AG Erzählforschung: Vortrag von Saskia Neugebauer (Bergische Universität Wuppertal)
Abstract:
The concept of dysfunctional relationships provides an interpretative framework for analyzing character relationships that generate emotional ambivalence, unease, and cognitive dissonance in readers. While theories of unreliable narration have long provided a framework for interpreting comparable effects in homodiegetic narratives, the concept of dysfunctional relationships extends this analytical perspective to heterodiegetic narration and variable focalization, addressing a gap in existing literary scholarship. The framework draws on readers’ extratextual knowledge and folk-psychological assumptions to explain how such responses inform the interpretation of relationships as dysfunctional. ‘Dysfunctionality’ here refers to the psychosocial dimension of interpersonal relationships: functional relationships contribute to the well-being of those involved, whereas dysfunctional relationships undermine it. Through analyses of five contemporary novels, I identify five central themes that are highlighted and critically negotiated through the representation of dysfunctional relationships.
Die Projektpräsentation findet am Mittwoch, den 21.10.2026 um 18 Uhr c.t. in Raum O.09.11 und auf Zoom statt.
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