Slovenska Literatura (Jul 2019)
On Stylization of the Folk Narrator in Fiction Written at the Turn of the 1860s
Abstract
The paper prompted by the discussion on the apprehension of ordinary folk and folk character in the 19th century stems from long-term research into narrative techniques of fiction written in the period of time in question. Its central categories include the relation between the architext of folk experience narration and other folk genres to their literary applications, as well as stylization of a skaz-like folk narrator. Such narrator typically identifies her- or himself as homodiegetic, however, she enjoys a higher degree of authority (especially omniscience) than plausible in her position. This may be explained by the author´s need to keep the plot attractive for any kind of audience. On the other hand, alternating the mode of the folk narrator and sophisticated literary techniques points to the effort to address the well-read audience. Based on the comparison of typical examples from the production of three authors (Karolina Světlá, Leopold Hansmann and Vítězslav Hálek), the communication intentions of such narrators and their attitude to the assumed audience can be conceptualized, respectively, as integration, togetherness and confrontation.
