At the intersection of psychological and literary studies and acknowledging dialogical aspects of the self in Herman’s Dialogical Self Theory (DST), we coined the concept of “Virtual Fictional/Factual Positioning” (VFP), which is also guided by Bakhtin’s discussion on the author-hero relation. VFP evaluates the possible dialogical coalition of the author’s positions as “I-as-artist/novelist” and “I-as-the-hero-of-my-story,” amongst other positions in literary narratives. Evaluation of the existing literature on DST and the few adaptations of this theory for literary purposes highlights the insufficient consideration paid to the dialogical possibilities of the self in literary studies. To develop our argument based on our new model, we present a textual analysis of Paul Auster’s Man in the Dark and examine the protagonist’s narratives and his relation with his hero in the story within the story. Furthermore, we address the question of whether this protagonist/author’s self consists of polyphonized dialogical voices or merely a cacophony of various thoughts with fewer logical and no dialogical qualities.

In light of the newly developed approach of “Virtual Fictional/Factual Positioning” (VFP), I introduce “fictional dissociation” as a new concept for evaluating “fictional positioning” and the role of storytelling as a coping strategy in the aftermath of trauma. Traumatic changes can interrupt one’s story and harm or even disconnect self-dialogue. The particular direction that survivors may take after a painful event is one of the most delicate concerns regarding trauma. This article especially examines the dynamics of self-dialogue following a fatal traumatic experience and the ways in which “fictional dissociation” as an artistic endeavour can help the self cope with psychological problems. A fictional case study from a Paul Auster novel, Oracle Night (2003/2011), displaying symptoms of complex post-traumatic stress disorder (complex PTSD) is examined to establish whether the protagonist can develop a functional dialogical self through storytelling in the act of “fictional dissociation.”

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The parable of those who take protectors other than Allah is that of a spider who builds for itself a dwelling, and surely the weakest of all dwellings is the dwelling of a spider, if they but knew it.