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Framestory
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Aframestory(alsoknownasaframetaleorframenarrative)isaliterarytechniquethatsometimes
servesasacompanionpiecetoastorywithinastory,wherebyanintroductoryormainnarrativeis
presented,atleastinpart,forthepurposeofsettingthestageeitherforamoreemphasizedsecondnarrative
orforasetofshorterstories.Theframestoryleadsreadersfromafirststoryintoanother,smallerone(or
severalones)withinit.

Contents
1Origins
2Asetofstories
3Singlestory
4Useofframestories
5Notes

Origins
AmongearliestknownframestoriesarethosepreservedontheancientEgyptianPapyrusWestcar.Other
earlyexamplesarefromfirstmillenniumBCEancientIndia,whentheSanskritepicsMahabharata,
Ramayana,VishnuSarma'sPanchatantra,Syntipas'sTheSevenWiseMasters,andthefablecollections
HitopadeshaandVikramandTheVampirewerewritten.[1]Thisformgraduallyspreadwestthroughthe
centuriesandbecamepopular,givingrisetosuchclassicframetalecollectionsastheOneThousandand
OneNights(ArabianNights),TheDecameron,andCanterburyTales.Thisformathadflexibilityinthat
variousnarratorscouldretainthestoriestheylikedorunderstood,whiledroppingonestheydidn'tand
addingnewonestheyheardfromotherplaces.ThisoccurredparticularlywithOneThousandandOne
Nights,wheredifferentversionsoverthecenturieshaveincludeddifferentstories.
Theuseofaframestoryinwhichasinglenarrativeissetinthecontextofthetellingofastoryisalsoa
techniquewithalonghistory,datingbackatleasttothebeginningsectionoftheOdyssey,inwhichthe
narratorOdysseustellsofhiswanderinginthecourtofKingAlcinous.

Asetofstories
Thisliterarydeviceactsasaconvenientconceitfortheorganizationofasetofsmallernarrativeswhichare
eitherofthedevisingoftheauthor,ortakenfromapreviousstockofpopulartalesslightlyalteredbythe
authorforthepurposeofthelongernarrative.Sometimesastorywithinthemainnarrativecanbeusedto
sumuporencapsulatesomeaspectoftheframingstory,inwhichcaseitisreferredtoinliterarycriticism
bytheFrenchtermmiseenabyme.

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AtypicalexampleoftheframestoryisOneThousandandOneNights,inwhichthecharacter
ScheherazadenarratesasetoffairytalestotheSultanShahriyarovermanynights.ManyofScheherazade's
talesarealsoframestories,suchasTaleofSindbadtheSeamanandSindbadtheLandsman,acollectionof
adventuresrelatedbySindbadtheSeamantoSindbadtheLandsman.
AnextensiveuseofthisdeviceisOvid'sMetamorphoseswherethestoriesnestseveraldeep,toallowthe
inclusionofmanydifferenttalesinonework.EmilyBront'sWutheringHeightsusesthisliterarydeviceto
tellthestoryofHeathcliffandCatherine,alongwiththesubplots.HersisterAnnealsousesthisdevicein
herepistolarynovelTheTenantofWildfellHall.Themainheroine'sdiaryisframedbythenarrator'sstory
andletters.
MaryShelley'snovelFrankensteinisanothergoodexampleofabookwithmultipleframednarratives.In
thebook,RobertWaltonwritesletterstohissisterdescribingthestorytoldtohimbyVictorFrankenstein
Frankenstein'sstorycontainsthecreature'sstorythecreature'sstoryevenbrieflycontainsthestoryofa
familyhehadbeenlivingamong.
Framestorieshavealsoappearedinmediaforms,suchascomicbooks.NeilGaiman'scomicbookseries
TheSandmanfeaturedastoryarccalledWorldsEndwhichconsistedofFrameStories,andsometimeseven
featuredstorieswithinstorieswithinstories.
Framestoriesareoftenorganizedasagatheringofpeopleinoneplacefortheexchangeofstories.Each
charactertellshisorhertale,andtheframetaleprogressesinthatmanner.Historicallyfamousframe
storiesincludeChaucer'sCanterburyTales,aboutagroupofpilgrimswhotellstoriesontheirjourneyto
CanterburyandBoccaccio'sDecameronaboutagroupofyoungaristocratsescapingtheBlackDeathtothe
countrysideandspendingthetimetellingstories.
Sometimesonlyonestorytellerexists,andinthiscasetheremightbe
differentlevelsofdistancebetweenthereaderandauthor.Inthismode,
theframetalecanbecomemorefuzzy.InthecaseofWashingtonIrving's
SketchBook,whichcontains"TheLegendofSleepyHollow"and"Rip
VanWinkle"amongothers,theconceitisthattheauthorofthebookisnot
Irving,butacertaingentlemannamedCrayon.Heretheframeincludes
boththeworldoftheimaginedCrayon,hisstories,andthepossiblereader
whoisassumedtoplayalongand"know"whoCrayonis.
DonaldWestlake'sshortstory"NoStory"isaparodyofframestories,in
whichaseriesofnarratorsstarttotellstories,eachofwhichcontainsa
narratorwhostartstotellastory,culminatinginanarratorwhoannounces
thattherewillbenostory.Essentially,itisaframestorywithoutastoryto
beframed.

