Life Stories: The Creation of Coherence

by Charlotte Linde

All adult speakers in Western cultures have life stories argues Charlotte Linde, and the ways in which these life stories are formed and exchanged with others have a powerful effect on all of us. Life stories express our sense of self, who we are and how we got that way. According to Linde, we also use these stories to show that our lives can be understood as coherent, and to assert or negotiate group membership. These life stories take part in the highest level of social constructions, since they are built on cultural assumptions about what is expected in a life, what the norms for a successful life are, and what common or special belief systems are necessary to establish coherence. The life story, illuminated by this engrossing study, is a form of everyday discourse which has not previously been precisely defined or studied. It is an oral, discontinuous unit, consisting of stories which are retold in a variety of forms over a long period of time, and which may be revised and
changed as the speaker comes to drop old meanings and add new ones to parts of the life story. The life story is a particularly rich and important area for study, because it represents a crossroads of linguistic structure and social practice. Linde's analysis is of importance to linguistics, as well as having broader implications for anthropology, psychology, and sociology.

Genres: Anthropology

Paperback

First published July 1, 1993

Reviews

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book during my graduate studies in Anthropology, and what Linde reveals has stayed with me in the years since. Linde's argument is that most Westerners--exposed to the bible, folktales, novels, and movies from their earliest lives--compose their own life story within their heads. Linde's most interesting discovery is that this life story changes over time. An event that seemed disastrous as it was happening, for example, can later on be seen as a turning point that led to a positive change. Events that seemed random are re-cast as intentional the result as fate in order to give them meaning.

This description is an oversimplification of the book's contents, which are based on people's retellings of their job histories, but gives a sense of them. Linde's observations not only contributed to my further graduate school work, but with how I dealt with people afterward. Now that I'm a writer, it is even more useful. I HIGHLY recommend this book for those who can read at a graduate school (or even upper-division college) level in linguistics, anthropology or sociology.

[Ivone]

Uma muito pertinente análise multidisciplinar da forma como as histórias de vida são construídas e reconstruídas ao longo do tempo e a sua função pessoal e social, tomando como ponto de partida entrevistas sobre escolhas profissionais a uma pequena amostra de norte-americanos. O que me impressionou especialmente ao ler este livro hoje foi o facto de Linde em 1993 identificar a influência da mudança filosófico-religiosa ocorrida nos EUA na viragem para o séc. XIX, o Second Great Awakening na forma como pensamos as nossas histórias de vida. Esta movimento religioso protestante surge em oposição à crença na predestinação que caracterizava o calvinismo, propondo o individualismo e o culto do sucesso individual numa sociedade percebida como de abundância e de recursos ilimitados. Esta revolução está na origem das correntes religiosas evangélicas que proliferaram nos EUA e se estenderam a outras paragens, também à Europa, mas também a interligadas correntes laicas de desenvolvimento pessoal focadas na auto-ajuda e no sucesso individual, que impregnaram o chamado senso comum.

Se em 1993, Linde reconhecia a influência desta corrente na forma como as histórias profissionais eram percebidas e construídas, é incrível como, passados 30 anos, essa influência é hoje talvez até mais saliente, não sendo o individualismo como medida de todas as coisas sequer questionado e tendo as igrejas evangélicas conquistado um poder e uma influência que é impossível ignorar ou desvalorizar. Hoje, o entendimento da ética sobretudo como uma lista de direitos mais do que de deveres, é quase inquestionada. E sobre vivermos num mundo de abundância e de recursos ilimitados, bem, sabemos onde isso nos trouxe e como ainda é uma ideia tão mobilizadora, mesmo contra todas as evidências (e.g. alterações climáticas, desigualdade social crescente...) Neste livro, após enumerar alguns desses "direitos do indivíduo" retirados de publicações evangélicas e de auto-ajuda, Linde escreve: "It is easy to object that the tenets discussed are completely nonsense and are clearly contrary to what we see before our faces every day. Such an objection raises an important point about the nature of common-sense beliefs. To be part of common sense, a belief need not to be true nor be able to stand up to intense logical scrutiny. Rather, it must be plausible when not examined to closely, since common sense is composed precisely of beliefs that are axiomatic and, hence, unexamined." 30 anos depois, aqui estamos.

[C. Todd White · Rating 5 out of 5]

This groundbreaking work is an essential read for anyone interested in the life history method. The ties to Foucault's discourse theory are important and insightful, grounding an abstract notion into a useful and pragmatic methodology.

The narratives selected on career choices and trajectories mark the end of an affluent age in the United States and the dawn of an era of restricted latitude in such matters. It will be interesting to see how career history narratives have changed since the start of the 2008 recession. Perhaps Linde herself would take on this challenge?

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

Linde provides a great discussion(from a linguist's perspectice) of the construction of autobiographical narratives that are consistent with specific social contexts.