WHY WE READ FICTION: THEORY OF THE MIND AND THE NOVEL

by LISA ZUNSHINE

Overview

Why We Read Fiction offers a lucid overview of the most exciting area of research in contemporary cognitive psychology known as “Theory of Mind” and discusses its implications for literary studies. It covers a broad range of fictional narratives, from Richardson’s Clarissa, Dostoyevski’s Crime and Punishment, and Austen’s Pride and Prejudice to Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway, Nabokov’s Lolita, and Hammett’s The Maltese Falcon. Zunshine’s surprising new interpretations of well-known literary texts and popular cultural representations constantly prod her readers to rethink their own interest in fictional narrative. Written for a general audience, this study provides a jargon-free introduction to the rapidly growing interdisciplinary field known as cognitive approaches to literature and culture.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780814251515
Publisher:	Ohio State University Press
Publication date:	03/22/2006
Series:	THEORY INTERPRETATION NARRATIV
Edition description:	1
Pages:	198
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.60(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Lisa Zunshine is associate professor of English literature at the University of Kentucky, Lexington.

Table of Contents

	List of Illustrations	vii
	Acknowledgments	ix
Part I	Attributing Minds
1	Why Did Peter Walsh Tremble?	3
2	What Is Mind-Reading (Also Known as Theory of Mind)?	6
3	Theory of Mind, Autism, and Fiction: Four Caveats	10
4	"Effortless" Mind-Reading	13
5	Why Do We Read Fiction?	16
6	The Novel as a Cognitive Experiment	22
7	Can Cognitive Science Tell Us Why We Are Afraid of Mrs. Dalloway?	27
8	The Relationship between a "Cognitive" Analysis of Mrs. Dalloway and the Larger Field of Literary Studies	36
9	Woolf, Pinker, and the Project of Interdisciplinarity	40
Part II	Tracking Minds
1	Whose Thought Is It, Anyway?	47
2	Metarepresentational Ability and Schizophrenia	54
3	Everyday Failures of Source-Monitoring	58
4	Monitoring Fictional States of Mind	60
5	"Fiction" and "History"	65
6	Tracking Minds in Beowulf	73
7	Don Quixote and His Progeny	75
8	Source-Monitoring, ToM, and the Figure of the Unreliable Narrator	77
9	Source-Monitoring and the Implied Author	79
10	Richardson's Clarissa: The Progress of the Elated Bridegroom	82
(a)	Mind-Games in Clarissa	83
(b)	Enter the Reader	91
11	Nabokov's Lolita: The Deadly Demon Meets and Destroys the Tenderhearted Boy	100
(a)	"Distributed" Mind-Reading I: A "comic, clumsy, wavering Prince Charming"	103
(b)	"Distributed" Mind-Reading II: An "immortal daemon disguised as a female child"	109
(c)	How Do We Know When Humbert Is Reliable?	112
Part III	Concealing Minds
1	ToM and the Detective Novel: What Does It Take to Suspect Everybody?	121
2	Why Is Reading a Detective Story a Lot like Lifting Weights at the Gym?	123
3	Metarepresentationality and Some Recurrent Patterns of the Detective Story	128
(a)	One Liar Is Expensive, Several Liars Are Insupportable	130
(b)	There Are No Material Clues Independent from Mind-Reading	133
(c)	Mind-Reading Is an Equal Opportunity Endeavor	138
(d)	"Alone Again, Naturally"	141
4	A Cognitive Evolutionary Perspective: Always Historicize!	153
	Conclusion: Why do We Read (and Write) Fiction?
1	Authors Meet Their Readers	159
2	Is This Why We Read Fiction? Surely, There Is More to It!	162
	Notes	165
	Bibliography	181
	Index	193

Editorial Reviews

Zunshine proved beyond doubt that even the more conservative literary student who just wants a better reading or understanding of a specific novel stands to gain considerably by adopting the cognitive outlook and vocabulary she suggests.” —Uri Margolin, University of Alberta

From the Publisher