Possible Worlds applied to Literary Text

Tudor-Alexandru Rusu

Babes-Bolyai University

Abstract

There are multiple worlds, more than the actual world that we already know, see and feel
in our everyday lives. It is what we see and what we see is what we get from the world. Possible
Worlds come as a mental construct to us, they are the cases of ‘what if…’ and ‘what might have
been if…’ they are conditionals of our mind when we think about things that may have happened
to us if we had done something different, or things that may happen to us in a future. In this article
I will attempt to show the relationship between reader and text.

Keywords: Possible Worlds, Fictionality, Narrativity, Context, Fanfiction, Existence,

Willing Suspension of Disbelief.

1. Possible Worlds

Possible Worlds are abstract mental projections generated in the use of language and
interpreting expressions. As such, what we believe to be factual and which accurately describes
the real world is known as the actual world W0 and the projection that describes what we believe
to be non-factual is called a possible world W1,2, …, n.

A possible world is any proposition sufficiently comprehensive as to either imply or be

inconsistent with any given proposition, and yet not so comprehensive as to imply every
proposition. (Copeland, 118)
 There is a distinction between possible worlds and fictional worlds in which both are
actually possible worlds, however the fictional worlds can be actualized through the reader-text
interaction where what is non-factual information is treated as if it were factual while remaining
non-factual.

2. Possible Worlds in literary theory. Fictionality and Narrativity

Possible Worlds are generated by context, literary or otherwise. “Possible worlds indicate
that fiction is logically and semantically not an exceptional phenomenon. Although fiction is
constituted by propositions that seem like regular assertions yet do not refer to actual states of
affairs or to anything at all, there are other cultural products with similar features, products that
present nonactual states of affairs through the power of language (conditionals, propositions
relating the wishes, anticipations or memories of a speaker, myth-constructing propositions, etc.).
Fiction is hence not seen as an isolated exceptional phenomenon but is part of a larger context
of discourses that do not refer to the way things actually are in the world.” (Ronen, 7)

Ronen’s statement on possible worlds is that a possible world can be generated through
fictional text, which is true with respect to the idea that literary text, fiction, is someone’s
representation of W0 while generating an alternate set/course of events. Thus, fiction is not an
isolated phenomenon and is part of larger context of discourses that do not refer to the way things
are presented in the actual world.

The application of mental projection is present in the case of fiction as well, when we read
books, we generate a possible world and we mentally project the set of events that is presented to
us in the text. In a literary context, the generated possible worlds assume inter-world relationships
and intra-world organization, which are determined by narrativity. Acknowledging that things may
have been different does not necessarily lead to belief in possible worlds, the notion of possible
worlds presuppose a difference between actual existence (W0) and possible existence in states of
affairs (W1,2,…,n)
 The construction of alternative events through fiction in the discourse leads to the use of
fictional-operators which draw the line between W0 and a generated W1 in the written discourse.

The term ‘suspension of disbelief’ was given to us by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, who came
up with the term in 1817, the suspension of disbelief describes that “the readers (or viewer,
depending on the given narrative form) allow the story's artificial structures to create a real
experience for them. In other words, the reader, in his own mind, accepts that the given story is
untrue and is being told through an artificial medium but still believes in it, anyways.” 1 This
phenomenon that is the suspension of disbelief allows us, implicitly our imagination to create more
with what is already shown to us, this fact has also led to the birth of what is called ‘fanfiction’ in
which the suspension of disbelief is applied in the new context which allows us to see what may
have happened after the events of the books have ended and the transfer of information does not
end from the point of view of the reader and this continuous transfer leads to the creation of
‘fanfiction’. In this respect a case study on a popular book series has been chosen to be subjected
to a linguistic and literary analysis hoping to establish a clear link between semantics and literary
studies.

3. Case Study: Generation of Context and Accessibility Relations in J.K. Rowling’s

Harry Potter series and The Cursed Child play

In truth we can consider any sort of fiction as being a possible world of knowledge and belief
without having the means to understand the difference between the actual world and the possible
world given to us by the text. The distinction between worlds is given by accessibility relations
which “are defined in logic as relative possibility. That is, what determines the relation of one
world being possible relative to another, and how is that relative possibility settled (relative to
what criteria)? Accessibility obviously cannot be detached from the notion of possibility.” (Ronen,
pp. 62)

Kripke introduces the two as equivalent concepts. “Accessibility is destined to account for the
truth values of modal and counterfactual propositions (for instance, is a counterfactual possible

1
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relative to an actual state of affairs?) Possibility ascribes a concrete content to relations of
accessibility among sets, in that relative possibility determines inference in modal systems.
Accessibility among worlds works as a restriction on the range of possible worlds; different models
for accessibility define different formalizations for quantifying over accessible worlds, that is, not
all possible worlds are compossible. Logic offers different models for defining accessibility, each
proposing a different formalization for quantifying over accessible worlds, that is, each model
places different restrictions on the accessibility relation.” (Kripke, 83-94)

