Narrative Perspective in French

What is meant by narrative perspective in French?

The term narrative perspective (point de vue narratif or narration) refers to the story or narrative, considered in its structure (a sequence of events told in a certain way) and told by a narrator.
Be careful: the author and the narrator are not the same. Even though they can coincide (for example in an autobiography), the author—the real person who writes the story—most of the time invents a narrator who takes charge of the narrative and tells the story.

But what perspective should be adopted to present the events?
The author can choose between three narrative perspectives (also called focalization or focalisation).

Omniscient point of view

The omniscient narrator knows everything about the reality he describes: the thoughts, feelings, and opinions of all the characters, the relationships that link them, as well as their past and their future. The narrator can move freely through space and time within the action.
The reader therefore knows more than the characters.

Example:: Elle marchait dans la rue et pensait à son chien, Dagobert. Cela lui faisait mal de le voir si malade et elle espérait qu’il serait bientôt guéri. Ce qu’elle ne savait pas, c’est que Dagobert était rétabli depuis un bon moment et qu’il sautait partout dans le jardin.She was walking down the street and thinking about her dog, Dagobert. It hurt her to see him so sick and she hoped he would soon recover. What she did not know was that Dagobert had already recovered and was jumping around in the garden.

Internal point of view

The narrator tells the story from the perspective of a specific character. This may be a narrator-character (a first-person narrative), but this is not always the case. The story can also be told in the third person, while the events are still perceived and interpreted by the character.

The narrator limits the description to what the character sees, thinks, feels, and does.
The reader therefore knows as much as the character.

Example:: Je n’arrivais toujours pas à le croire. Lisa était bel et bien enceinte et elle ne m’avait rien dit ! Je ne savais pas s’il serait possible de continuer avec le groupe. En fin de compte, il est difficile de devenir un chanteur de rock célèbre avec un enfant sur scène.I still couldn’t believe it. Lisa really was pregnant and she hadn’t told me anything! I didn’t know whether it would be possible to continue with the band. In the end, it is difficult to become a famous rock singer with a baby on stage.

External point of view

The narrator is neutral (a simple observer). He is not involved in the story and does not know the characters’ thoughts. He generally does not express his opinion. This perspective resembles a camera recording events without interpretation.

The reader therefore knows less than the characters.

Example:: Il entra dans la pièce en faisant claquer la porte derrière lui et cria : « Arrête de me donner des ordres ! » Laura ne répondit pas et quitta la pièce.He entered the room, slammed the door behind him and shouted: “Stop giving me orders!” Laura did not answer and left the room.

Note

Sometimes several narrative perspectives appear within the same story. A novel may, for example, begin with an external perspective (presentation or description) and then shift to an internal or omniscient perspective. Each perspective has its own characteristics, and the author can adopt them depending on the needs of the story.

It is rare for a narrative to be written entirely in external focalization.

The status of the narrator

First-person narrative – je

The narrator takes part in the story he tells as a character (narrator-character). He may be a simple witness to the events (a secondary character) or the hero of his own story. In both cases, he speaks in the first person.

This narrative mode is limited by the narrator’s subjectivity, but it allows access to the narrator’s inner thoughts, which often helps the reader identify with him.

Example:: Marcel Proust, À la recherche du temps perdu

Third-person narrative – il/elle

The narrator is outside the story, which he tells in the third person. However, he may occasionally intervene to make a comment or express a judgment or feeling. In such cases, we can identify markers of narration (personal pronouns, spatial or temporal markers) and modal markers (adjectives, adverbs, verbs of opinion, punctuation) that reveal the narrator’s presence.

Example:: Stendhal, Lucien Leuwen

Often this narrator is omniscient, knowing everything about the characters, their thoughts, their environment, and their time. However, the narrative perspective may also be internal or external. In this case, we are not dealing with a narrator-character, but with a narrator who follows the characters while adopting a particular narrative perspective.

Example:: Flaubert, Madame Bovary