Impossible Narrative?

H. Porter Abbott defines a narrative as the "representation of a story (an event or series of events)." Abbott also adds that two important components that make up a narrative are story and narrative discourse. Based on Abbott's definition of a narrative, logically, the reverse would prove to be impossible narrative. A plausible definition for an impossible narrative, one could argue, is a narrative that lacks something. If we as the field of narrative theory are labeling a piece as narrative, then again, logically, I would think the narrator is present in some way shape or form. From here, the event or events should be the next components examined. The impossible narrative is determined based on the events because we can identify a narrator. As such then, the impossible narrative is based on the narrator's inability to relay these events successfully and tell the implied author's intended story.

Since a definition often needs an example, the only text that I would try to make an argument is an impossible narrative is Fowls's The French Lieutenant's Woman. To be rather blunt, the narrator is present, but the plot is chaotic and confusing for the narrator to untangle through. The narrator does not even seem to have a stable place in the plot, I would argue. To give even a better example, an impossible narrative would be all of the movies that air on channels like Lifetime. I mean come on. The events are interesting in a "you've got to be kidding me way," but whatever form of a narration is present interferes with the whole story. I refer to Lifetime movies as an example because I feel like The French Lieutenant's Woman fits that weird story line. Everyone reading the story or watching the movie is aware of the events because the events are somewhat predictable, but the narrator relays them in such a naive, contradictory way that it's almost obvious how confused the narrator truly is.

Impossible narrative is impossible because of the narrator place or understanding of the events. The narrator is the author's choice of technique, so the narrator is present, but that does not mean that the narrator's presence is a positive for a story or that it moves the plot along well. As in The French Lieutenant's Woman and as in Lifetime movies, a narrator is present, but the narrator's vagueness with the events keeps the reader confined and thrown into an ongoing loop. The events, the story, and the narrative simply don't make sense.