Introduction to Narratology

Roland Barthes: Structural Analysis of narration

Tzvetan Todorov: The categories of the literary

narration
 Introduction to Narratology

Roland Barthes: Structural Analysis of narration

 Introduction to Narratology
Roland Barthes

The Langue of narration

The narration is either a standard repetition of events

determined by a each author, or it shares with other
narrations a common structure which is accessible to
be analyzed.
No one can narrate without referring to an implicit
system of units and rules.
Where, then, to look the structure of the narration?
In the narrations themselves.
 Introduction to Narratology

Roland Barthes

But what to say, then, of the type of analysis when

confronted to millions of narrations?

From the start we are determined by a deductive

procedure, that is, to the elaboration of a hypothetical
model of description (a theoretical model).

Then, proceed from the model analyzing narrations

which may converge or not with the model.
 Introduction to Narratology

Roland Barthes

Thus, in order to describe and classify the infinite

number of narrations, we need, then, a theory.

In this case, linguistics will serve a foundational

model for the structural analysis of narrative.

The starting point is the sentence, and discourse,

which constitutes a narration, is a series of sentences,
and from this perspective the Discourse must be the
object of a second linguistics.
 Introduction to Narratology
Roland Barthes

The Functions

In this sense, the Discourse, in a narrative is taken as

a sentence, the narration is a long sentence.
Each system of meaning has a type of organization, and
in order to deal with the massive amount of elements,
one must develop a descriptive level or level of
description.
And there are two types of relations: distributive (if the
relations are situate at the same level) and integratives
(if they are obtained from different levels)
 Introduction to Narratology
Roland Barthes

And there are two types of relations: distributive (if the

relations are situate at the same level) and integratives
(if they are obtained from different levels)

story
Distributive:
discourse
Intregrative
 Introduction to Narratology

Roland Barthes

These two types of relations are placed in to large levels

of description:
a) story (argument) which consists of the logic of
actions and a syntax of the characters and

b) discourse which consists of time, aspects and

modes of narration.
 Introduction to Narratology

Roland Barthes

To understand a narration does not only imply the

unfolding of a story, but also to recognize the
horizontal connections of the narrative thread, and
also to move from one level to another (from the story
to the discourse).

In order to do this we propose to distinguish in the

narrative work three levels of description:
the level of functions; the level of actions, and the level
of narration.
 Introduction to Narratology

Roland Barthes

Function: first we have to define the minimal narrative

units, and this units must have a specific function in
the narration, i.e. certain segments of the narration.

Two types of functions: distributives and integratives.

To the first we will assign the name of functions
(proper) which have a metonymic function;
The the second we will assign the name of indexes
which have a metaphoric function.
 Introduction to Narratology
Roland Barthes

Both type of functions can be further described:

Distributive
Cardinals (or nuclei) (story)
Functions
Catalysis (discourse)

The cardinal functions are the moments of danger of the

narration, they constitute the structure.
 Introduction to Narratology
Roland Barthes

For a function to be a Cardinal one, all it needs is that

the actions that it refers to, open, maintain, or close a
consequent alternative for the continuation of the story,
that is, that starts or conclude an uncertainty.

The Cardinal function constitute finite ensembles of

actions.
 Introduction to Narratology
Roland Barthes

The spaces between Cardinal functions is always

filled by Catalysis.

Thus, both the Catalysis and the Cardinals functions are

distributive (consecutive) ones, but with different
functions in the narrative syntagm or functional
syntax.
 Introduction to Narratology
Roland Barthes

The catalysis are zones of security, rest, expansion.

From the point of view of the story it has a weak

function, but not from the point of view of discourse:
it always has a discursive function: to speed up the
narration, or to delay it, to summarize it, to anticipate
events, or even to mislead the reader. It is a
supplementary function.
 Introduction to Narratology
Roland Barthes

It is not possible to eliminate a Cardinal function

without altering the story, but it is not possible to
eliminate the Catalysis without altering the discourse.

Therefore, the catalysis is a phatic (contact) function

which maintains the contact between the narrator
and the reader.
 Introduction to Narratology
Roland Barthes
Integrative
Indexes
Indexes
Informations

The indexes proper refer to a character, to a feeling, to

a climate (suspicion, fear, premonition, etc.).

They have implicit meanings and therefore they must

be interpreted.
 Introduction to Narratology
Roland Barthes

The Informations serve to identify time and space,

names, information proper.

The data is clear and immediate, thus there are pure

data.

Indexes and informations are always located at the

level of the Catalysis of the narration.
 Introduction to Narratology
Distributive Functions

Cardinals (or nuclei) (story)

Functions
Catalysis (discourse)

Integrative Functions

Indexes (catalysis)
Indexes
Informations (catalysis)
 Introduction to Narratology

Roland Barthes

Functional Syntax

How, and according to which grammar these units

are connected to each other in the narrative
syntagm?

The indexes and informations can freely connect to

each other, and they remain always between Cardinal
functions.
 Introduction to Narratology
Roland Barthes

The Cardinal functions are always connected in a

relation of solidarity, that is, dependency, and this is
the order that takes the very structure of the
narration, independently if the narration is linear or
fragmented.

The Cardinal functions are organized in sequences.

A sequence is a logical succession of Cardinal

functions connected between them.
 Introduction to Narratology
Roland Barthes

The sequence begins when one of its terms does not

have an antecedent, and it closes when another of its
terms has no consequent.

