Matn/Pizhūhī-i Adabī (Apr 2016)
An Analytical Study of Narrative Pace in the Novels ‘Missing Soluch’ and ‘Season of Migration to the North’ Using Gérard Genette’s Narratology Theory
Abstract
One of the basic techniques for the analysis of a novel is to study and criticize its narrative using the Narratology Theory of Gérard Genette, the French structuralist critic. Considering time as one of the main components for the development of a narrative, he established his theory of grammatical time upon its three components of Order, Duration, and Frequency. This study aimed at investigating the importance of time and its relevant components as the basic elements of a narrative. To do so, the novels ‘Missing Soluch’ by Mahmoud Dowlatabadi and ‘Season of Migration to the North’ by Tayeb Salih were studied with use of a descriptive analysis and a focus on the time continuity of Genette’s theory. The findings of the study showed that the novel ‘Missing Soluch’ has an average narrative pace because the author has had a moderate use of the pace-increasing (i.e. ellipsis, acceleration and flashforward) and pace-decreasing factors(i.e. descriptive pause, deceleration, episode addition, mental action, and flashback). But, in ‘Season of Migration to the North’, the pace is slow and sometimes completely paused due to the abundance of descriptions, episodes addition, and frequent use of flashbacks. Nonetheless, the abundance of dynamism, excitement, internal and external conflicts, and anxiety in the two novels has significantly rectified the slow pace of their narratives.
