Background
Todorov is a Bulgarian writer and philosopher. He grew up in Bulgaria. He moved to France and made a name for himself in his adopted country. Todorov made significant contributions in the field of literary theory, culture, and history.
His works appeared in books such as The Poetics of Prose, The Conquest of America, and Hope and Memory. He wrote the original version of The Two Principles of Narrative in 1978. Porter translated the article to English in 1990. The translated work appeared in a book entitled Genres in Discourse, and was published under the Cambridge University Press.
The title, Genres in Discourse is a misnomer, because its main theme is not about genres. It is a collection of essays that talks about different categories of literature. The article was written in response to questions regarding the nature of narratives.
Main Arguments
Todorov argues that a fascinating story adheres to the two principles of narrative: succession and transformation (Mills and Barlow, 2009). Todorov reached this conclusion by scrutinizing the works of other philosophers and literary experts.
He borrowed some of their ideas, and he offered his own interpretation of how to construct a narrative, sot that it resonates in the hearts and souls of readers all over the world. Todorov’s understands the importance of “repetition and difference” within a narrative.
Repetition makes it easier for readers and the viewing public to immediately understand the premise of the story. Readers and moviegoers are not expected to understand everything that they read, or appreciate the intended message of the movie that they are watching. Nevertheless, they are expected to understand the premise of the story, so that they have the incentive to keep on reading.
For example, in an adventure story, the reader immediately senses that there is going to be a hero and a villain. Similar patterns recur in the creation of popular fairy tales. In adventure stories, the hero has to embark on a journey to prove his loyalty or his love for another person.
Todorov accepted the need for repetition. However, he also acknowledged the other side of the coin so-to-speak. He said that “repetition and difference” must go hand-in-hand in order to create unique stories. In this article, Todorov argued that the manifestation of the “repetition and difference” aspect of the narrative requires the application of a specific formula.
Todorov asserts that the mere presence of characters, the statements made about their needs and desires, these are not enough to constitute a narrative. Todorov pointed out that certain elements must be present in order to create a narrative.
With regards to the “repetition” aspect of the narrative, it requires the unfolding of an action, change, and difference (Mills & Barlow, 2009). With regards to the “difference” aspect of the narrative, it requires five obligatory elements:
1) the opening situation of equilibrium;
2) the degradation of the situation;
3) the state of disequilibrium;
4) the attempt to reestablish equilibrium;
5) the reestablishment of equilibrium (Mills and Barlow, 2009).
Evidence Offered
Todorov was able to prove his case by citing two stories. The first one was an Italian story written by a man named Boccaccio. The second story was a popular Russian fairy tale entitled The Swan-Geese.
Todorov tells the story of a man who lusted after his neighbor’s wife. Readers are naturally drawn to the story. For reasons that may be difficult for the uninitiated person to explain, there are certain elements to Boccaccio’s tale that made it an interesting story.
Todorov did not provide details on the story of the Swan-Geese. However, he mentioned several elements, and information regarding the said fairy tale that enabled the reader to get the gist of the story. Even if Todorov went through the outer layer of the story, readers are interested to find out the ending to the story.
In other words, The Swan-Geese is another example of a compelling narrative. Todorov went on to explain the reasons why it was a compelling story. Todorov was able to prove his main proposition by highlighting certain elements of Boccaccio’s story, and he proceeded to say that statement of facts does not constitute a narrative.
For example, the statement that says Ricciardo was in love with Catella does not draw readers to the story. There are so many people who are in love. Even if the author decided to add controversy, and say that Ricciardo lusted after his neighbor’s wife does not create enough momentum to propel the story forward.
It was only after the author revealed Ricciardo’s state of mind, and the disequilibrium within his heart that the story began to acquire traction. However, the story has to go forward, it must create action. Therefore, it has to follow a chronological order or a succession.
At the same time, the reader must see the transformation within the story, and within their hearts and minds. This occurs, as they try to interpret the changes that are occurring within the narrative, and within the characters of the story.
