Playing Dangerously: Risking Salvation with Stories

Abstract

Summary The central question of this paper is “in what sense do stories obscure the compellingly private?” The argument is as follows: The genesis and meaning of human consciousness are essentially enigmatic. Although stories are evidence that human consciousness explores itself by narrative means, the teasing corollary is that the exploration is never complete. Far from being an activity which involves mere enjoyment, the creating of stories involves reaching into areas of great tension, dealing initially with bafflement and incoherence. Tolerance and technique are crucial in approaching the central yet overwhelming tensions implied in the narratological structure of a specific story. Put provocatively, the structures do not expose the meaning at stake, but obscure what the writer could not accommodate for various reasons which may include artificial agendas based on personal persuasion, or may reflect fear, alarm or whatever compels the maintenance of privacy. The point to be made, however, is that the notion of survival, as the purpose and meaning of story‐telling, is paradoxical. The act of creativity goes beyond the need for survival and risks the loss of the essential. The greater the risk, the greater the impact of the art.