Towards a Cognitive Theory of Character in Fiction

Character in fiction is the rendition a self which is disconnected from itself. A character in fiction, if it is fully round and complex, has created a picture of themselves in their mind which is at odds with the reality of the actual person, or the way the person is perceived or interacts with the world they live in. Two worlds, at odds. The thoughts of a character (which needn't even be stated) are where this picture of the self lives, the internal story (implicit) that informs the larger narrative (explicit) on the page.

In fiction, for the character to change, this picture they have in their heads that propels their behavior must always at odds with reality; the way the person really is is disconnected from the way he thinks he is. The character carries around an incompatible version of himself, which causes the conflict in his quest to achieve his main goal, or whatever he imagines will validate and assure his outdated ego's veracity. The larger the disparity between fictional self and the perceived self (as seen by other characters in the story) the more urgent, stressful, conflictive, and potentially tragic the outcome by the end of the story. A reckoning there must be between selves.

Character arc in fiction is the extent to which the character's delusional self is destroyed. If the actions this self performs leads to tragic consequences, this might be what some of those critics call "tragic consciousness," the tragic epiphany where the hero, too late of course, realizes who he is and yet cannot undo his actions.

All this can be applied to life, too. We see it happen with people we know. Yet art, the art of fiction, renders this process clearly, and shows us that it happens. For many people, they aren't really aware that their lives follow the same pattern, though usually not to tragic effects.