Nested Stories told by the Protagonist

The protagonist in a novel often imagines or recalls events that are not part of the main story.  Nesting small stories within a story is a common literary device sometimes referred to as mise en abyme.  An article in Wikipedia discusses the many types of nested stories.  Here I am referring to stories narrated by a protagonist and nested well with a main story. 

Nesting self-contained stories within a larger narrative is probably as old a technique as story telling itself.  The storyteller often draws the story from a remembered experience, but sometimes tells a fictional story heard or invented.  A nested story may make up the bulk of a chapter; it can even stand alone, seemingly unrelated to the main story.  Steinbeck uses the latter in his depiction of the two boys in Chapter 26 in Cannery Row. 

Some books are composed entirely of stand-alone stories framed by a unifying plot.  Canterbury Tales and One Thousand and One Nights are examples.  Collections of children’s stories such as Winnie the Pooh are similar, but repeating characters, not the plot unite them.  One of my projects is a collection of children’s stories united by a single character whose excesses of ego and poor judgment, creates circumstances that form the plot for each story. 

Nested stories serve many purposes.  Steinbeck used them to give insights to his theme.  The stories can also show character motivations and they can reveal details of history and background for the main story.  Thus, they can support the reality of the main story. 

Here is an example of a nested story told by the protagonist in the novel Corr Syl the Warrior.  It is contained within a chapter, and it is obvious fiction.  It serves to elaborate on the background of the protagonist’s culture and his occupation, and it foreshadows a tragic scene involving the protagonist and a childhood friend. Continue reading →