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Reading People, Reading Plots

Character, Progression, and the Interpretation of Narrative

James Phelan

Frontmatter and Preface

Introduction: Character, Progression, and the Rhetorical Interpretation of Narrative

Part I / The Mimetic-Thematic Relationship and the Thematizing of Narrative
1: Character, Progression, and Thematism: The Cases of 1984 and Pride and Prejudice
2: The Thematic Function and Interpreting by Cultural Codes: The Case of “The Beast in the Jungle”

Part II / Incorporating the Synthetic Function: Reexamining Audiences and Progression
3: The Functions of Character and the Relations of Audiences in The French Lieutenant’s Woman
4: Progression and the Synthetic Secondary Character: The Case of John Wemmick
5: Foregrounding the Synthetic: Calvino’s “Reader” and the Audiences of Narrative

Part III / Evaluating—and Resisting—Character and Progression
6: Evaluation and Resistance: The Case of Catherine Barkley

Conclusion: Extensions and Reconsiderations

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