EXPANDING NARRATIVE EMPATHY Exploring “Dynamic” Empathy in The Left Hand of Darkness
Year: 2019
Type: dissertation
Abstract: Narrative empathy, the sharing of a feeling between a reader and characters, is often\nthought of as a 'static' phenomenon; either it is present, or not in a given story. Yet, on scrutiny,\nnarrative empathy seems quite fluid, its connective strength ebbing and flowing throughout a\nstory. This paper looks at three major factors involved in this process: immersion, empathy itself,\nand emotion, and how they relate to one another in forming the phenomenon: “Dynamic\nNarrative Empathy.” Once defined, the paper utilizes the theory to analyze Ursula K. Le Guin's\nThe Left Hand of Darkness. The analysis focuses on the two main narrators and their relationship\nbetween one other and to the readers. This approach, while unusual for this novel, is very fruitful\nin explaining why character ambiguities develop and how the novel affects readers to such a\ndegree that it influence their actual world thinking. It is hoped that Le Guin scholars will not only\nfind this approach refreshing and insightful, but find dynamic narrative empathy to be a useful\nnarratological tool when applied to any novel or story with dynamic reader/ character\nrelationships present.
Author: Brian Bell
Language: English
Subfield: Literature and Literary Theory
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2971494331