নির্বাচিত কাহিনি অবলম্বনে আখ্যানের বাস্তব বিশ্ব ও সম্ভাব্য বিশ্বের তাৎপর্য বিশ্লেষণ/ An Analysis of the Significance of the Real World and Possible Worlds in Narrative: A Study of Selected Fiction

Abstract

This paper examines the significance of the real world and possible worlds in narrative, with particular reference to selected works of Nabaneeta Dev Sen. The possible worlds theory explores how narratives construct a ‘textual actual world’ alongside multiple ‘non-actual’ or alternative possible worlds. These non-actual worlds emerge from characters’ beliefs, desires, intentions, moral commitments, expectations, and fantasies, as theorized by scholars such as Marie-Laure Ryan and Elina Semino.

          Methodologically, the paper distinguishes between the realized events of a narrative (textual actual world) and unrealized yet imaginable alternatives (textual alternative possible worlds), which together constitute the ‘text-universe’. The analysis focuses on how unrealized possibilities—embedded in characters’ thoughts and desires—shape narrative meaning and reader response.

          In the novels Phoenix and Dwiragaman, Dev Sen’s narrative strategy involves the systematic non-realization of several possible worlds. Through the character of Bipasha in Phoenix, the study shows how unfulfilled desires—such as alternative life choices, emotional relationships, and maternal decisions—lead to the construction of a complex, independent, and intellectually accomplished female subject. Similarly, Rohini’s development illustrates how neglect and emotional deprivation transform into self-reliance and creative achievement. In Dwiragaman, contrasting trajectories of characters like Srinanda and Manasi demonstrate how different responses to emotional and social pressures result in distinct actualized worlds, foregrounding themes of agency and choice. Across these texts, the suppression of certain possible worlds contributes to a feminist reconfiguration of narrative reality, emphasizing women’s autonomy and self-determination.

          The paper also analyzes Dev Sen’s autobiographical stories, particularly those depicting a female-headed household after marital separation. Here, the textual actual world challenges dominant social assumptions about male absence and familial instability. Through a process of ‘superimposition’, the narrative world interacts with the reader’s real-world knowledge, producing a ‘schema refreshment’ that reorients conventional perceptions. These stories demonstrate that alternative social realities—such as self-sufficient, all-female families—are not only imaginable but viable.

In conclusion, the paper argues that the interplay between actual and possible worlds innarrative is central to meaning-making. By selectively actualizing and suppressing possibilities, authors guide reader interpretation, reshape cognitive frameworks, and articulate broader ideological positions.