The One vs. the Many: Minor Characters and the Space of the Protagonist in the Novel

by Alex Woloch

Does a novel focus on one life or many? Alex Woloch uses this simple question to develop a powerful new theory of the realist novel, based on how narratives distribute limited attention among a crowded field of characters. His argument has important implications for both literary studies and narrative theory.


Characterization has long been a troubled and neglected problem within literary theory. Through close readings of such novels as Pride and Prejudice , Great Expectations , and Le Père Goriot , Woloch demonstrates that the representation of any character takes place within a shifting field of narrative attention and obscurity. Each individual--whether the central figure or a radically subordinated one--emerges as a character only through his or her distinct and contingent space within the narrative as a whole. The "character-space," as Woloch defines it, marks the dramatic interaction between an implied person and his or her delimited position within a narrative structure. The organization of, and clashes between, many character-spaces within a single narrative totality is essential to the novel's very achievement and concerns, striking at issues central to narrative poetics, the aesthetics of realism, and the dynamics of literary representation.


Woloch's discussion of character-space allows for a different history of the novel and a new definition of characterization itself. By making the implied person indispensable to our understanding of literary form, this book offers a forward-looking avenue for contemporary narrative theory.

Genres: Nonfiction, Literary Criticism, Writing, Criticism, Narrative

408 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

Reviews

[J. Alfred · Rating 5 out of 5]

Characters fight for 'space' in a novel the way that people compete for recognition in real life, and main characters only attain their roles by virtue of their privileged situation in regard to minor characters. Such is the argument of this book, which was recommended to me with the warning that if I liked it I might become part of a devoted group of thirty to forty year olds who champion it intently as one of the most interesting things happening as regards literary interpretations. I am at this point thirty one, and I happily suggest that you cannot do many better things for your own reading habits than slowly read through this book. At times, while reading the introduction, I had the almost physical sensation of my brain opening up at the top to allow for new tools.
If you are interested in Dickens or Austen (or, I suppose, Balzac), you should waste exactly no time in hunting this down.
Read it. Love it. Join the team. (I hope one day to meet other members of the team.)

[Oda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I persevered! This is good, but very dense. This read like a 350 page science paper, where you have to pay attention and re-read paragraphs to make sure you got everything. It is really detailed, which makes a good example for my own analytical work with literature, but sometimes it felt a bit forced with its capitalism model. Overall a useful read, but when deciding to go so deep into each novel, it might have served the overall goal better to leave one or two examples out. Anyway, it explored the meaning of minor characters very well, and I really appreciated the concept of character-space and character-system.

[Erica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Woloch argues that we need to pay attention to the ways that narratives shape character spaces as a way of distributing narrative attention--minor characters are the proletariat of the novel. Considering I agree 99% with this author, I'm still going to quibble that Woloch takes the interiority thesis a bit too seriously. Aren't we all flat characters to some extent?

[adam · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best of books of lit crit I've ever read and something I'll be working with for a long time to come. Woloch's writing is frighteningly clear and his readings of individual texts are magisterial and nuanced. This is critical writing at its very best.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this quite a bit, particularly the chapter on Pride and Prejudice ("Narrative Assymmetry in Pride and Prejudice").