ABSTRACT
The plausibility of fictional characters is a variable that can range from maximal probability to an unlikely yet memorable embodiment of human qualities. To capture the characters’ plausibility, readers/viewers of fictional works let themselves be transported to the fictional realm in both senses of the term, as “transit” from the actual world to fiction and as “rapture,” “elation” triggered by literary art. Readers/viewers fictionally participate in the characters’ actions and recognize their feelings, motives, and decisions. Thanks to resonance, they sense the characters’ relevance in the actual world, either as models of right behavior or as warnings against moral errors. A variety of literary cases exemplify these stages of fictional reception and belief.
