"Ways of Worldmaking": A Study of Narrative Transmission in Henry J ames's The Aspem Papers

Abstract

In this paper, I argue that an understanding of modality – especially when deployed in so-called unreliable homodiegetic narration – essentially requires an understanding of the referential functions of language. These functions, often performed by implicatures and, in Goodman's terms, "exemplifications", create the "worlds" whose cognisability becomes a presupposition upon which our grasp of the relevant modality is predicated. James's novella, The Aspern Papers, presents a complex form of narrative transmission; one that, I argue, would remain partially recoverable without the deployment of the text-immanent postulates proffered by my theoretical exposition of the ironic modalities of unreliable homodiegetic narrative.

Opsomming
In hierdie referaat word geargumenteer dat die begrip van modaliteit – veral wanneer dit in die sogenaamde onbetroubare homodiegetiese vertelling ontplooi word – essensieel 'n begrip van die referensiële funksies van taal vereis. Hierdie funksies, wat dikwels deur implisering vervul word en wat volgens Goodman voorbeeldgevalle is, skep die "wêrelde" waarvan die kenbaarheid 'n veronderstelling word wat ons houvas op die relevante modaliteit bevestig. James se novelle, The Aspern Papers, bied 'n komplekse vorm van sodanige verhalende oordrag: een wat, volgens my redenasie, net gedeeltelik verhaalbaar sal bly sender die ontplooiing van die teks se inherente postulate soos voorgestel deur die teoretiese eksposisie van die ironiese modaliteite van onbetroubare homodiegetiese vertelling in hierdie referaat.