The same thing can be said about The Swan-Geese. The statement that says that a boy and girl were playing outside the house does not automatically constitute a narrative. It is a common occurrence that children play outside their homes.
It is only after the introduction of the statement saying the boy was kidnapped when the story began to move forward. In the same manner, the story has to follow a certain chronological structure in order to give way to the unfolding action.
Reactions
Todorov was correct when he pointed out the importance of succession and transformation, in the creation of a compelling story. The first part of the formula that requires a chronological unfolding of action is nothing new. Other philosophers and writers were able to describe this critical framework.
The interesting contribution of Todorov to the literary world was the way he combined the importance of the chronological unfolding of action, with the need to experience transformation within the story, and within the hearts and minds of the readers.
It is through the identification of the succession-transformation dynamic that Todoro was able to explain the secret recipe for creating compelling stories. He was correct in stating this argument, because the absence of the elements, such as, unfolding action, change, and difference, leads to the creation of a hollow structure.
In fact, Todorov was correct when he said that it creates a mere description of events. However, it is not a good example of a narrative. It is easy to agree with Todorov on this point, because uninspired storytelling contains a problematic framework, it is the unfolding of statements without an unfolding action that creates change.
One way to look at “repetition and difference” is by imagining the construction of a railway system. The establishment of the railroad tracks exemplifies the laying down of a familiar structure. The characters and the other elements of the story represent the train.
The transformation that occurs within the story represents the movement of the train. The movement of the train is the unfolding action that leads to change in scenery, and change in the overall components of the railway system. In other words, stories are compelling if it promises transformation.
It has to fulfill a basic requirement first, which is the repetitive elements of a basic narrative. It is important to secure these elements in order to develop the groundwork needed to fill in other vital parts. However, unsuccessful storytellers are only committed to the first requirement.
They were able to talk about the premise. They were able to talk about a man who fell in love with a beautiful girl. Without the capability to offer unfolding action and change, the story dies before it begins.
Conclusion
Todorov was able to prove his claim that successful storytelling and the creation of compelling stories require adherence to the principles of succession and transformation. He was able to prove his assertion by dissecting two stories. He was able to tell these stories in a compelling manner, and readers were interested to find out what happened at the end.
He went back to remove certain elements of the story, and all of a sudden, the same exciting stories suddenly lost steam and were no longer interesting. He went on to explain that the mere presence of characters, setting, and other specific information, does not constitute a narrative. He was correct in making this assertion. In fact, the idea of unfolding action is not a new thing.
Stories are like trains that require railroad tracks. The railroad tracks are established patterns, and established structures that are needed to jumpstart the story, and bring it to a satisfying end. In other words, a story has a beginning and an end. However, it was the description of the second principle, and its application to the creation of narratives that revealed Todorov’s brilliant mind.
Without the second principle of transformation, stories are mere description of events. Without the element of change, stories are boring and repetitious descriptions of everyday occurrence. The statement that a girl was attracted to a boy is not a compelling story. It is stating the obvious. People are attracted to other people. However, the introduction of a transforming element creates fireworks within the story.
When the boy begins to create elaborate schemes in order to attract the girl’s attention, the story unfolds into another dimension. In other words, the story becomes interesting. It is also important to point out that Todorov did not only talk about the transformation that occurs within the narrative. He also pointed out the transformation within the reader’s heart and mind.
This is arguably his second greatest contribution to the discussion of structuralism. It is an ingenious way of describing how readers react to the stories that they enjoyed reading. The transformation within the reader’s heart and mind also explains the different interpretation of the story. Therefore, stories are not only unique because of the unique elements that are contained with the storyline, but also because of the different interpretations in the hearts and minds of the consumer of the said stories.
It is important to highlight Todorov’s contributions in order to appreciate the work required to produce fascinating stories. Writers must take heed to what he has to say in order to prevent the creation of boring stories that readers will never read.
Reference
Mills, B. & Barlow, D. (2009). Reading media theory. New York: Routledge.