Every literary work is in principle incomplete and always in need of further supplementation;
in terms of the text, however, this supplementation can never be completed. (Ingarden, 251)
I agree with Ingarden’s statement of the infinite supplementation of information which is proven
by the fact that even when a text is physically finished, the transfer of information and mental
projections continues in the mind of the reader. In terms of completion, the text is never complete,
which leads us to an incompletion which, even if supplemented, can never be done in terms of
text. Semantically we show states of incompletion through rigid and non-rigid designators, world
and time coordinates and possible worlds. Extracting any sentence that makes reference to a place,
a time or a character we can identify traits that are true and applicable to the actual world. For
example, the time frame in which the novel is set is close to contemporary times in the late 80s to
late 90s with the action ending in 1998. We have a time coordinate and we also have world
coordinates present in the book when we refer to the city of London in which we see several events
take place. The problem is that, it is not a representation of what we see in the actual world as
London, it differs and in the possible world context given London can be treated as both a rigid-
designator as appears in the actual world and the transfer of information is done directly by the
readers without having to generate a new world. The same idea applies to the proper names, e.g.
Harry Potter, which is a proper name and by definition should be a rigid-designator, but given the
fact that it’s a fictional character and has an incomplete description in the actual world results in a
non-rigid designator. The phenomena also lead to the creation of fanfiction, in which the supply
of information continues in a ‘non-canonical’ way.

“The problem of fictional entities has further implications which reflect the intricate mode
of being of fictional worlds. Fictional entities are beings which are commonly claimed to be
incomplete: fictional entities can have the property "p and ~p" because there is no referent in
relation to which either p or ~ p can be determined. Yet, if fictional entities are regarded as existents
in an alternative and parallel ontic sphere, how can they possibly violate the fundamental logical
law of the excluded middle? That is, granted that fictional entities exist in an alternative ontic
space, they are logically bound to be complete in that alternative universe they inhabit and their
alternative completeness thus effaces the distinction between fictional and actual entities.” (Ronen,
109) The idea discussed by Ronen here is that readers supply information in their mental projection
of what they are reading in the text, as such when we supply the information we decide between
“p and ~p” and what we decide to choose becomes factual or non-factual information. For
example, we are shown in the text that Harry has his mother’s eyes which is said by many
characters throughout the novels, however if the text hadn’t provided us with this information we
would have to choose between p: Harry having blue eyes or ~p: Harry not having blue eyes, instead
having green eyes. It is within the mental projection of the reader that the supplied information
becomes factual or non-factual in the context. This becomes part of the reader-text interaction.

Kripke offers an example in which a fictional character may have existed “Holmes does
not exist, but in other states of affairs, he would have existed”, the same example Kripke offers is
applicable in the case of Harry Potter or any other character that originates in the university created
by Rowling. In a possible world, Harry does exist and the story pans out in the way Rowling
describes in the novels, thus allowing for the discourse to retain a value of truth in a possible world
(Kripke, 158). As such, we may consider the following phrases:

If Harry is metaphysically possible, then he is a particular boy.

If Harry is a particular boy, then he has the character-defining properties of a wizard in

a magical world.

The story describes the properties of a wizard. Then Harry has the determining properties
of being a wizard.

Then Harry may have been a metaphysically possible entity in the actual world with
respect to the idea given by the popular theory of Harry Potter being an abused child who imagines
the fantasy world as a coping mechanism in order to survive the ordeals that he is being put
through.2 We know, however, that he is not an existing entity in W0 and remains only a possible

2
http://www.cracked.com/quick-fixes/why-hogwarts-was-all-in-harrys-head-conspiracy-theory/
entity in a possible world scenario. From an epistemic point of view, we can clearly note that Harry
is not an actual entity in the world. Even though the name evokes the mental representation of
Daniel Radcliffe, the actor is an entity belonging to W0 due to the fact that he has a valid mental
representation unlike the fictional entity that he plays in the movies. As such we can conclude that
the character is not applicable in the context of W0.

The existence of a fictional character “is a matter of rhetoric and hence relates to the
semantics of a given text. Existence can be established or undermined by a text (the existence
condition is satisfied by realistic literature, but is hardly respected in postmodernism).” (Margolin,
843) The same condition is once again disrespected by fantasy literature where the existence of
characters is an impossible condition from the beginning due to the state in which they are
presented in the text. However, if we were to generate a different context of existence of the
characters, while altering the given context, we could perhaps prove the fact that fictional
characters have defining properties of entities that are in the actual world. Which is clear when we
read a text and we can analyze the way the characters speak, act and feel. This representation is
furthered in the film portrayal of the characters, but even then, we have a possible world because
the actors could’ve have done something different in their portrayals and as such, we are given a
single possibility instead of multiple.