TheReturnofRipVan
Winkle,paintingbyJohn
Quidor,1849

Singlestory
Whenthereisasinglestory,theframestoryisusedforotherpurposeschieflytopositionthereader's
attitudetowardthetale.Onecommononeistodrawattentiontothenarrator'sunreliability.Byexplicitly
makingthenarratoracharacterwithintheframestory,thewriterdistanceshimselffromthenarratorhe
mayalsocharacterizethenarratortocastdoubtonhistruthfulness.InP.G.Wodehouse'sstoriesofMr
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Mulliner,Mullinerismadeafishermaninordertocastdoubtontheoutrageousstorieshetells.Themovie
AmadeusisframedasastoryanoldAntonioSalieritellstoayoungpriest,becausethemovieisbasedmore
onstoriesSalieritoldaboutMozartthanonhistoricalfact.
Anotheruseisaformofprocatalepsis,wherethewriterputsthereaders'possiblereactionstothestoryin
thecharacterslisteningtoit.InThePrincessBridetheframeofagrandfatherreadingthestorytohis
reluctantgrandsonputsthecynicalreactionaviewermighthavetotheromanticfairytaleintothestoryin
thegrandson'spersona,andhelpsdefuseit.Thisistheusewhentheframetellsastorythatlacksastrong
narrativehookinitsopeningthenarratorcanengagethereader'sinterestbytellingthestorytoanswerthe
curiosityofhislisteners,orbywarningthemthatthestorybeganinanordinaryseemingway,butthey
mustfollowittounderstandlateractions,therebyidentifyingthereader'swonderingwhetherthestoryis
worthreadingtothelisteners'.SuchanapproachwasusedbyEdithWhartoninhernovellaEthanFrome,in
whichanamelessnarratorhearsfrommanycharactersinthetownofStarkfieldaboutthemaincharacter
Ethan'sstory.
Aspecializedformoftheframeisadreamvision,wherethenarratorclaimstohavegonetosleep,dreamed
theeventsofthestory,andthenawokentotellthetale.InmedievalEurope,thiswasacommondevice,
usedtoindicatethattheeventsincludedarefictionalGeoffreyChauceruseditinTheBookoftheDuchess,
TheHouseofFame,ParlementofFoules,andTheLegendofGoodWomen(thelastalsocontaininga
multistoryframestorywithinthedream).Inmodernusage,itissometimesusedinworksoffantasyasa
meanstowardsuspensionofdisbeliefaboutthemarvelsdepictedinthestory.J.R.R.Tolkien,inhisessay
"OnFairyStories"complainedofsuchdevicesasunwillingnesstotreatthegenreseriously.LewisCarroll's
Alicestories(Alice'sAdventuresinWonderlandandThroughtheLookingGlass)includessuchaframe,but
unlikemostusages,thestoriesthemselvesusedreamlikelogicandsequencesmostdreamframesframe
storiesthatappearexactlyasifoccurringinreallife.ThewriterJohnBunyanusedadreamdeviceinthe
ChristianallegoryPilgrim'sProgressanditssequel,explainingthattheyweredreamshehadwhilehewas
inprisonandfeltGodwantedhimtowritedown.Thisworkedbecauseitmadewhatmighthavebeenseen
asafantasysomethingmorerealisticandmeaningfultootherwhobelievedashedid.
Still,evenwhenthestoryproceedsrealistically,thedreamframecastsdoubtontheevents.Inthebook,The
WonderfulWizardofOz,theeventsreallyoccurthedreamframeaddedforthemoviedetractsfromthe
validityofthefantasy.[2]

Useofframestories
Aswithallliteraryconceits,theframetalehasmanyvariations,someclearlywithintheconfinesofthe
conceit,someontheborder,andsomepushingtheboundariesofunderstanding.Themaingoalofaframe
taleisasaconceitwhichcanadequatelycollectotherwisedisparatetales.Ithasbeenmostlyreplaced,in
modernliterature,bytheshortstorycollectionoranthologyabsentofanyauthorialconceitaandother
rhetoricaldevices.
Tobeaframenarrative,thestorymustactprimarilyasanoccasionforthetellingofotherstories.Ifthe
framingnarrativehasprimaryorequalinterest,thenitisnotusuallyaframenarrative.Forexample,
OdysseusnarratesmuchoftheOdysseytothePhaeacians,but,eventhoughthisrecollectionformsagreat
partofthepoem,theeventsafterandbeforetheinterpolatedrecollectionareofgreaterinterestthanthe
memory.

