Internal Focalization and Seeing through a Character’s Eyes
Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: In fictional narratives, what is said can be presented from the perspective of a character. Thus, in passages of ‘internal focalization’, the narrative ‘mimics’ the character’s perspective and tells only what is accessible to the character. This narrative technique is pervasive in fictional narratives but it is notoriously hard to define. In this article, we argue that ‘internal focalization’ can be defined as the mandate to imagine perceiving from a character’s point of view. In investigating how internal focalization lets us see through a character’s eyes, we develop an account of internal focalization that relies on a particular type of imagination as its defining feature.
DOI: 10.33134/eeja.364
Authors: Adrian Bruhns, Tilmann Köppe
Language: English
Subfield: Literature and Literary Theory
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4401820879