"Supposedly, readers immersed in stories have imagined themselves into the minds of characters. But human imagination can reach far beyond human minds and bodies. Psychological studies of reading indicate that although participants care about characters, readers also notice other aspects of the stories they're reading such as the style and emerging themes (Miall 2006, 25; Miall 2015, 16; Mak & Willems 2021, 61)."
"In his novel The Melancholy of Resistance (1989), he invites readers to share the sensations of large, self-righteous Mrs. Eszter as she prepares for bed. Then, in a musing, self-reflective passage, Krasznahorkai tracks her descent into sleep. Readers hear that "the washbasin no longer existed, neither did the untouched glass of bicarbonate; the wardrobe, the clothes-rack and the stained towel thrown into a corner, all disappeared; floor, walls, and ceiling had no more meaning for her" (Krasznahorkai, 55)."
Human imagination frequently projects beyond individual minds and bodies, allowing adoption of object and non-human perspectives. Psychological studies show readers care about characters but also attend to style and emerging themes, indicating attention spreads across narrative elements. A depiction follows a character into sleep and then shifts perception outward, so that familiar objects like a washbasin, an untouched glass, wardrobe, clothes-rack, towel, floor, walls, and ceiling lose specific meaning for the sleeping person. Skillful narrative shifts can engage readers even when characters are inactive by depicting unseen interactions and prompting reconsideration of human relations with the environment.
Read at Psychology Today
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