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Other University Microfilms International Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. The Role and Performance of Herodotus as Narrator of the H isto rie s by Cynthia Lois Claxton A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Washington 1987 Approved by i. , , miuee) Program Authorized ** to Offer Degree________ /J.// Date Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Doctoral Dissertation In presenting this dissertation in partial fulfillm ent of the requirements for the Doctoral degree at the University of Washington, I agree that the Library shall make its copies freely available for inspection. I further agree that extensive copying of this dissertation is allowable only for scholarly purposes, consistent with "fair use" as prescribed in the U.S. Copyright Law. Requests for copying or reproduction of this dissertation may be referred to University Microfilm, 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106, to whom the author has granted “the right to reproduce and sell (a) copies of the manuscript in microform and/or (b) printed copies of the manuscript made from microform." Signah.ro c/- natp jJfSb Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. University of Washington Abstract THE ROLE AND PERFORMANCE OF HERODOTUS AS NARRATOR OF THE HISTORIES by Cynthia Lois Claxton Chairperson of the Supervisory Committee: Professor Lawrence J. Bliquez Department of Classics This dissertation examines the importance of Herodotus as narrator of the H istories. !t is noted that Herodotus assumes the stance of both an overt and covert narrator. Herodotus narrates most of the H isto rie s in a very overt fashion. There are sections, however, that Herodotus relates in a much more covert manner by withdrawing his own persona as investigator and historian. In these passages, he narrates the events in such a way that they are presented as virtual mimetic reenactments of their original occurrence. In type of presentation, Herodotus keeps his presence as narrator as minimally detectable as possible so that the reader w ill have the impression that he has been shown what happened rather than merely told. Chapter One discusses overt and covert narration and Herodotus' place in the development of Greek historiography. Chapter Two discusses Herodotus' use of overt narration and the types of personal statements made by Herodotus are noted. Additional examples of these types of personal expressions are listed in four appendices. In Chapter Three, Herodotus’ use of covert narration in the telling of a traditional tale is examined. The analysis of three passages reveals how a covert narrator may shape his Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. readers’ perceptions of a character without directly intruding into the text, how important dialogue is in mimetic presentation and how direct speech may be used to present information directly from the points of view of the characters. Herodotus’ use of covert narration in his account of historical events is discussed in Chapter Four. Through the analysis of three passages, it is seen that Herodotus adapts the techniques of covert narration discussed in Chapter Three to his account of certain historical events. Herodotus effaces his presence in order to give the impression that a mimetically accurate account is being presented. He recognizes that this type of narration provides a self-explanatory picture of the event. The historian/narrator allows the historical personages to tell their own story. The points of view of the individuals and the conflicting issues in the event thus avoid the appearance of having been filtered through the eyes of the historian. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page I. Introduction 1 II. The Teller and the Tale 22 III. The Researcher and his Evidence 62 IV. The Historian at Work 112 V. Conclusion 163 Bibliography 168 Appendices I. Autopsy and Inquiry 179 II. Limits of Knowledge 183 III. Personal Opinion 187 IV. Variant Versions 196 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Acknowledgments I would like to thank Professor Lawrence J. Bliquez for his guidance, encouragement and patience. I arn especially grateful for his keen ability to put things in proper perspective and for his good humor throughout the long course of this research. To Professor Pierre MacKay goes my appreciation for his insightful comments on the drafts of this dissertation and for his help with many of my computer problems. I would also like to thank Professor Merle K. Langdon for his help and suggestions. To Andrea Deagon of Victoria University in Wellington, New Zealand go my thanks for her encouragement and useful comments. And finally, I would like to thank Mark D. Ohman for the understanding and patience that can come only from one who has already accomplished the arduous task of writing a dissertation. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. To my parents t. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Chapter One Introduction Most narratives presuppose the existence of a narrator.1 This is no less true for a factual work than it is for a fictional one. To put it simply, if the reader feels that he is being told something, there must be someone who is doing the telling. In a fictional work, the story may be told by the author himself, by any one of his characters or by a separately conceived figure who acts as narrator but who is not a participant in the action. In a factual work, such as a biography or history, the narrative is generally related by the researcher himself. However, the historian or biographer must make many of the same choices that a writer of fiction makes in respect to the manner in which the work is to be narrated. Chief among these decisons is the choice of whether the narrator's persona should be overtly manifested or one more covertly active. That is to say, the author must ascertain what stance he wishes the narrator, whatever his identity, to take. He must decide whether the narrator's position should be bold and intrusive or self-effacing and unobtrusive. The overt narrator is free to ^ome modern writers try to effect the illusion that the story is entirely nonnarrated. Such a work gives the impression of being "untouched transcripts of characters' behavior" that record "nothing beyond the speech or verbalized thoughts of characters". See S. Chatman, S tory and Discourse, Narrative Structure in Fiction and Film (Ithaca, 1978; Cornell Paperbacks, 1983), pp. 166-69. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 2 make comments in his own person, to pass judgment upon the actions of the characters or to offer his own interpretations of the event.