Metafiction Poking Fun at the Conventions of Fiction

Novels and stories that examine, experiment with, or poke fun at the conventions of fiction itself can all be classified as metafiction.   The term metafiction literally means beyond fiction or over fiction, indicating that the author or narrator stands beyond or over the fictional text and judges it or observes it in a highly self-conscious way.   Its important to note that unlike literary criticism or analysis, metafiction is itself fictional. Simply commenting on a work of fiction doesnt make that work metafiction. Confused? Heres a good example to better understand the distinction. Jean Rhys and the Madwoman in the Attic The 1847 novel Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte is widely considered a classic of Western literature, which was quite radical in its day. The novels titular woman struggles through extreme hardships and finally finds true love with her boss, Edward Rochester. On the day of their wedding, she discovers hes already married, to a mentally unstable woman he keeps locked in the attic of the house where he and Jane live. Many critics have written about Brontes madwoman in the attic device, including examining whether it fits into feminist literature and what the woman may or may not represent. But the 1966 novel Wide Sargasso Sea retells the story from the point of view of the madwoman. How did she get in that attic? What happened between her and Rochester? Was she always mentally ill? Even though  the story itself is fiction, Wide Sargasso Sea is a commentary on Jane Eyre and the fictional characters in that novel (and to some extent, on Bronte herself).   Wide Sargasso Sea, then, is an example of metafiction, while the non-fictional literary criticisms of Jane Eyre are not.   Additional Examples of Metafiction Metafiction is not restricted to modern literature. Chaucers Canterbury Tales, written in the 15th century, and Don Quixote, by Miguel de Cervantes, written a century later, are both considered classics of the genre.  Chaucers work tells the story of a group of pilgrims headed to the shrine of St. Thomas Becket who are telling their own stories as part of a contest to win a free meal. And Don Quixote is the tale of the man of La Mancha who tilts at windmills in order to reestablish the traditions of knighthood.   And even older works such as Homers The Odyssey and the medieval English epic Beowulf contain reflections on storytelling, characterization, and inspiration.   Metafiction and Satire Another prominent type of metafiction is literary parody or satire. Though such works dont always involve self-conscious narration, they are still classified as metafiction because they call attention to popular writing techniques and genres. Among the most widely-read examples of this kind of metafiction are Jane Austens Northanger Abbey, which holds the Gothic novel up to lighthearted mockery; and James Joyces Ulysses, which reconstructs and lampoons writing styles from throughout the history of the English language. The classic of the genre is Jonathan Swifts Gullivers Travels, which parodies contemporary politicians (though remarkably many of Swifts references are so well-disguised that their true meanings are lost to history). Varieties of Metafiction   In the postmodern era, whimsical retellings of earlier fictional stories have also become extremely popular. A few of the most prominent of these are John Barths Chimera, John Gardners Grendel and Donald Barthelmes Snow White. In addition, some of the best-known metafictions combine an extreme consciousness of fictional technique with experiments in other forms of writing. James Joyces Ulysses, for example, is formatted partially as a closet drama, while Vladimir Nabokovs novel Pale Fire is partially a confessional narrative, partially a long poem and partially a series of scholarly footnotes.