The frame story structure is a type of plot where a narrative is told within another one. This literary device is also known as nested narrative and is employed by the writers to give premise or another angle of the primary plot.
Thus, it is one of the most powerful strategies that help to develop the meaning and complexity and usually contributes to the increase of conflict in the narrative. This article will focus on the frame-story structure and the ways it could build tension, as well as the structure’s function and impact in the works of literature.
Definition of Frame-Story Structure
As for the frame-story structure, it implies the presence of an outer story which encompasses one or several inner stories.
The frame story gives the reader background information and an overall picture of the events that take place in the novel; the inner stories are the main component of the novel. This structure can take several forms:
- Single Frame Story: It is a case when one main plot includes another plot. For instance, a character in the outer story may narrate a story within the text to another character and the story being narrated becomes the main story.
- Multiple Frame Stories: Many stories are nested within each other, which creates an intricate structure.
- Cyclic Frame Stories: The whole work is presented in the form of a frame story as the same events are described in the beginning and at the end of the work.
Mechanisms of Creating Tension
The frame story structure builds tension through numerous methods. It is categorized into narrative, psychological and structural techniques.
1- Narrative Techniques
i- Suspense and Foreshadowing
The elements of suspense and foreshadowing are also characteristics for the frame story structure. Though indicating the importance and possible outcomes of the inner story, the outer story makes the readers feel strange and anxious to learn more.
“Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley
In “Frankenstein,” the frame narrative exists on the outside level with the main plot, providing the reader with the account of the events in the form of letters that Captain Walton wrote to his sister. Walton narrates his experience with Frankenstein himself who in turn narrates the sad story. The initial letters foreshadow the horrors to come, creating suspense:
“Unhappy man! Do you share my madness? Have you drunk also of the intoxicating draught? Hear me; let me reveal my tale, and you will dash the cup from your lips!”
Such a notion prevents the reader from going to sleep and prepares for the reading of a terrible story, increasing tension with the beginning of Victor’s story.
iI- Parallel Narratives
In frame stories there are two tales, and these two are connected, and might be similar or significantly different from each other. This could help to stress the themes, characters traits, the conflict, thus giving an extra layer and richness to the suspense.
“Wuthering Heights” by Emily Brontë
In the novel “Wuthering Heights” the outer narrative is given by Mr. Lockwood who describes his experiences at Wuthering Heights and his engagement with the members of the households. The first inner story has been introduced by Nelly Dean, who tells Heathcliff and Catherine’s tragic background.
“But Mr. Heathcliff forms a singular contrast to his abode and style of living. He is a dark-skinned gipsy in aspect, in dress and manners a gentleman…”
The different viewpoints of Lockwood and Nelly form a complex narrative. This increases the stress between the present and the past and shows the complexities of the characters and their relationships.
2- Psychological Techniques
i- Unreliable Narrators
The employment of unreliable narrators in frame stories can lead to some psychological intrigue since the reader is always in doubt about the truth and credibility of the stories. It may provoke a disputable feeling and bring some kind of tension and curiosity.
“The Turn of the Screw” by Henry James
The frame is outer in the story of “The Turn of the Screw,” which has been presented by a man named Douglas, who reads a manuscript of the governess. Thus, the governess’s narrative of her interactions with the children and the spirits is filled with vagueness and doubt.
“I remember the whole beginning as a succession of flights and drops, a little seesaw of the right throbs and the wrong.”
The uncertainty of the governess’s character raises question throughout the narrative and creates the psychological tension. The readers are left to make up their mind about the actuality of the experiences.
iI- Shifting Perspectives
In Frame stories, there is a change of focus, which provides multiple viewpoints on the same event. This can create confusion that whether there are multiple truths or lies, and leaves the reader uncertain about the reading that whether it is true or false.
“Heart of Darkness” by Joseph Conrad
In ‘Heart of Darkness’ there is the frame tale where Marlow narrates the journey into the Congo to a group of sailors. The changing perspectives between the story of Marlow and the reactions of his listeners add tension.
“The yarns of seamen have a direct simplicity, the whole meaning of which lies within the shell of a cracked nut. But Marlow was not typical…”
The varied perspectives and the intricate, unclear storytelling by Marlow form a depress and disturb environment as the reader moves through the story.
3- Structural Techniques
I- Temporal Disjunction
While using frame stories temporal displacement is common where the inner story is set in a different time from outer frame. This differentiation can pose conflict because it can set the idea of putting the past and the present in contrast to show how past events have affected the present condition.
“The Canterbury Tales” by Geoffrey Chaucer
The work that best fits to the mentioned type of narrative structure is the epic “The Canterbury Tales,” which is organized as a frame narrative since a group of pilgrims tells stories to each other during their journey to Canterbury. The tales are set in a different time period, which contribute towards the richness of the story and increases the level of suspense.
