Come si deve leggere un romanzo: narratori, personaggi e lettori nelle Metamorfosi di Apuleio

Most studies of the prologue to Apuleius’ Metamorphoses describe how it anticipates the rhetorical and narrative strategies of the novel. The prologue, however, also shapes the reaction of its audience to the narration, demanding the audience’s attention and their willingness to be surprised. The first three books of the novel provide the reader with narrative examples of what is expected from him: several characters are introduced who listen to stories (Lucius among them) and react to them both emotionally and practically, acting and making decisions under the influence of those stories. This narrative strategy clearly encourages the identification of the reader with Lucius and other characters who listen to stories: the reader feels the same emotions they feel, looks at things with their eyes, and hears the same stories through their ears. Moreover, what the characters cannot see or hear is also invisible or inaudible to the reader, who consequently shares their hopes and expectations about future events; the reader also shares in the characters’ surprise and disappointment when their expectations are not met. The reader is thus completely enveloped by the fictional world of the novel, enacting the “willing suspension of disbelief” that Coleridge deemed necessary to truly enjoy fiction. This narrative strategy is also employed later in the novel, albeit less frequently; above all it leads the reader to share Lucius’ total abandon to Isiac faith and its wonders at the conclusion of the novel.