Module VII·Article III·~2 min read
Autofiction and the “I” as a Literary Project
Postmodernism and Contemporary Literature
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The Boundary Between “I” and Character
Karl Ove Knausgård’s “My Struggle” (6 volumes, 2009–2011, total length — 3,600 pages) is the most radical autofictional project in history. Knausgård writes about his life with extreme candor: childhood, divorce, parenting, his father’s alcoholism — naming real people and without their permission. The book caused a scandal in Norway and became a global bestseller.
“Autofiction” is a hybrid of autobiography and novel: the “I” is a character, but a real person. The boundary is porous. This raises questions: what does the author have the right to disclose about other people? What is the status of “truth” in literature? When does “confession” become narcissism, and when is it an artistic investigation?
Rachel Cusk’s “Outline” (2014): metafiction-autofiction. The narrator is a female writer running a workshop in Athens. Almost the entire text consists of the stories of other people. The narrator disappears into the stories of those around her. This is an exploration of identity: the “I” exists through relationships, not autonomously.
The “I” on Social Media and Literature
Social media has created a new form of “autofiction” — a performative “I” in Instagram, Twitter/X, TikTok. This is a managed “I”: a choice of what to show, what to hide, how to present oneself. The boundary between the “authentic” and the “constructed” I has become a practical issue for billions.
Literary autofiction and self-presentation on social media share a common logic: constructing a narrative “I.” The difference: in literature — distance and reflection; in social networks — continuity and reactivity.
Dani Lapin Agarbi’s “Life” (Norwegian) — about how life on social media creates a narrative of the “right” life, which people try to live up to — sometimes with fatal consequences.
Question for reflection: Knausgård revealed other people in his book without their consent. How do you manage the “narrative” about your organization and colleagues in public spaces?
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