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Anothernotableexamplethatplayswithframenarrativeisthe1994filmForrestGump.Mostofthefilmis
narratedbyForresttovariouscompanionsontheparkbench.However,inthelastfifthorsoofthefilm,
Forrestgetsupandleavesthebench,andwefollowhimashemeetswithJennyandherson.Thisfinal
segmentsuddenlyhasnonarratorunliketherestofthefilmthatcamebeforeit,butisinsteadtoldthrough
ForrestandJenny'sdialogues.
Thisapproachisalsodemonstratedinthe2008filmSlumdogMillionaire(adaptedfromthe2005novelQ
&A),aboutapoorstreetkidJamalcomingclosetowinningKaunBanegaCrorepati(theIndianversionof
WhoWantstoBeaMillionaire?)andthenbeingsuspectedofcheating.Mostofthestoryisnarratedata
policestationbyJamal,whonarrateshowheknewtheanswerstothequestionsastheshowisplayedback
onvideo.Theshowitselfthenservesasanotherframingdevice,asJamalseesflashbacksofhispastaseach
questionisasked.Thelastportionofthefilmthenunfoldswithoutanynarrator.
JosephConrad'sHeartofDarknessdemonstratesanarratortellingastory,whiletheprotagonistisquoted
soastogivetheframedappearancethatheistellingthestory.Thenarratorprovidesthetransitiontothe
onespeakingthestory.
AfamousliteraryexampleisEmilyBront'sWutheringHeights,wherebywelearneventsthroughavisitor
tothehouseofthetitle,whointurnhasbeentoldtheseeventsbythehousekeeperoftheLintonfamily.
Noneofthemaincharacterseverdirectlynarrates.
AnotherexampleisDavidMitchell's2004novelCloudAtlas,whichisaframestoryinsideaframestory
insideaframestoryandsoon.Therearesixstoriesinall,eachframedinsidetheother,formingachiastic
structuretoasemicatharistictalespanningcenturiesofnarrative.
Framestoriesarefoundinmanyroleplayingvideogames,suchastheearlyDragonQuestIV,releasedin
1990.Thisliterarydevicecanalsobesparinglyusedtoachievesecondaryends.Forinstance,theShining
Forceseriesofroleplayinggamesusenarratorswithinframestoriestoimplementthingslikestarting,
savingandexitingthegamewithoutbreakingthefourthwallentirely,orratherbyconstructingasecond
fourthwalltoshieldtheplayerfromhavingtosuspendhis/herdisbeliefasmuch.Asimilarapproachwas
usedintheopenworldvideogameMafia:TheCityofLostHeaven,wherethegame'smissionsare
presentedasaseriesofflashbacksnarratedbyTommyAngelo,asheconfesseshisinvolvementwithan
AmericanMafiafamily.AnotherexampleofframestoriesinvideogamesisthegameCatherine.
Catherine'sfirstsceneisaframestory.
InthegameBastion,theKid'sactionsarenarratedbyoneoftheothercharacters,Rucks,ashetellsthe
Kid'sstorytoanothercharacterwhiletheKidisinthefinalarea.BecauseRucksneverlearnsaboutthe
Kid'sactionsexplicitly,thenarrationismostlyanecdotalandprimarilyservestofillinbackground
informationabouteachlevelhowever,italsoservestokeepthefourthwallintact,asplayerdeathsare
portrayedasjokesonthenarrator'spart.Aftertheplayer'sactionscatchuptothestory,thenarration
switchestoamorespeculativetone,asRucksnolongerknowswhattheplayerisdoing.

Notes
1. Witzel,MichaelE.J.(1987)."Ontheoriginoftheliterarydeviceofthe'FrameStory'inOldIndianliterature".
InFalk,H.HinduismusundBuddhismus,FestschriftfrU.Schneider.Freiburg.pp.380414.ISBN3925270
019.
2. Jones,StevenSwann(1995).TheFairyTale:TheMagicMirrorofImagination
(https://books.google.com/books?id=qkfYAAAAMAAJ).NewYork:TwaynePublishers.p.94.ISBN08057
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09509.

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