“Whan that Aprille with his shoures soote The droghte of March hath perced to the roote…”
The framework of pilgrimage places the various stories together in one context, yet all the stories are in different settings and time, thus giving the book a motion that increases tension with lot of use of contrasts in the setting of the stories.
III- Delayed Revelation
Frame stories can develop suspense when the core connection or the events of the inner story are revealed gradually in the frame story only. This technique poses the reader anticipation, since they are yet to be given full detail of the entire story.
“The Arabian Nights” (also known as “One Thousand and One Nights”)
Unlike the episodic character of the ‘1001 Nights,’ the Russian version of the narrative of Scheherazade spinning out Fib histories to King Shahryar to escape being executed produces a state of suspense. Every story ends mid-sentence and forces the king (and the reader) to listen to the next night story.
“It is related—but God knows and sees best what lies hidden in the accounts of bygone peoples and times—that there was once a king of the Banu Sasan in the lands of the Persians…”
The form of an elaborate frame used here is the nightly storytelling with the decision regarding Scheherazade postponed until the dawn creates constant suspense and tension for the listener, as it does not allow resolved the fate of the main characters or the story shared, as they appear to be left unfinished.
Examples of Frame-Story Structure Creating Tension
1- “The Fall of the House of Usher” by Edgar Allan Poe
“During the whole of a dull, dark, and soundless day in the autumn of the year, when the clouds hung oppressively low in the heavens, I had been passing alone, on horseback, through a singularly dreary tract of country; and at length found myself, as the shades of the evening drew on, within view of the melancholy House of Usher.”
The frame of the unnamed character coming to visit Roderick Usher provides the context for the gothic and spooky secondary plot of the Usher family’s curse. The outer narrative becomes more specific in its descriptions and the narrator is getting more and more scared, thus, the tension increases as the reader gets to know more about the occurrences in the house.
2- “Inception” (Film by Christopher Nolan)
The movie “Inception” has a nested frame story with many dreams nested in each other to the point where it is difficult to discern the layers. The main plot depicts the process of inception of the idea in Cobb’s mind and his team while the nested layers depict the inner world of the characters.
The tension rises as the layers become more and more vulnerable, and the characters’ destinies get connected to the outcome of the operation. The concepts of reality and dreams make it difficult for the audience to distinguish between the two, thus giving them a feeling of suspense and a call to action.
3- “Life of Pi” by Yann Martel
“This is a story that will make you believe in God. It starts with a sloth…”
The narrative strategy used in “Life of Pi” is the frame narrative since the grown-up Pi narrates his story to a writer. The primary frame gives the reader background information and actions preceding the main story, which is the account of Pi’s experience in the ocean with the animals.
The tension is derived from the framing technique since the reader has a notion that Pi’s story is significant in some way, which builds up the intrigue and anticipation of the events and their implications.
4- “Heart of Darkness” by Joseph Conrad
“The yarns of seamen have a direct simplicity, the whole meaning of which lies within the shell of a cracked nut. But Marlow was not typical…and to him the meaning of an episode was not inside like a kernel but outside, enveloping the tale which brought it out only as a glow brings out a haze, in the likeness of one of these misty halos that sometimes are made visible by the spectral illumination of moonshine.”
The plot of “Heart of Darkness” is divided into two levels of narrative: the outer frame and the inner frame, where, the unnamed narrator tells the story of Marlow’s journey into the Congo. It is due to Marlow’s own narration of events which are often very elaborate and at times ambiguous and the persona of the outer narrator who remains quite neutral.
This double-level plot contributes to the rather gloomy and suspenseful mood of Marlow’s story, thus making the reader feel that there is something wrongful and suspicious in the inner story.
See also: Themes in A Noiseless Patient Spider
5- “The Princess Bride” by William Goldman
“This is my favorite book in all the world, though I have never read it. How is such a thing possible? I’ll do my best to explain.”
The element of frame narrative is employed in the book “The Princess Bride” as the author tells the story as if it is an abridged version of a classic tale by S. Morgenstern. The outer frame is characterized by the author’s commentary, interjections, and communication with his son.
This technique works to establish irony and postmodern elements together with the primary narrative of Buttercup and Westley’s love. The use of frame and the inner story line creates depth and interest to the reader which makes it more enjoyable to read.
6- “Wuthering Heights” by Emily Brontë
“But Mr. Heathcliff forms a singular contrast to his abode and style of living. He is a dark-skinned gipsy in aspect, in dress and manners a gentleman…”
The novel’s plot structure can be described as a frame narrative since Mr. Lockwood, a stranger, visits the Heights and records what he sees and hears on the moor and from Heathcliff. The second narrative that is related to the main plot is the inner narrative which is told by one of the characters Nelly Dean and it describes the history of the families of Earnshaw and Linton.
The first level provides suspense by sets Lockwood’s external view against the events of the inner story of jealousy and murder. This narrative technique of interconnecting the plot episodes increases the readership’s involvement and the atmosphere of threat.
See also: Best Sonnet about Nature
