 100d <1 2oUls pue UBisu Arel2y} Jo [ep POD v osje rng senseUIAN 9 uoReneu ‘uogeayes9} ‘aur aR Jo eBpalmouy punos @ Kuo jou aney 0; pey uO paulera: INS seBessed e504) unj ionayeym ajepaidde 0} 2ouls Ing "S009 wloy soBessed >1uwo9 Jo Burpeas ay: pue ‘sojop2oue jeuosiad ‘suojssaiBip uo 1uap ~uedap Atnway st rane, siyy “ajAys BuIysea} auiedg 5,utug jo pue [euByo ay UL AozeWeIeY eUUY, Pear Kqjeo yoeid pinoa auc jaqeydie ueissny ayy paraisew pey suo ou ayy q 341 lor pey Apogautos WoYm ‘ue uBally pinBue PB’ ~ Areuaunuios ondajeue Apeap jo ple ayy yum pequereiey Ayauq asus) sjuapnis Jo jnjpUeY suluig jo ‘aBaljO> @PUIEM JO UONdyDsap jo seBed jeienas Moyo) wou) axe) “ounuo}s{u jo juaua2uROUUe sydajord ® ‘uoIsnppuoo atuosjmun pue pouluopard ume sq 210}aq Jeoue2 10 dos 0} afgissodun pue “Bunuyuos ‘unBoq Apeaite Buryjauios saydust Aiqoioxauy, “ydeBered ys1 ayi uy aouanbas Jesoduiay AuoIs Jo 101R2:puy 2jBuIs ay} st pom JeYY Jo doUaLINIDO au) pue figeioxaul, TeIqianpe paysedxaun ayi"jo ‘janou ay JO 2ouayuas Isiy auy ut ulod Buy 9as am op ‘mou Aju PUB ‘mon, “arajosqo ped UL Pue plo stead any sem aiqeauun siy ‘UIUg 30) AjareUTIO}U ‘urea qua{UaAUOD a1 & 2g 01 S2xe} 24 14M spse0g pue aiqziawy siy SyINSUOD “jo are am “uid Ing LT%b 1 euouiarD Buryear “urd 2S°1 32 lePUIEMY Ya} UIER UEIUenUOD jsow aR Ie4) puaLY znd asinpe pey ‘psi qupnp ssipy e ‘gnig s,uauioy euoUIar5 au) JO quapisaid-aan 34} — GpeT sous yoied sapere s,ulUg “Lap “Urey JO 3am sisian parpuny omy aUsOs — eUOWII>) 72 51N}D2] Bunena-fepuy © semjap or wry Bugiaur vaya, yiasuity um Paysges om Aran yo} quawoW aig ye UIE 192} Jo LeHeUL e sy ‘YRC S,ulUg O1 WleH ay YBNosy) Kem siy BuIpeasyy Apearte ‘uoyanpuoa ayy sem os pue “i Jo azemeun sem apy “ule uo ay} UO Sem UlUg JOssajo1g ‘payedus aq isnu je12as & MON dou ‘pazuSovaiun ‘iuaund s,ulug 0} se suoyeu. cxa angoadsonjai Bulsnuse tain ‘janou ayy jo a:mjanus jexodusay ayy Jo sisauyzody pauiayaid no suuyuos ydesboued puny ay Uullg fuors-aid ayr si shep iayee Jo sypeis pue sinys suods ‘aiom ‘Bunpequns ingge Aze2 sem ay ‘omi-Aijy 1e ‘shepemoy enneueN $966 Narrative a But if such 2 spirit were to render the reader too relaxed, the teise one-sentence paragraph that follows ensures otherwise Allof which does not alter the fact train wrong The point about Pnin’s habitual performance, described above is that while iterative in frequency, and of uncertain duration, it js, being habitual, both analep' at numerous points in time. It cannot Arise during journey of Pnin’s, to be sure, since his studenis are not present with him: we may thus designale its textual position: as an achrony, But being habitual events, these are not very firmly anchored to any particular point or points in time; the only delimi. tation is the obvious one that these hysterics can only arise during Pnin's classes. (The habit is rather less of a constant recurrence than, say, giving a little cough every lime one begins to speak.) The reminder that in ‘our preseni-time Phin is ‘sti’ on the wrong train is in turn followed by a long paragraph of characteriz- ation (again, a descriptive pause in terms of duration, not tied to any point in terms of order) concerning his fatal attraction to gadgetry. This too is followed by a terse reminder of the situation in the ongoing basic story: And he st did not know that he was on the wrong train The running joke continues, with a lengthy account of his eccentric command of the English language followed by yet another resumption of the story proper: The conductor... had now only three coaches to deal with before reaching the last one, where Pnin rode before we are treated to the lovely ramifications of a ‘Phinian quandary’ as to where, on his person, he should store his lecture manuscript: If he kept the Cremona manuscript... on his person, in the security of his body warmth, the chances were, theoretically that he would forget to transfer it from the coat he was wearing to the one he would wear. On the other hand, if he placed the lecture in the pocket of the suit in the bag now, he would, he knew, be tortured by the possibilty of his luggage being st On the third hand (these mental states sprout additional fore limbs all the time), he cartied in the inside pocket of his present yrscon ma swan yrugis ROW COA pL 1/0 Time, focalization, narration 67 coat a precious wallet. .; and it was physically possible to pull out the wallet, if needed, in such 2 way as fatally to dislodge the folded lecture Pnin's quandary is an acute form of the kind of anxiety we all {eel over unwelcome possible future consequences of our present actions, proleptic imaginings all the more ironical since we know Phin is already in a mess, Incidentally, the detached conditional ‘if needed’, towards the close of the quoted extract, indicates how very skilled is Nabokov's use of the English language, On an unexceptional reading it qualifies "the wallet’. But on a more bizerre ~ but appropriately bizarre — reading it would qualify ‘pulling out the wallet so as fatally to dislodge the lecture’. Thal is, if the wallet needed to be pulled out in such a way as fatally to dislodge and lose the lecture, Phin could be relied on to do the job! The first section closes with more complex temporal reflections and projections, as Pnin learns he is on the wrong train and is redirected by the conductor. But I hope enough has been shown of just how widespread and complex the manipulations of time: lines can be even in quite short passages. To repeat, the point ‘of such close analyses is not to unravel a text, to return to some underlying singulative, steady-paced, linear chronology, bu rather to understand more fully how, in our narratives as in our lives, we constantly demand and draw upon potential complexities of pace, iteration, and reorder Focalization ‘The very presenge in any discourse of features such as f'and you, of tense choices, of discriminating adverbs and adjectives such as here, there, this and that, (all of which can be brought together under the label cf deisis — see glossary), means that that discourse is consecuently interpreted as grounded, or anchored, coming from a particular speaker at a particular place at a particular time. Any text, then, that contains deictic information Is thereby understood as oriented from the spatiotemporel position that those deictics imply. What applies to discourses in general applies particularly importantly to narratives. In the process of telling a narrative, with alrnost inevitable and copious specifications of time and place, some perspective or another has to be adopted as the vantanc