Very interesting perspective, Robert. I do understand why readers speculate about the motivation of fictional characters - they are often much more interesting than the folks I meet in "real" life. It only works if the fictional character is similar enough to someone I know to make the speculation feel worthwhile - i.e., as if it could illuminate my understanding of the non-fictional human. If the fictional character is too far out of my experience, then I am not tempted to speculate.
A lot of very common things strike me as almost miraculous. Take the idea of speculating about motivations. One can never truly know what motivates a real person, since their inner life is totally concealed. They can say aloud what motivates them, but they could be lying or making it up. In fiction, though, you can know with certainty what a fictional character’s motivation is, if a reliable narrator candidly exposes their inner life. So, maybe we’re not applying our knowledge of real people to fiction. Maybe we’re learning from fiction how to understand real people. The uninteresting people you meet in real life might actually turn out to be fascinating if only Tolstoy were narrating them.
It's nice to know that altruistic murder is not somehow redeemable. Normally a tragic hero has some excuse that allows us to grieve for his self-deception. This is an issue that is relevant in today's world, believe it or not.
Very interesting perspective, Robert. I do understand why readers speculate about the motivation of fictional characters - they are often much more interesting than the folks I meet in "real" life. It only works if the fictional character is similar enough to someone I know to make the speculation feel worthwhile - i.e., as if it could illuminate my understanding of the non-fictional human. If the fictional character is too far out of my experience, then I am not tempted to speculate.
A lot of very common things strike me as almost miraculous. Take the idea of speculating about motivations. One can never truly know what motivates a real person, since their inner life is totally concealed. They can say aloud what motivates them, but they could be lying or making it up. In fiction, though, you can know with certainty what a fictional character’s motivation is, if a reliable narrator candidly exposes their inner life. So, maybe we’re not applying our knowledge of real people to fiction. Maybe we’re learning from fiction how to understand real people. The uninteresting people you meet in real life might actually turn out to be fascinating if only Tolstoy were narrating them.
It's nice to know that altruistic murder is not somehow redeemable. Normally a tragic hero has some excuse that allows us to grieve for his self-deception. This is an issue that is relevant in today's world, believe it or not.