I need help analzying this quote.
The fantastic. . . lasts only as long as a certain hesitation. . . [in deciding]
whether or not what they [the reader and the protagonist] perceive derives
from “reality” as it exists in the common opinion. . . If he [the reader]
decides that the laws of reality remain intact and permit an explanation of
the phenomena described, we say that the works belong to another genre;
the uncanny. If, on the contrary, he decides that new laws of nature must be
entertained to account for the phenomena, we enter the genre of the
marvelous (41).
Indeed we distinguish, within the literary Gothic, two tendencies: that of the
supernatural explained (the “uncanny”). . . and that of the supernatural
accepted (the “marvelous”)
-- Tzvetan Todorov, The Fantastic: A Structural Approach to a Literary
Genre
I do not really understand what they are saying. Can you clear this up for me? Thank you!
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Certainly! This quote is from Tzvetan Todorov's book "The Fantastic: A Structural Approach to a Literary Genre," where he discusses the concept of the fantastic in literature. Todorov presents two genres within the literary Gothic: the uncanny and the marvelous.
According to Todorov, the fantastic exists when there is a moment of hesitation for both the reader and the protagonist in deciding whether the events they perceive in the story are explained by "reality" as commonly understood or if they require new laws of nature to be accepted.
If the reader believes that the events can be explained through the existing laws of reality and common opinion, then the story belongs to the genre of the uncanny. The uncanny refers to events that evoke a feeling of unease, where the supernatural elements are presented in a way that could potentially be explained through rational or psychological means.
On the other hand, if the reader decides that new laws of nature or explanations are required to account for the events, then the story falls into the genre of the marvelous. The marvelous refers to events that are inherently supernatural and cannot be explained by the existing laws of reality. These events are accepted as part of the story's universe.
In summary, Todorov distinguishes between the genres of the uncanny and the marvelous based on whether the supernatural elements depicted can be explained within the existing laws of reality or require a suspension of those laws.
To analyze a quote using Todorov's framework, you would examine the specific events or phenomena mentioned in the quote and determine whether they fit into the genre of the uncanny or the marvelous based on the reader's decision regarding the laws of reality that should be applied to explain them.