The Fictive and the Imaginary: Charting Literary Anthropology

In The Fictive and the Imaginary, Wolfgang Iser declares that the traditional dichotomy between fiction and reality is inadequate to account for the interaction between text and reader. Iser takes exception to the traditional notion that there is a clear separation between them. Even to find a clear definition of either is problematic; Iser suggests that either or both can more readily be apprehended by noting how they manifest themselves to the reader. This of course brings in the knotty problem of the definition of "manifest." Fiction manifests itself by creating a deliberately conceived world of reality that strives for verisimilitude all the while granting that the closer the text achieves this goal the more nearly it may be said to have manifested itself. Reality then is the obverse of fiction. The underlying base of reality is attached to the "real" world beyond the text in question.In place of the fiction/reality duo Iser introduces a triad of the real, the fictive, and the imaginary. The "real" is roughly parallel with the former "reality." Unlike fiction, which is a genre in its own right, "fictive" works in tandem with the imaginary to produce a measurable effect or result perceivable to the reader, an act which infringes on the realm of the real. Iser deems the real to be the most traditional of the triad. In fact he views the real as being shaped by the interaction of the fictive and the imaginary. An obvious question that one might legitimately ask is if the real depends for its reality on extra-real components, then how real can it be? Iser's focus here is less on definition and more on use.Iser's triad of the real, the fictive, and the imaginary brings into play a number of potentially troubling concepts. Although he is reluctant to provide definitions, he does provide a few. On pages xiv-xv, he defines a fictive as "an act of boundary-crossing which, nonetheless, keeps in view what has been overstepped." On pages xvii, he defines the imaginary as "a featureless and inactive potential." Iser poses problems for himself as he keys much of this book to these twin definitions as foundational for all that follows.He does not persuasively distinguish "imaginary" from its more conventional cousin "imagination." He tends to use both interchangeably. This free interchange blurs Iser's purpose for the book. Does he wish to present an historical overview of how his triad functions in the first two chapters to link text to reader in disparate texts ranging from pastoral verse to Bacon's essays or does he prefer to focus on the triad's inherent generic function and nature? Complicating matters is the inexplicable vanishing of the triad at key points, especially in the concluding chapter where one might think that he would do well to emphasize and summarize their ostensibly pivotal role in relating text to reader. Further, as one reads one notes Iser's frequent use of bringing in what almost seems a bewildering variety of disciplines ranging from history to sociology to anthropology, none of which are seamlessly explicated. What emerges from a considered reading of The Fictive and the Imaginary is the inescapable conclusion that Wolfgang Iser would have been better served to publish each chapter as a stand-alone article in a scholarly journal rather than lump them into an ill-conceived totality called a book.

This a thorough research work that provides a prism through which literature could be seen more clearly in terms of its creation and effects.It is highly recommended for researchers working on ethical reading, or for those who intend to use literature in public discussions.