Reflector (literature)

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The reflector or the reflector figure is a literary theoretical term in literary studies that is used to analyze narrative behavior in epic or narrative works such as novels , short stories or short stories . The term was introduced by the Austrian Anglicist and narrative theorist Franz K. Stanzel in order to characterize the narrative perspective of the personal narrator more precisely in the typological model of narrative situations he developed .

In the personal narrative situation, narration is not in the classical sense; the impersonal narrator stands outside the narrative world of figures and does not bear any personal traits for the reader at any point, so as a narrative figure in the text it cannot be directly identified or observed. According to Stanzel, a story or a novel is actually "narrative" from this narrative perspective . Therefore, according to him, a reflector is required ; H. In the story or in the novel, the author selects one of the characters in the fictional world of events , through whose sensory perceptions , emotions , affects , associations , thoughts or consciousness the reader directly experiences the world of narration or the fictional event. This creates the appearance of objectivity , authenticity and directness for the reader because there are no narrator comments or any other intervention by the narrator.

Accordingly, the reflector mode also denotes a restriction of the field of perception, especially with regard to external perceptions . The reflector registers what is happening or represented at the moment of experience through this narrative figure ; for him it is often or even mostly unmanageable; Its purpose is, as Stanzel describes the display behavior of the reflector at one point, "often problematic". The reflector registers the narrative events or the epic world of events at the moment of the experience through one of the narrative characters, "in whose consciousness the event is mirrored." In this way, according to Stanzel, this character becomes a " persona " in the novel or in the story. , d. H. to the role mask that the reader creates. The result is as "the illusion of immediacy with which the events shown on the idea of the reader."

In contrast to the reflector figure, a narrator figure offers the reader a visible motivation for the selection process in the narrative process: through the presence of his person in the narrative file, the narrator guarantees the completeness of the information presented with a view to understanding the story. In the case of a reflector figure, on the other hand, the narrative process and motivation for selecting what is presented are not discussed; This means that “the reader is deprived of any explicit information about the criteria for the selection of what is presented. The selection is primarily made from the perspective of the presentation. "

As Stanzel further explains, the “mostly sharply focused perspective of a reflector figure” removes a “sector from fictional reality and illuminates the representation in such a way that [sic] all the details that are important for the reflector figure are recognizable.” However, outside this sector prevails Darkness and uncertainty as well as a large "point of uncertainty that can only be brightened here and there by the reader's conclusions from the illuminated sector." For example, in the display mode of the reflector figure, there is no narrative instance that could provide the reader with information about whether it is outside of the through the perception of the reflector figure in the illuminated sector of fictional reality still gives something that could be of importance for the depicted event. In this respect, the reader is completely “at the mercy” of the reflector figure and its basically limited horizon of knowledge and experience.

According to Stanzel, the reflector mode only emerged in the personal narrative form from the second half of the 19th century, but then became particularly important in the history of the novel. According to Stanzel, three main things have contributed to the development of this narrative style in narrative literature: “a philosophical principle (the demand for objectivity); a narrative innovation (the strict and consistent adherence to a certain perspective ) and a new topic (the conscious and subconscious [sic] of the human being). ”The reflector reflects“ the external withdrawal of the author, i. H. the figure of the authorial narrator - as the creator of the characters ”and, especially in the novel, also means a“ dramatization ”.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Franz K. Stanzel : Theory of storytelling. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht Verlag, Göttingen 8th edition 2008, ISBN 978-3-525-03208-4 , p. 222, as well as Franz. K. Stanzel: Typical forms of the novel. Vanderhoek and Ruprecht Verlag, 8th edition 1976, ISBN 3-525-33212-2
  2. ^ Franz. K. Stanzel: Typical forms of the novel. Vanderhoek and Ruprecht Verlag, 8th edition 1976, ISBN 3-525-33212-2 , p. 40 and p. 17.
  3. ↑ See also the explanations in Bodil Zalesky: Allgemeine Erzzählheorie. Theoretical part of the dissertation on narrative style and speaking behavior in "Effi Briest" , p. 3ff. On: General Narrative Theory . (PDF file; 334 kB). Retrieved November 7, 2013.
  4. ^ Franz K. Stanzel : Theory of storytelling. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht Verlag, Göttingen 8th edition 2008, ISBN 978-3-525-03208-4 , p. 222. See also the explanations in Bodil Zalesky: Allgemeine Erzzählheorie. Theoretical part of the dissertation on narrative style and speaking behavior in "Effi Briest" , p. 3ff. On: General Narrative Theory . (PDF file; 334 kB). Retrieved November 7, 2013.
  5. ↑ See Franz. K. Stanzel: Typical forms of the novel. Vanderhoek and Ruprecht Verlag, 8th edition 1976, ISBN 3-525-33212-2 , p. 40 and p. 17 and Franz K. Stanzel : Theory of telling. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht Verlag, Göttingen 8th edition 2008, ISBN 978-3-525-03208-4 , p. 222. See also the explanations in Bodil Zalesky: Allgemeine Erzzählheorie. Theoretical part of the dissertation on narrative style and speaking behavior in "Effi Briest" , p. 3ff. On: General Narrative Theory . (PDF file; 334 kB). Retrieved November 7, 2013.
  6. ↑ See Franz. K. Stanzel: Typical forms of the novel. Vanderhoek and Ruprecht Verlag, 8th edition 1976, ISBN 3-525-33212-2 , p. 39.
  7. ^ Franz K. Stanzel : Theory of storytelling. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht Verlag, Göttingen 8th edition 2008, ISBN 978-3-525-03208-4 , p. 204.
  8. ^ Franz K. Stanzel : Theory of storytelling. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht Verlag, Göttingen 8th edition 2008, ISBN 978-3-525-03208-4 , p. 204.
  9. ↑ See Franz. K. Stanzel: Typical forms of the novel. Vanderhoek and Ruprecht Verlag, 8th edition 1976, ISBN 3-525-33212-2 , p. 39f.