Implicit Poetics in the Ancient Novel
Many modern books on the ancient novel begin with a lament for the lack of ancient theories about their subject. Although the wish to have such a theory belongs more to our times, in which the novel has become the leading literary form, than to antiquity, one could argue that ancient expressions about the novel would help our understanding of the genre. But where are these expressions to be found? I think it would be promising to search for answers in the novels themselves. Over the past decades critics have become more and more aware of various phenomena of self-consciousness in the ancient novels, yet no one seems to have examined systematically the poetological aspects implied. The closest - though very limited - attempt to uncover an ancient theory of the novels in the novels is to my knowledge an article by C.W. Müller, 'Chariton von Aphrodisias und die Theorie des Romans in der Antike', A&A 22 (1976), 115-36, though many good hints are scattered throughout individual studies. The lack of a systematic investigation, however, remains. My 'Habilitationsschrift' - which is at present work in progress at a rather early stage - will be an attempt to fill this gap with a collection and interpretation of the most significant poetological statements, both overt and veiled, in the ancient novels. I will ask questions like: what is the stance of the authors towards their creations? do they convey a message about why and how novels were supposed to be written? how do they think about the status of the novel compared to other genres? As a result of my inquiry I do not expect a fully developed generic theory (the 'true poetics' of ancient novel), but rather a framework of insights. My basic assumption is that wherever the author/narrator connects self-consciously to his narration, we might be dealing with a poetological statement. This can be the case, for example, in instances of intertextuality, of mise en abyme (narrations and other stories within the narration), of role-consciousness on the part of acting persons, of auctorial commentaries, etc. Of course not every such instance is equally pertinent, and I shall have to make a careful selection. My study will be based on the fully extant Greek and Latin novels plus the fragments as far as they are published up to the present day. The so called 'fringe' of the genre will also receive consideration. Given the great diversity of texts, I do not expect to extract a single theory valid for all ancient novels. I will have to deal with fragments of particular poetological standpoints which show affinities and differences among each other. These various poetological attitudes, however, considered as the spectrum of ancient novel-writing, should lead on to a set of general conclusions. Although this are merely rough outlines of my study and many problems prove challenging only in detail, maybe general comments or objections will arise. So, I would be pleased to receive any notes or critique, and to discuss matters further.
Stefan Tilg, Universität
Bern
stefan.tilg@kps.unibe.ch