In what dimension is the reader of a story in relation to the story?
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Ltryptophan (
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June 28th, 2021
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If you read a story the characters ‘come to life’ in your imagination. You see their world from the higher perspective that encompasses all the details the author gives you, and some you fill in.
The characters can’t see you, or even comprehend anything at all. But, they are as relatable as if someone was telling you about a real set of events happening in real time.
For the reader having this all encompassing depth of vision about a story is akin to xray vision, or a birds eye view.
In what dimension is a reader, compared to a character in a fictitious story?
Perhaps, “The Never Ending Story” deals with this explicitly.
I am not talking about the perspective being first person or third person, et al. That’s the perspective the story is written in.
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17 Answers
Jan, I’m not sure that is universal. If a story is written in the viewpoint of one character, we have to realize we are experiencing only that point of view, and it may be faulty or easily biased.
I’m wondering if it’s possible to give one answer to this question without referring to the voice the story is written in.
I do not think that the reader is an omniscient observer.
The author might be considered that, but even that is arguable, because they have not thought of every little detail of the world and people they create.
The reader even less so, because they only know what the author divulges in the text.
The reader is only a listener, sitting around a fire place, hearing a tale told by a wandering storyteller.
For me, the hierarchy of levels/dimensions is characters<narrator<author<reader.
From the OP;
“If you read a story the characters ‘come to life’ in your imagination. You see their world from the higher perspective that encompasses all the details the author gives you, and some you fill in.”
The way he is describing the reader, it seems like, to the OP, the reader is an omniscient observer. But I agree that that is an arguable position.
Perhaps it is a fluid, and inherently dependent river of dimension, the author, constantly deciding the dimension(s) regardless of perspective.
Yes, quite arguable. Thank you, Jan.
I’m thinking of a delightful novel by Doris Lessing. The title escapes me. The story is told in first person from the viewpoint of a woman who is painted as an ethical terrorist. As the book unfolds, we finally begin to realize we can’t completely trust her recollections. Then we begin to question the whole story.
It is a specialized multi-dimension film reel. It uses the unique “mind theater” to read the ‘film reel’ which the mind ‘lights’ to create the appropriate dimension.
There are various ways to think about this, and various terms for it. Imaginal realms, or imaginary realms or realities. In the imagination. In the mind. In thinking. Some question what the relationship between consciousness and the perceived “physical existence” is, and some question whether consciousness or attention might not be the more primary and the more real, or the only actually real thing.
The word dimension confuses me in regard to its use regarding readers, whether actual or merely anticipated. Since I’m unsure on my understanding of the question, I can only comment on why I view it as flawed in its assumption of omniscient reader (or for that matter—author). I suppose what I’m trying to say is that if the author’s skill at laying out the narrative must be as variable as the possible topics, consider the range of readers in their ability to “get it”. In other words, reading is too personal and variable as an individual experience to assign any level of overall dimension to the process.
The reader has no control over the bare storyline but as regards the characters and the setting of the story he or she is almost a joint creator with the author. Everything is brought to life in the reader’s imagination.
And gauging or predicting THAT dimensionality is hopeless.
Creative observer or explanatory observer. They cannot change the story. They can only interpret in their mind what the author is saying. Interpretations can expand beyond what the writer writes. When a writer, writes that the ocean waves can be seen from the cliffs and they were rough and loud. You imagine crashing sounds of the waves and without the writer needing to write it, you can also imagine the water is cold. Our minds fill in the blanks from our own experiences. The writer can change the direction of though by adding that the character felt a warm breeze upon their cheek as they looked down and smiled. The reader now could also imagine a beach below with warm sand and warm water as the tide comes in and the sun is setting. But the smile could be twisted or sweet depending on the characters personality.
My point is that we don’t really change the story. We are generally guided by the author and our experiences and a reflexive need to fill in gaps.
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