Cognitive narratology: affective dynamics and structuring of the fictional plot in the light of situated affectivity theories
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51359/1982-6850.2022.256575Keywords:
cognitive narratology, situated affectivity, Anton Chekhov, situated cognition, sociocultural practicesAbstract
This article intends to deepen the debate in the field of cognitive narratalogy about the role of emotions and affects in writing and reading fictional texts. We seek theoretical foundations in recent theories of affectivity, particularlyin the concepts of affective scaffolding, arrangements, and milieus, in order to observe how texts encode affects in orderto arouse affective and emotional states in the readers. The goal is to enlighten our understanding of the role of emotions in the construction of fictional texts in general, through the analysis of the composition of oneparticular text: "Children", a short storyby Anton Chekhov. As theories of situated affectivity givea prominent role for the external environment in the construction of human affectivity, we argue that applying these theories to our object of study allows us to observe how the construction of space, the description of objects, and the affections of the characters are intimately linked, feeding off each other and strengthening each other in feedback relationships. Such analysesmight allow the field of cognitive narratology to highlight hitherto unexplored affective elementsof literary texts.
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