Abstract

In his book The Opacity of Narrative, Peter Lamarque criticizes a number of myths associated with narrative, notably that objects and events are created by the narratives that describe them. This article argues that such a critique is justified, but that it is necessary to reconsider his arguments, in particular the concept of narrative opacity, i.e. the idea that we see what is described in the description of it. Following Vincent Descombes’ analysis, we focus on what might be called the “object of the narrative” and the identity of characters.