Parameters of Narrative Perspectivization: The Narrator

Abstract

Narrations have traditionally been seen as linguistic artefacts that are mediated by someone who is telling the story. As such, the narrator’s perspective constitutes a central parameter when exploring the possibilities of a unified approach to narrative perspective. With this in mind, this paper aims to take a closer look at the narrator from both theoretical and empirical viewpoints. Based on a review of the current state of the art with respect to narrative perspectivization in general, and the narrator’s perspective in particular, it leads to the conclusion that the narrator is best conceptualized as a covert viewpoint potential that can be actualized to different degrees. As such, the narrator’s perspective should not be identified with “plain narration”, but as a perspective that has to be established by linguistic cues. In a second step, this is supported by an empirical analysis of a specific narrative constellation in German which shows that the narrator’s perspective does not necessarily arise per default and examines which linguistic indicators are able to actualize the narrator’s point of view.