“We meet reality only in our prediction errors.” On the source of new patterns in art.

Abstract

The analysis of two novels by Joyce Carol Oates - Blonde and The Gravedigger's Daughter - aims to consider a hypothesis concerning the relationship between aesthetic experience and the ability to switch master narrative framework (MNF) alternative narrative. Master narratives have many uses for members of a group (utility principle), such as providing relevant information to understanding the group’s rules and characteristics (e.g., its history, values, and social norms). Most members of a culture effectively accept and internalize master narratives without recognizing them explicitly as such (invisibility principle). The fact that master narratives are unconsciously internalized as ready-made guides for how to live a life and understand the lives of others facilitates adaptation by alleviating the necessity for effortful reflection on everyday choices, actions, or events.