Title: All’s Well that Ends Well: Storytelling, Predictive Signs, and the Voice of the Author in Chariton’s Callirhoe
Abstract: Abstract This article takes a new approach to the study of narrative technique in Chariton’s Callirhoe . Following Chariton’s self-identification at the start of the novel, considerable emphasis is placed upon the narrator, who makes his presence felt throughout the narrative and whose role is further underscored by self-reflexive comments about storytelling made by various characters. This, combined with the fact that the novelist appears to have delegated all responsibility for the shaping of the plot to personified deities, allows the author to remain ‘concealed’ for most of the narrative, thus giving him a voice independent from that of the narrator. With assistance from divine agents, author and narrator operate a suspense-generating system of forewarnings, false predictive signs, and intervention, which enhances the anticipation of the expected happy ending. In the last Book, with the finale drawing near, the narrator hints at the authorial presence behind the novel, but it is only in the last sentence and after the story has reached its dénouement that the auctor ’s voice can be heard loud and clear in an undisputed authorial statement.
Publication Year: 2012
Publication Date: 2012-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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Cited By Count: 3
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