The Functions of a Frame Narrative and its Effect on the Reader Frame narratives are sometimes referred to as “mise en abyme”, a phrase which quite literally means “put in the abyss”, since they help to explore the complexity of the main story; a frame narrative generally seeks to improve upon a story by establishing a more in-depth connection to its main story, a more in-depth connection with its reader, or all of the above. When connecting to the main story, frame narratives often try to accomplish one or more of the following goals: to cause some sort of change in the characters of the frame story, to build upon the personality and traits of characters in the main story, and to create a setting of character focus instead of what would be a more plot-driven tale. In connection to the reader, however, the aim of a frame narrative is to offer a sense of escape from whatever the reader perceives to be the “real world”, to provide a more comprehensive understanding through the use of a background story, and to allow the reader to more easily empathize with the characters.Don Quixote de la Mancha,Tales from the Thousand and One Nights, and theRamayanaall employ these methods to enhance the frame narrative’s connection to the story, as well as the story’s connection to the reader, and are to a great extent still relevant to people across the world in this modern era. Rather than telling the story of Don Quixote from the perspective of Don Quixote himself or even from that of the third person, Cervantes chose to include much narrative of his struggle in following the story of Don Quixote, as well as observations on the continually shifting state of the man’s sanity. This approach immediately gives the story a sense of urgency, and makes it seem all the more present. By doing this, the reader is made to feel actively involved in the story, rather than feeling like a disinterested third party. The author proceeds to give the reader a long tirade about a competing author of the adventures of Don Quixote, saying: “Thou wouldst have me call him ass, fool, and malapert, but I have no such intention; let his offence be his
punishment, with his bread let him eat it, and there's an end of it.” (Cervantes, pg.459) Cervantes dismisses the evidently less skilled, competing author of the second volume ofDon Quixote de la Manchawho says of Cervantes that “[his] novels are more satirical than exemplary,” (Cervantes, pg.459); Cervantes remarks that this is a testament of his skill as an author because if Don Quixote de la Manchawasn’t satirical, then it would likely lack complexity, which he implies is necessary to any good novel. The commentary of the other author gives insight into the fact that Cervantes wroteDon Quixote de la Manchaas a satire and hints that, despite his claims to the contrary, Don Quixote highly likely did not exist. Cervantes further proves this by being purposely vague with the details on Don Quixote, as when he begins the novel with, “At a
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