ABSTRACT
Mieke Bal refines Gerard Genette's theory of focalization, developing, for example, the difference between the subject and the object of focalization and assigning an autonomous role to the focalizer. This is perhaps the most controversial aspect of Mieke Bal theory. The subject of focalization, the focalizor, is the poin from which the elements are viewed. That point can lie with a character that is an element of the fabula, or outside it. If the focalizor coincides with the character, that character will have a technical advantage over the other characters. The combination of a focalizor and a focalized object can be constant to a large degree, or it can vary greatly. Research into such fixed or loose combinations is of importance because the image we receive of the object is determined by the focalizor. The way in which a subject is presented gives information about that object itself and about the focalizor.
