E-REA

Fictional Characters in Literary Theory — A Short History

E-REA January 9, 2025 Marcus Hartner

This contribution to the special issue on “The Persistence of Character” provides a brief history of approaches to fictional characters in literary studies, from the emergence of structuralism to current explorations of fictional beings in the context of 4E cognition. By sketching the different stages in the development of character theory since the mid-twentieth century the article shows that...