The development of free indirect constructions in Dutch novels

Why is the free indirect style such a useful narrative means to portray characters’ minds in fictional texts? This article gives more insight into this phenomenon by analyzing texts from earlier times. Previous studies state that the free indirect style for the representation of thoughts emerged in Dutch literary prose in the 19th century. However, this article shows that the roots of this technique were already present in 17th century Dutch popular literature novels. The analysis of these novels provides us with more insight into this phenomenon. Before the emergence of free indirect style, t... Mehr ...

Verfasser: Clement, Marja
Dokumenttyp: Journal article
Erscheinungsdatum: 2014
Verlag/Hrsg.: De Gruyter
Schlagwörter: Institute of German Studies / 430 German & related languages / free indirect style / early Dutch fiction / thought-representation
Sprache: Englisch
Permalink: https://search.fid-benelux.de/Record/base-29041743
Datenquelle: BASE; Originalkatalog
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Link(s) : https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/105884/

Why is the free indirect style such a useful narrative means to portray characters’ minds in fictional texts? This article gives more insight into this phenomenon by analyzing texts from earlier times. Previous studies state that the free indirect style for the representation of thoughts emerged in Dutch literary prose in the 19th century. However, this article shows that the roots of this technique were already present in 17th century Dutch popular literature novels. The analysis of these novels provides us with more insight into this phenomenon. Before the emergence of free indirect style, the most common form for the representation of a character’s consciousness was direct discourse. The suggestion that the character is ‘thinking out loud’ makes this thought representation unnatural, as emotions and feelings are often pre-verbal and wordless. Free indirect style gives the narrator the possibility to formulate that which the character cannot put into words. The free indirect style allows the author to merge descriptions of events and actions with the character’s inner life, feelings, questions and wishes without a change in the narrative style when it comes to personal pronouns and tense.