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The Role of Narrator in Literary Theory

Literary theory has traditionally viewed narrative as fiction where the narrator directly communicates to the reader. However, with the rise of the novel in the 18th century, narratives incorporated multiple character perspectives in addition to the narrator's, allowing for possible differences between the narrator and author's views. Some theorists like Todorov view all narratives as having a three-part cyclical structure: an initial equilibrium is disrupted by an external event, then equilibrium is restored at the conclusion. However, other critiques argue that narratives can exist without literature and vice versa, and that theories like Todorov's are biased towards a Western interpretation of narrative. A more comprehensive model is needed to analyze narrative across different cultural and historical contexts.

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4 views1 page

The Role of Narrator in Literary Theory

Literary theory has traditionally viewed narrative as fiction where the narrator directly communicates to the reader. However, with the rise of the novel in the 18th century, narratives incorporated multiple character perspectives in addition to the narrator's, allowing for possible differences between the narrator and author's views. Some theorists like Todorov view all narratives as having a three-part cyclical structure: an initial equilibrium is disrupted by an external event, then equilibrium is restored at the conclusion. However, other critiques argue that narratives can exist without literature and vice versa, and that theories like Todorov's are biased towards a Western interpretation of narrative. A more comprehensive model is needed to analyze narrative across different cultural and historical contexts.

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UTSAV PATHAK
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© All Rights Reserved
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n literary theoretic approach, narrative is being narrowly defined as fiction-writing mode in which the

narrator is communicating directly to the reader. Until the late 19th century, literary criticism as an
academic exercise dealt solely with poetry (including epic poems like the Iliad and Paradise
Lost, and poetic drama like Shakespeare). Most poems did not have a narrator distinct from the
author.
But novels, lending a number of voices to several characters in addition to narrator's, created a
possibility of narrator's views differing significantly from the author's views. With the rise of the novel
in the 18th century, the concept of the narrator (as opposed to "author") made the question of
narrator a prominent one for literary theory. It has been proposed that perspective and interpretive
knowledge are the essential characteristics, while focalization and structure are lateral
characteristics of the narrator. [according to whom?]
The role of literary theory in narrative has been disputed; with some interpretations
like Todorov's narrative model that views all narratives in a cyclical manner, and that each narrative
is characterized by a three part structure that allows the narrative to progress. The beginning stage
being an establishment of equilibrium—a state of non conflict, followed by a disruption to this state,
caused by an external event, and lastly a restoration or a return to equilibrium—a conclusion that
brings the narrative back to a similar space before the events of the narrative unfolded. [15]
Other critiques of literary theory in narrative challenge the very role of literariness in narrative, as
well as the role of narrative in literature. Meaning, narratives and their associated aesthetics,
emotions, and values have the ability to operate without the presence of literature and vice versa.
According to Didier Costa, the structural model used by Todorov and others is unfairly biased
towards a Western interpretation of narrative, and that a more comprehensive and transformative
model must be created in order to properly analyze narrative discourse in literature. [16] Framing also
plays a pivotal role in narrative structure; an analysis of the historical and cultural contexts present
during the development of a narrative is needed in order to more accurately represent the role of
narratology in societies that relied heavily on oral narratives.

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