title: WHY WE READ FICTION: THEORY OF MIND AND THE NOVEL (THEORY INTERPRETATION NARRATIV)
author: LISA ZUNSHINE
description: Why We Read Fiction offers a lucid overview of the most exciting area of research in contemporary cognitive psychology known as "Theory of Mind" and discusses its implications for literary studies. It covers a broad range of fictional narratives, from Richardsons Clarissa, Dostoyevskis Crime and Punishment, and Austens Pride and Prejudice to Woolfs Mrs. Dalloway, Nabokovs Lolita, and Hammetts The Maltese Falcon. Zunshines surprising new interpretations of well-known literary texts and popular cultural representations constantly prod her readers to rethink their own interest in fictional narrative. Written for a general audience, this study provides a jargon-free introduction to the rapidly growing interdisciplinary field known as cognitive approaches to literature and culture.
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  ![Image](../Images/image00186.jpeg)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  For
  
  
  Dr. Florence “Flossie” Ridley
  
  
  And in memory of
  
  
  Col. Ellis Cameron “Cam” Stewart and Mildred “Sissy” Stewart
  
  
  Dr. Nina J. Markus and Capt. Felix “Mac” McAndrews
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  The whole world thinks she did it. She knows that. Even in her house with the
  doors locked and the blinds down, she can feel the weight of it. All that
  certainty.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Jennifer
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Every story is a history . . . and when there is no comprehensible story,
  there is no history.
  
  
  —CHARLES BAXTER, BURNING DOWN THE HOUSE
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ## Sign