Narrative Concepts in the Study of Eighteenth-Century Literature

Abstract

The series from the Turku Centre for Medieval and Early Modern Studies (TUCEMEMS) publishes monographs and collective volumes placed at the intersection of disciplinary boundaries, introducing fresh connections between established fields of study. The series especially welcomes research combining or juxtaposing different kinds of primary sources and new methodological solutions to deal with problems presented by them. Encouraged themes and approaches include, but are not limited to, identity formation in medieval/early modern communities, and the analysis of texts and other cultural products as a communicative process comprising shared symbols and meanings. Series Editor Matti Peikola, University of Turku, FinlandNarrative Concepts in the Study of Eighteenth-Century Literature Edited by Liisa Steinby and Aino MäkikalliAmsterdam University Press Some rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, any part of this book may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise).Every effort has been made to obtain permission to use all copyrighted illustrations reproduced in this book. Nonetheless, whosoever believes to have rights to this material is advised to contact the publisher. Peritextual Disposition in French Eighteenth-Century Narratives 289Teemu Ikonen (University of Tampere) List of Abbreviations 309Index 311 Illustration 1 275 Illustration 2 276 Illustration 3 283 Illustration 4 285 List of Illustrations IntroductionThe Place of Narratology in the Historical Study of Eighteenth-Century Literature Liisa Steinby and Aino MäkikalliDefinierbar ist nur das, was keine Geschichte hat. (Nietzsche) 1 Narratological concepts, such as focalization, perspective, implied author, the distinction between story and discourse, and even homo-and heterodiegetic narration, today belong to the toolkit of scholars of literature, including those who do not consider themselves narratologists. Since literary analysis almost always also encompasses formal aspects of works, narratological concepts concerning the structure and forms of a narrative are taken by many as a 'natural' choice. Narratologists did not originally see their work as 'a handmaiden to interpretation'; their theoretically-based taxonomic description of narrative was separated from interpretation, which always also has to do with the content of the narrative (Herman, 2008, p. 30). However, while there are those, even today, who want to keep narratology 'uncontaminated' by other approaches (see, e.g., Kindt, 2009), most narratologists now welcome attempts to combine narratological conceptualization with a whole range of different approaches in contemporary literary scholarship (see, e.g., Nünning, 2009). We can therefore speak of a rapprochement between the narratological analysis of narrative forms and various approaches which stress cultural and historical contextualization in interpretations of literature....