Literary Space and Systematicity

In literary prose texts there are pauses for descriptions of what can be seen, including descriptions of landscapes, rooms and other built environments, and the appearance of people. These are, what I define as, topological frames and they are systematically organised. I show that these spaces are broken up into parts which are then described in stereotyped sequences within the topological frames. These frames are not found at a pivotal point within the narrative nor are they of central importance to the narrative arc. Highly visual, they foreground the space within the description; there are often no narrative distractions such as character movement, dramatic climaxes or even dialogue in which to interrupt the representation. I argue that a unique systematic pattern of representation emerges in the topological frame for each of these types which is illustrated through examples of texts. The introduction also offers the reader an understanding of the larger scientific framework that this analysis draws on through a review of narrative spaces and ends by positioning these patterns within the larger frameworks of cognitive literary studies and neuronarratology.