The inheritance: a novel and exegesis

This exegesis considers narrative theory and practice and how they impact upon our memories which are at least partly what builds the concept of self, meaning and identity. The basis of what follows is taken from narrative theory with a psychological and philosophical influence. The investigation reviews how narratives construct personal meaning and identity, and shows that there will be always be an 'incommensurability' (Bruner 1986, 1990, 2004) between society and the individual. Narrative meaning and identity is discussed throughout the paper via the ideas of master and personal narratives and how these differ, interact and direct lives. There are conflicts between the various master narratives we all imbibe from culture and society. It is from these master narratives that each of us build our personal narratives, which build meaning and personal identity. Our narratives are known or unknown---often hidden from one’s own view---and may clash with master narratives and with our other personal narratives. Since this exegesis accompanies an artefact, the novel The Inheritance, I considered all my material in light of the art of writing a novel and/or an autobiography. The artefact is called an 'auto-bio-fiction' so the issue of what is autobiographical (and even autoethnographical) as compared to fiction is tackled throughout the paper. My initial research took me to other, perhaps at times peripheral, although associated, areas of study. For example, I found that I had to explore areas such as the use of humour, and the more serious question---also tackled in the story of the artefact – of whether present pasts might be partially re-written into a more current narrative. This led to an exploration of creativity in the writing process, and particularly the idea of 'sub selves' or sub-personalities as a possible explanation for how memories and identity, imagination, meaning and our inevitable narrative nature of these might result in creative writing and in some personal resolution of present pasts.