<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>The novel gives us access to fictional universes in a fundamentally unfinished mode, which allows the reader to give free rein to his or her imagination, in a freedom that is nevertheless monitored and controlled by rules. This article tries to understand the nature of this incompleteness, by discussing some classical readings. How does this specific dimension of fiction relate to Umberto Eco’s concept of the “open work” or to the idea, developed by the phenomenologist Roman Ingarden, that literary works are “schemas” destined to be “concretized” in the consciousness of the reader? How does Hans Robert Jauss’s aesthetics of reception help us to think about the incompleteness of the work in the proper time of its different readings? Through the fruitful dialogue of these different theories, it is a question of highlighting two important points. First, these theories, while discussing the respective roles of the author and the reader, neglect a a third character who is nevertheless essential to the fictional narrative, the narrator. However, taking into account the latter sheds light on the problems encountered. Secondly, this relationship between the incompleteness of the narrative and the narrator’s position is not in itself specific to fiction. It is not absent from scientific texts, when they are thought of as narratives about reality susceptible of different readings in their history.</p>
</abstract>

The novel gives us access to fictional universes in a fundamentally unfinished mode, which allows the reader to give free rein to his or her imagination, in a freedom that is nevertheless monitored and controlled by rules. This article tries to understand the nature of this incompleteness, by discussing some classical readings. How does this specific dimension of fiction relate to Umberto Eco’s concept of the “open work” or to the idea, developed by the phenomenologist Roman Ingarden, that literary works are “schemas” destined to be “concretized” in the consciousness of the reader? How does Hans Robert Jauss’s aesthetics of reception help us to think about the incompleteness of the work in the proper time of its different readings? Through the fruitful dialogue of these different theories, it is a question of highlighting two important points. First, these theories, while discussing the respective roles of the author and the reader, neglect a a third character who is nevertheless essential to the fictional narrative, the narrator. However, taking into account the latter sheds light on the problems encountered. Secondly, this relationship between the incompleteness of the narrative and the narrator’s position is not in itself specific to fiction. It is not absent from scientific texts, when they are thought of as narratives about reality susceptible of different readings in their history.

Le roman entre inachèvement et clôture

Phainomenon

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

{"article-title":"Le roman entre inachèvement et clôture"}

The novel gives us access to fictional universes in a fundamentally unfinished mode, which allows the reader to give free rein to his or her imagination, in a...

Le roman entre inachèvement et clôture

Published Online: May 17, 2021

Page range: 165 - 183

Received: Oct 22, 2021

Accepted: Oct 28, 2021

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/phainomenon-2021-0017

Keywords
Fiction, roman, narrateur, lecture, Umberto Eco, Roman Ingarden, Hans Robert Jauss, concrétisation

© 2021 Lucien Vinciguerra, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

Le roman entre inachèvement et clôture

Published Online: May 17, 2021

Page range: 165 - 183

Received: Oct 22, 2021

Accepted: Oct 28, 2021

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/phainomenon-2021-0017

KeywordsFiction, roman, narrateur, lecture, Umberto Eco, Roman Ingarden, Hans Robert Jauss, concrétisation

© 2021 Lucien Vinciguerra, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

Keywords
Fiction, roman, narrateur, lecture, Umberto Eco, Roman Ingarden, Hans Robert Jauss, concrétisation