Each sequence may have name (fraud, attack,

vengeance, etc.)
 Introduction to Narratology
Roland Barthes

In the syntax of the sequences there is an internal,

secondary syntagm, that is a central nuclei and sub-
nuclei: Beloved: Opening sequence
Plan to escape

Flight (successful) Discoverd Punishment

Crossing Captured Prison
 Introduction to Narratology
Roland Barthes

Beloved: Closing sequence

The Past overcome

Reconciliation (community) A new beginning

Peace with Love
 Introduction to Narratology
Roland Barthes

Thus, the narration always consists in a limited

number of functions which we have called sequence.

Thus, a sequence is a logical succession of nuclei linked

between them by a solidarity (dependent) relation.

That is why the structure of a sequence is intimately

connected to its name, since is the very name of the
first function from where all the other functions will
eventually evolved.
 Introduction to Narratology
Roland Barthes
Actions
The actions have to do with the actions carried out by
the characters themselves. This is called an actant, since
each actant will have a particular function.

That is, characters are defined not because what they

are, but because what they do.

The name of these actants, according to their actions

are: Sender, Receiver, Subject, Object, Helper, and
Opponent.
 Introduction to Narratology
Roland Barthes

The Actantial Model

Sender Subject Receiver

Helper Object Opponent

 Introduction to Narratology
Roland Barthes

The Actantial Model

The model in many instances places the question of

who is the Subject (the hero/heroine?) of the narration.
Actions my reveal that there none, or several Subjects.

The characters as units of the action level, only acquire

their full meaning when integrated in the third level of
description, which we will, here, call the level of
Narration.
 Introduction to Narratology
Ronald Barthes
The Narration

In every narration there is a narrator and a reader of

that narration.

What is important to separate is the author, who has

written the novel from the actual narrator(s).

Is of little importance to know the authors

motivation, it is important to describe the code that
provides meaning to the narrator and reader alike.
 Introduction to Narratology
Ronald Barthes

There are several conceptions, at least three, pertaining

who is the narrator:

A) A first conception is a narration narrated by a person

who has a name, who is the author, thus the narration
(the novel) is the expression of an I exterior to it.

B) A second conception makes the narrator a sort of

total consciousness, apparently impersonal, who
narrates a story from a superior point of view, that of
God.
 Introduction to Narratology
Ronald Barthes

This narrator knows the interior of its characters

and knows everything about them. (third person
omniscient narrator)

C) A third conception is that which limits its narration

to what the characters themselves are able to observe
or to know. It is like every character being a narrator
of his/her situation.
 Introduction to Narratology
Ronald Barthes

This is why the author can never be confused with

the narrator since this difficulty cannot be solved in a
structural analysis: who speaks (in the narration) is is
not who writes (in real life) and who writes it is not
who exists.

The personal form I (modern narrative), or impersonal

He (traditional narration) does not allow to
differentiate the code of the author.
 Introduction to Narratology

Tzvetan Todorov: The categories of the literary

narration
 Introduction to Narratology
Tzvetan Todorov

Meaning and Interpretation

The meaning (or the function) of an element in a

work is its possibility to enter in a correlation with
other elements.
 Introduction to Narratology
Tzvetan Todorov

The interpretation of an element in a work it is

different depending of the critics personality and its
ideological position, and according to the epoch.

A work, in order to be interpreted, the element must be

included in a system that it is not that of the work
but instead of the critic.

The fundamental difference between meaning and

interpretation, is that between sign and
understanding.
 Introduction to Narratology
Tzvetan Todorov

No work is autonomous since it is inscribed in the

literary universe of other works where it belongs.

Each work enters in a complex relationship with

works of the past and the present.
 Introduction to Narratology
Tzvetan Todorov

Types of Narrators
These are directly related to the narrative voice and
therefore there are several types of narrative voices:

Narrator >character (perspective from behind).

This is your classical omniscient narrator who knows
past, present and future of the characters.

It knows even more than the characters. 3rd person

narrator.
 Introduction to Narratology
Tzvetan Todorov

Narrator = character (perspective with).

This is the case, mainly in modern literature where the

narrator knows as much as the characters.

The Narrator can not offer an explanation of the

events before the characters themselves find them.
 Introduction to Narratology
Tzvetan Todorov

It may be in first person or in third person only if is

the vision of one character.

Narrator < Character (perspective from outside)

The narrator knows less that any other of its

characters. It can only describe what it sees, hears,
but has no access to any mind.
 Introduction to Narratology
Tzvetan Todorov

Modes of narration

They have to do with the manner in which the

narrator tells us the story, how it is presented to us.

It is to these modes that we refer to when we state that

a writer shows us things, whereas another only tells
us things.
 Introduction to Narratology
Tzvetan Todorov
These two modes correspond to two central
narrative principles:

representation and
the narration
which in turn, correspond to the story and to the
discourse.
 Introduction to Narratology
Tzvetan Todorov

Modes of narration

We must make a difference between the word by the

narrator and that of the characters.

The word of the characters is always in direct style and

that of the narrator in indirect style.

The direct style is what gives us the impression of

witnessing the events, and thus it becomes
representation.
 Introduction to Narratology
Tzvetan Todorov

Enonc and Enonciation

Every word is at the same time an enonc (what it is

said) and an enunciation.

The first refers to the Subject of the enonc and the

second to the Subject of the enunciation.

The Subject of the enonc is the character spoken about,

and the Subject of the enunciation is the narrator.
 Introduction to Narratology
Modes of Narration

Representation story Direct Style

(dialogue)

Narration discourse Indirect Style

(telling)