Interfaces of Fiction

Applying frame theory on a corpus of five hundred American novels for a history of the function of the American novel, this study deals with initial framings that occur on both sides of the threshold of fiction: paratextual framings - such as title pages, epigraphs, dedications, advertisements, prefaces, and introductions, as well as cover illustrations and frontispieces, type faces, or the format and binding of a novel - and intratextual framings - such as frame narratives, metafictional comments, or the creation of a fictional speech situation. These framings are analyzed as historical and culture-specific signposts that illuminate the positions and functions of novelistic fiction in the social and literary landscape of the nineteenth century.