Frame narrative
Narratology & storytellingAn outer story that provides the setting for one or more stories told within it.
Example
During a train breakdown, a passenger tells the others why she never returned to her hometown.
A frame narrative establishes the circumstances in which another story is told, read or passed on. A traveler might find a diary, or dinner guests might exchange accounts of a disappearance. The frame establishes an audience and a reason for the telling.
Returning to the outer story can change how the inner one is understood. An interruption or a listener's reaction may reveal a concealed motive. A brief quotation alone does not necessarily create a frame narrative.
In the workshop
Make a return to the frame change how the inner story is read.
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