Todorov: Narratology

• What does Todorov suggest about all narratives?

  all narratives share a basic structure that involves a movement from one state of equilibrium to another
• what does Todorov say about equilibrium?

  they are separated by a period of imbalance or disequilibrium
• what does Todorov say about creating meaning?

  The way that narratives are resolved can have particular ideological significance
• Vladimir Propp

  in his 1929 book, Morphology of the folk tale, he analysed hundreds of Russian folk stories uncovering their narrative structures and a highly stable list of characters
• Propp's character archetypes : the hero

  • either the seeker-hero who wrights wrongs that are done to others or the victim-hero who must overcome a personal weakness
  • an example of a hero is Tommy Shelby from peaky blinders
• Propp's character archetypes : the villain

  • who fights or pursues the hero and must be defeated if the hero is to accomplish their quest
  • an example of a villain is Campbell from peaky blinders
• Propp's character archetypes: The princess

  • usually a reward the hero pursues and achieves at the end of their quest
  • an example of a princess is grace from peaky blinders
• Todorov's ideal narrative structure

  • equilibrium: the story constructs a stable world as the outset of the narrative, introduces key characters
  • disruption: oppositional forces destabilise the story's equilibrium , lead protagonists attempt to repair disruption
  • new equilibrium: disruption is repaired and stability is restored , the final equilibrium is different to the start, the Hero's world is transformed
• narrative patterns

  • Todorov suggests that meaning in media products is constructed through narrative sequences and transitions rather than through any individual effect or single moment within a product
  • he suggests that an ideal narrative structure follows a pattern of equilibrium, disequilibrium and new equilibrium
  • the new equilibrium stage transforms characters and the world they inhabit
• ideological effects of story structure

  • the power of stories lies in their deeper symbolic meanings
  • narratives construct ideals for the audience through the use of equilibrium
  • disequilibrium sequences represent ideas, values or behaviours that are deemed problematic - often these negative ideologies are embodied through the villain character
  • narrative transformation produces further ideals or positive models of behaviour for a media audience
• challenges to Todorov

  • Steve Neale would say that story structures are continuously adapting and changing
  • Levi-Strauss is concerned with the way that narratives produce oppositions rather than the way they are transformed