narrative theory

Nar r at i ve Th e o r y

Emma De mp s e y

To r d o r o v' s Nar r at i ve

Th e o r y

Tzvetan Todorov was a Bulgarian structuralist linguist who published influential work on narrative in the 1960’s. Todorov believed that all stories have the same structure in which they begin with an equilibrium or status quo where any potentially opposing forces are balanced.

The equilibrium is then followed by a disequilibrium which is a disruption of events.

The disequilibrium must then be recognised by the characters causing them to take action to restore the equilibrium.

Since the characters cannot return to the original equilibrium, a new one is created in the process.