How should we understand the emotions that readers feel about fictional characters? Kathleen Stock discusses this question with Nigel Warburton in this, the second episode of Aesthetics Bites, a collaboration between the London Aesthetics Forum and Philosophy Bites, made possibly by a grant from the British Society of Aesthetics.
This is Aesthetics Bytes, a series for philosophy bites.
With me, Nigel Warburton and me, David Edmonds.
Aesthetics Bites is made in association with the London Aesthetics Forum and made possible by a grant from the British Society of Aesthetics.
We respond emotionally to characters in novels, but how can we make sense of this?
How can we pity a fictional character?
How can we be frightened for a character?
After all, we don't believe these characters really exist.
So are the emotions we have towards fictional characters of a different sort to those we have towards real people in real life?
Here's the real Kathleen stock.
Kathleen Stock, welcome to Aesthetics Bites.
Hello.
The topic we're going to focus on is fiction and the emotions.
Now, let's get specific.
We're going to be talking about emotions that readers feel towards fictional characters.
Could you begin by giving an example of the kind of thing that people feel?
Sure.
So, one of my favourite books is Jane Eyre.
And the first half of that book is rather harrowing for the reader because Jane is, as a young girl, first in a terrible situation with her family.
She's been orphaned and she's farmed out to relatives that really don't like her and are horrible to her.
And then she's sent to an orphanage called Lowood, where life gets even worse.