Narration und Negation. Überlegungen zum Verhältnis von Textbeobachtung und Interpretation am Beispiel der Fokalisierungsfunktion negativer Deixis in Theodor Storms <i>Immensee<i> (1851)

Abstract

This article investigates the interplay between narration and negation. The first section examines various frameworks for conceptualizing the relationship, addressing not only seminal contributions from the structuralist period (e.g., Wolfgang Iser, Karlheinz Stierle) but also more recent conceptual work on narrative refusal (Robyn Warhol) and negative deixis (Jan Knobloch). Adding to this, the article incorporates insights from linguistic studies on negation. Using parameters such as intensity, scope, modality, and responsiveness, the negation repertoire within a text can be systematically characterized. By posing the heuristic question Who (or what) can negate whom (or what), with what scope and intensity?, this analytical approach can be linked to narratological theory. The utility of this framework is demonstrated through an analysis of Theodor Storm's paradigmatic novella Immensee (1851) which highlights the specific focalizational functions of negation in literary texts and also exemplifies how exactly negation intersects with narrative gaps.