“Having fiction as its primary object of study, literary theory can regard fictional beings
and deal with the problem of reference in fiction in a way that might suggest a conflation between
the fictional and the real, but this conflation does not emerge necessarily from any clear notion of
what the real is like. The position of literary theorists does not presuppose a philosophical stand
on the ontological status of reality.” (Ronen, 113) The idea forwarded by Ronen is synonymous
with Freud’s theories on psychoanalysis which has also been present in literature since Modernism
and onward where we can note a shift in the way characters are treated, the focus of the text
changing from pure action towards understanding the way in which the characters act. With respect
to this, it can be said that fictional characters were treated more and more as entities in the actual
world, with their thoughts and ideals being subjected to discussion within the text by the writers.

In a way, we also analyze the characters when we read the text. A good example of this
would be a popular theory on the novels in which Harry is actually a psychologically abused child
who creates the entire world of Hogwarts in order to cope with what is actually happening to him.
As such we are left again with a choice between p and ~p. This theory may also be a valid context
which can be applied to the books, but it functions on the willing suspension of disbelief.3

Through the Willing Suspension of Disbelief, we can construct our version of the possible
world given by the text, as such that possible world becomes actualized in our mental
representation of the possible world becomes factual from non-factual, the same line of thought is
applied to deciding between p and ~p when it comes to properties of identity of the fictional
characters. The idea of constructing a physical world increases in difficulty the further the
generated context stretches from what is actual information. For example, a reader may find it
easier to construct a fictional world if that world has many elements from the actual world. In the
case of Sherlock Holmes novels, a reader will find it easier to construct the mental representation
of the fictional world due to the accessibility to pictures and information from the Victorian Period,
specifically Victorian London. In other cases, as in the case of J. R. R. Tolkien’s Middle-Earth,
Martin’s Westeros and Essos and even Rowling’s world of Hogwarts, the context strays from the
actual world, although in Rowling’s case it is the closest to the actual world due to the presence of
the city of London. In the cases of Martin and Tolkien we are faced with completely different
universes who have no visible connection to the actual world therefore world construction is more
difficult without the use of heavy descriptions from the text.

In creating a fictional world, one takes into account the differences between the fictional
world and W0, while in a pure-linguistic analysis the information is factual in both types of worlds,
in a literary context it is not. The factuality of what is said in the text is given by the willing
suspension of disbelief through which we decide to believe that was is told in the text is factual,
hence it is real information.

A literary text offers us a context, which may or may not be ambiguous with respect to
how much detail is given to us of the fictional world. Returning to my earlier point, we can again
decide between p and ~p with respect to the world presented, the characters that inhabit this world,
the way situations are shown through the actions in the text. On the conclusion of the text we are
faced with an issue, which is that our minds continue to project different scenarios in our minds

3
http://www.cracked.com/quick-fixes/why-hogwarts-was-all-in-harrys-head-conspiracy-theory/
and we continue to generate context without the text giving us more information to work with, we
continue to supply this information.

For Possible Worlds Semantics the willing suspension of disbelief proves that context can
be generated to an infinite number, as we see in the case of fanfiction that is not canon to the story
that has already been finished, but rather fanfiction gives us the possibility to see events that we
have projected and these events are often possibilities that may have happened in the actual text
that is canonical. The transfer of information does not end for the reader and for the writers of
fanfiction, the information continues to grow and offers more possibilities for possible worlds to
be fleshed out from the initial context.

4. Final Remarks

In the conclusion of this research paper it can be said that common points exist between
Semantics and literature, while not very clear at first sight they can be slowly fleshed out with a
semantic approach towards literary text through the use of possible worlds and understanding the
differentiation between what is non-factual becoming factual and the actualization of a possible
world through usage of the Willing Suspension of Disbelief in which cognitively we agree that
what is presented to us is a fact and not a non-fact, as such the possible world becomes actualized
with the information being treated as factual in the processes.

Works Cited

B. JACK COPELAND, THE GENESIS OF POSSIBLE WORLDS SEMANTICS

Ingarden, Roman. 1973. The Literary Work of Art: An Investigation on the Borderlines of
Ontology, Logic, and Theory of Literature. Evanston: Northwestern University Press.

Kripke, Saul. Proceedings of a Colloquium on Modal and Many-valued Logics, Helsinki,

23-26 August, 1962, Acta Philosophica Fennica1963, pp. 83–94
Kripke, Saul. Naming and necessity. Wiley-Blackwell, 1981.
Margolin, Uri. 1990. "Individuals in Narrative Worlds: An Ontological Perspective."
Poetics Today 11:4
 Ronen, Ruth. Possible worlds in literary theory, Cambridge University Press, 1994,
transferred to electronic version in 2004

Web Sources

1. https://www.pfspublishing.com/bookclub/2011/05/literary-terms-the-willing-suspension-
of-disbelief.html, date of accessing: 19.11.2018, Website: The Book Club
2. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/possible-worlds/, date of accessing: 23.11.2018, Website:
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
3. http://www.cracked.com/quick-fixes/why-hogwarts-was-all-in-harrys-head-conspiracy-
theory/, date of accessing: 23.11.2018, Website: Cracked