Narrative Theory – Vladimir Propp
Propp came up with the idea that there narratives contain only a certain number of characters, who crop up in most narratives. It is easy to spot the hero and villain in most cases, but he came up with a list of others.
These characters, to Propp, are purely functional, i.e. they exist to move the narrative along.
These characters are:
•The protagonist (hero) – leads the narrative; is usually looking for something (a quest) or trying to solve something (an enigma)
•The antagonist (villain) — struggles against the hero and gets in his/her way
•The princess/heroine — is some sort of prize or reward for the hero (often marries the hero); sought for during the narrative
•The father — an authority figure who offers a reward to the hero for completing their quest (often the princess)
•The donor— prepares the hero or gives the hero something to help him/her complete the quest (a magical object, special power, clue...)
•The (magical) helper — helps the hero in the quest; often a sidekick
•The mentor/dispatcher – teaches and guides the hero; sends the hero off on the quest; sometimes makes the hero aware of the enigma
•False hero/anti-hero/usurper — takes credit for the hero’s actions or tries to marry the princess
Propp thought that all characters could be resolved into these eight types.
Each role could, however, be shared by more than one character, and one character could take on more than one role.
These roles do not depend on gender, age or ethnicity, but on the function of the character (i.e. your hero can be female and your princess can be male!)
Propp’s theory doesn’t take account of tone, mood and characterisation – characters are more than their function. Definitely, however it does remind us that all characters are merely constructs and that they must do their part to progress the narrative of the story.
Other narrative pages:
Introduction
Todorov and Narrative Structure
Ideology
Levi-Strauss and Binary Opposites
- Lived 1895-1970
- A Russian structuralist who analysed the basic plot components of Russian folk tales to identify their simplest narrative elements.
- He published his Morphology of the Folk Tale in 1928.
- While the Soviet cinema was producing excellent films, Propp was essentially interested in the narrative of folk tales however his theories can also be – and have been – applied to movies.
Propp came up with the idea that there narratives contain only a certain number of characters, who crop up in most narratives. It is easy to spot the hero and villain in most cases, but he came up with a list of others.
These characters, to Propp, are purely functional, i.e. they exist to move the narrative along.
These characters are:
•The protagonist (hero) – leads the narrative; is usually looking for something (a quest) or trying to solve something (an enigma)
•The antagonist (villain) — struggles against the hero and gets in his/her way
•The princess/heroine — is some sort of prize or reward for the hero (often marries the hero); sought for during the narrative
•The father — an authority figure who offers a reward to the hero for completing their quest (often the princess)
•The donor— prepares the hero or gives the hero something to help him/her complete the quest (a magical object, special power, clue...)
•The (magical) helper — helps the hero in the quest; often a sidekick
•The mentor/dispatcher – teaches and guides the hero; sends the hero off on the quest; sometimes makes the hero aware of the enigma
•False hero/anti-hero/usurper — takes credit for the hero’s actions or tries to marry the princess
Propp thought that all characters could be resolved into these eight types.
Each role could, however, be shared by more than one character, and one character could take on more than one role.
These roles do not depend on gender, age or ethnicity, but on the function of the character (i.e. your hero can be female and your princess can be male!)
Propp’s theory doesn’t take account of tone, mood and characterisation – characters are more than their function. Definitely, however it does remind us that all characters are merely constructs and that they must do their part to progress the narrative of the story.
Other narrative pages:
Introduction
Todorov and Narrative Structure
Ideology
Levi-Strauss and Binary Opposites