Redefining intimacy: Carver and Conversation (Bramlett and Raabe, 2004)

Conversation and interpersonal relations

Building and sustaining intimacy through little-C conversations

Disproportionate dialogue and things

The interplay of words, silence, and gesture

intimacy in the telling of the story

Carver's short story Intimacy

relationship between ex-husband and ex-wife

unique telling of the story and distorted dialogue = ex-wife dominates dialogue, ex-husband is victim of verbal abuse

detailed knowledge of someone leads to intimacy or lack there of

de/reconstruction

linguistic discourse theory, conversation analysis, and narrative theory.

homodiegetic narrator develops narratological intimacy with unnamed naratee at the same time he speaks with his ex-wife

present conversations vs. past conversations

1 - intertextuality

2 - little-c and big-c conversation

verbal interaction between exes is their little-c = affected by their previous little-c conversations which equals the big-c

if you never meet a person again then the little-c is the big-c

conversation analysis

create and maintain character intimacy

immediate intimacy = little-i and historical intimacy is big-i

the conversation turn = turn-taking

over the years the husband held conversational turn = shows up at her house unannounced

ex-wife is in negative emotional states, however shows empathy, forgiveness, understanding to someone who wronged her

uses dialogue in unexpected ways

some are forced or non-linguistic = estranged relationship

4 years of one-sided conversation dominated by husband

little-c create and sustain their relationship

homodiegetic character narrator

little-c and little-i enrich present intimacy

reflexivity = reciprocal production and reproduction of socially situated language

situation determines the language

assumed intimacy

1 - % of dialogue exceeds any of his other stories
2 - skewed dialogue

wife 15.8 - husband 1

"she says" and "I say"

he participates just enough to keep the conversation going

TRPs = transition-relevance places = where other characters have a chance to talk

husband only speaks when asked about the knife she pulled on him once = conflict keeps story going

scene is not described at all = only hearing

touch = turn taking signal

hem of the wife's dress

verbal, material, and mental process types interplay

recalcitrant narrator

distance between narrator and naratee

free indirect discourse, recipient design

subtle direct discourse closes distance between narrator and naratee

naratee a a character presence

leaves