Affective Narrative Framework for Postcolonial Anglophone Fiction

Thesis Abstract

This study addresses the persistent dissonance between affective experience and representational strategies in postcolonial Anglophone fiction, arguing that an Affective Narrative Framework (ANF) can systematize how emotional processes shape narrative form, reception, and meaning-making across diverse postcolonial terrains. The aim is to develop and validate a theory-driven framework that integrates affect theory, narratology, and postcolonial criticism to account for how readers engage with trauma, memory, and identity in Anglophone texts from Nigeria, Jamaica, India, and South Africa. Specific objectives are (1) to articulate core affective constructs—emotional transference, horizon of expectation, and affective resonance—and map their textual realizations; (2) to formulate a theoretical model that links narrative strategies (point of view, focalization, temporal organization) with readerly affective responses; (3) to examine the interaction between colonial?postcolonial power imaginaries and affective reception across national contexts; (4) to test the framework against a curated corpus of 16 novels published between 1980 and 2015; and (5) to propose implications for literary criticism, pedagogy, and cataloging of affective dimensions in Anglophone postcolonial fiction. The study adopts a multi-method design bridging qualitative and quantitative analysis. The population comprises contemporary postcolonial Anglophone novels and their reader-response data as elicited from survey and interview materials. A purposive sample of 16 novels is selected to ensure representation across geographic regions and thematic preoccupations, supplemented by 300 reader surveys distributed online to graduate students and literary scholars and 40 in-depth interviews. Data collection instruments include (a) a structured coding schema for textual affordances (affective cues, narrative focalization, temporality shifts) using a piloted 60-item coding instrument; (b) reader-response questionnaires measuring perceived emotional intensity, empathy, and ethical orientation; and (c) semi-structured interview protocols exploring interpretive frameworks and affective engagement. Validity is ensured through triangulation across textual analysis, survey data, and interview transcripts; reliability is established via intercoder agreement (Cohen’s kappa ? .80) for the qualitative coding and test–retest consistency for the survey. Analytical procedures combine thematic analysis of textual features using NVivo, followed by structural equation modeling (SEM) to test hypothesized relationships among narrative strategies, affective responses, and ethical stances. Additionally, a multiple-group SEM will compare regional variations among Nigerian, Jamaican, Indian, and South African corpora. Theoretical anchoring draws on Paul Ricoeur’s narrative identity, Silvan Tomkins’s affect theory, and Homi Bhabha’s postcolonial ambivalence, integrating them into the ANF to explain how affective modalities mediate meaning construction in postcolonial contexts. Expected findings indicate that specific narrative mechanisms—for instance, selective focalization combined with non-linear temporality—amplify affective resonance among readers, thereby enhancing ethical engagement and complicating reductive postcolonial readings. The study anticipates regional differences in affective trajectories corresponding to historical legacies and cultural idioms, while revealing universal patterns in how readers negotiate trauma and memory through form. The contribution to knowledge lies in operationalizing an integrative framework that explicates the interplay between affect, narrative technique, and postcolonial ethics, offering a robust analytical tool for scholars to assess how emotional architectures produce interpretive legitimacy and cross-cultural intelligibility in Anglophone fiction. Practically, the ANF can inform curriculum design, literary criticism, and digital humanities projects that model affective engagement across cultures. The main conclusion is that affective configurations are not incidental but constitutive of postcolonial narrative meaning, with readerly emotion acting as a mediating mechanism between historical trauma and contemporary ethical judgments. Recommendations include extending the framework to other languages and media (e.g., film and digital storytelling), refining the measurement instruments for cross-cultural validity, and developing an open-access analytical toolkit to facilitate comparative affective studies in postcolonial literature.