Beyond narrative coherence
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Matti Hyvärinen
Abstract
The introduction suggests a paradigmatic turn in narrative studies as regards the coherence thesis. The classical, Aristotelian, notion has been widely shared among scholars who otherwise often disagree, often drastically, from folklore and linguistics to philosophy, psychology and narrativist theory of history. Once and again, the key function of narrative is seen to be the creation of coherence. Recently, this conception has faced increasing criticism both from the ranks of narratology and in particular, from scholars who study “naturally occurring”, oral narratives. The normative mission to find and value coherence marginalizes many narrative phenomena, omits non-fitting narrators, encourages scholars to read narratives obsessively from the perspective of coherence, and poses ethically questionable pressures upon narrators who have experienced severe political or other trauma.
Abstract
The introduction suggests a paradigmatic turn in narrative studies as regards the coherence thesis. The classical, Aristotelian, notion has been widely shared among scholars who otherwise often disagree, often drastically, from folklore and linguistics to philosophy, psychology and narrativist theory of history. Once and again, the key function of narrative is seen to be the creation of coherence. Recently, this conception has faced increasing criticism both from the ranks of narratology and in particular, from scholars who study “naturally occurring”, oral narratives. The normative mission to find and value coherence marginalizes many narrative phenomena, omits non-fitting narrators, encourages scholars to read narratives obsessively from the perspective of coherence, and poses ethically questionable pressures upon narrators who have experienced severe political or other trauma.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Beyond narrative coherence 1
- Weird stories 17
- Identity, self, narrative 33
- ‘Mind-reading’, a method for understanding the broken narrative of an aphasic man 49
- Broken narratives, visual forces 67
- Artists-in-progress 87
- Breaking of self-narrative as a means of reorientation? 103
- “There is no fear in my lexicon” vs. “You are not normal if you won’t be scared” 121
- Beyond narrative 147
- Afterword 167
- Index 191
- List of contributors 187
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Beyond narrative coherence 1
- Weird stories 17
- Identity, self, narrative 33
- ‘Mind-reading’, a method for understanding the broken narrative of an aphasic man 49
- Broken narratives, visual forces 67
- Artists-in-progress 87
- Breaking of self-narrative as a means of reorientation? 103
- “There is no fear in my lexicon” vs. “You are not normal if you won’t be scared” 121
- Beyond narrative 147
- Afterword 167
- Index 191
- List of contributors 187
