ABSTRACT
As "backstory" remains relatively untheorized in discussions of narrative, possible worlds, and genre fiction, its definition must itself make no assumptions. This chapter discusses other uses of this term, in relation to dramatic performance and in the context of narrative theory, and a related concept, GÇ£origin storyGÇ¥ (borrowed from discussions of superhero media). It talks about several critical and theoretical concepts in order to ground the present definition of "backstory" in related scholarship. Then, the chapter offers a brief discussion of Ursula Le Guin's The Dispossessed (1974), which exemplifies these concepts in this context and allows for further development of the term here under question. The concept of totality further adds to the definition of backstory. Finally, the chapter offers a brief discussion of Ursula Le Guin's The Dispossessed (1974), which exemplifies these concepts in this context and allows for further development of the term here under question.
