In this chapter I would like to tur

In this chapter I would like to turn from these abstract concerns toward more typically concrete narratological issues. In particular, I would like to focus on the role of the human body in characterization. When we imagine a corporeal narratology, we are most likely to think about a theory of character bodies, since it is through characters that our ways of thinking about the human body will most obviously influence narrative. This chapter considers, then, how bodies help to make characters significant. Turning to characterization is especially informative because these theories reflect a more typical narratological interest in concrete textual choices and possibilities. In particular, many people think of narratology as primarily a taxonomic discipline, categorizing textual features and providing schema for organizing those features. As we begin to develop a theory of the body in narrative character, we will construct a schema of the possible forms of narrative bodies.