Fiction and Group Identity Formation: Simulations of Involvement with Characters during an Oral Performance of Joseph and Aseneth

This study will provide an extensive, psychonarratological analysis of audience involvement with characters during an ancient, oral performance of Joseph and Aseneth. I will focus on the emotional and social impact of JA that is achieved through empathy a nd identification with characters. Involvement with characters allowed audience members to simulate their actions, plans and projects. This project is inspired by Keith Oatley, who regards fictional simulation as a process that takes place in people's min ds. Simulations run successfully when audience members identify or empathize with characters, when they adopt their goals and plans, and when they construct imaginary worlds based on speech acts constituting the narrative. Consequently, simulation enables audience members to experience the plots of the narrative from the perspective of the characters. Since simulation entails experiencing events taking place in the narrative world from the perspective of characters, it constitutes a process that facilita tes transmission of knowledge through vicarious experience acquired in the narrative world. To account for experiences of different types of audience members, these simulations will focus on two main factors: 1. cultural memory, which indicates the religi ous identity of audience members. 2. The gender of audience members. These factors are in turn divided into four variables: a. "Jewish" cultural memory. b. "Christian" cultural memory. c. Female interaction with characters. d. Male interaction with charac ters. These simulations will indicate how JA contributed to group identity formation and maintenance of different types of audience members. By investigating these variables, my study of JA represents an alternative to prior mirror readings of the novel .