The Character of the Narrator in L. Khechoyan’s Novella Trees of Incense and the Novel Black Book, Heavy Beetle
The Character of the Narrator in L. Khechoyan’s Novella Trees of Incense and the Novel Black Book, Heavy Beetle
Ayvazyan Tina
Summary
Key words: narrative, point of view, myth-making, narrative technique, temporal distance, structure
This article examines the character of the narrator in L. Khechoyan’s novella “Trees of Incense” and the novel “Black Book, Heavy Beetle”. Khechoyan’s narrative art is characterized by the variability of narrative techniques, which results in a constantly evolving narrator. The study focuses on the typological features of the narrator and the changes in their point of view across the works.
A narratological method was applied to analyze the texts. The scientific novelty lies in identifying the narrator types in both works. In “Trees of Incense”, the narrator is homodiegetic and also functions as a character within the fictional world. To mythologize the history of the depicted dynasty, the narrator periodically shifts the temporal point of view, increasing the temporal distance between the story and the narrative.
In “Black Book, Heavy Beetle”, three narrators are present: two homodiegetic narrators telling the story in the first person, and one impersonal heterodiegetic narrator. The combination of primary and secondary narrators creates multiperspectivity, enriching the perception of the narrative’s point of view and enhancing the complexity of storytelling.