ABSTRACT
Section I reviews Husserl’s ideas of literary narrative and the objective status of the literary work. Section II addresses the specific forms of conflict between perception and phantasy as realized through literary narrative, giving special emphasis to the importance of freedom in both the creation and reception of the work. Section III pays attention to his discussion of literary genres, and considers examples, including some that test the logical limits of narrative. In Section IV, our attention is turned to theatre and music specifically. It is shown that whilst scenery and props of some sort are necessary to a theatrical production in the fullest sense, their particularity is a contingent matter, and that Husserl seems to have recognized this. The nature of the specific apprehensions involved in theatre, and the distinctive conflicts they involve, are outlined in detail. We use Sartre’s ‘Husserlian’ theory to illuminate the conflictual basis of music. In the Conclusion, we review weaknesses in Husserl’s approach but end by developing his ideas to show literature as the embodiment of a quasi-trans finite view of the world, through which the reader can achieve empathy with the writer.
