A ''roman à tiroirs'' (French for "novel with/made of drawers") is a French term for a novel in which the principal or main
narrative
A narrative, story, or tale is any account of a series of related events or experiences, whether nonfictional (memoir, biography, news report, documentary, travel literature, travelogue, etc.) or fictional (fairy tale, fable, legend, thriller (ge ...
(or "
frame story
A frame is often a structural system that supports other components of a physical construction and/or steel frame that limits the construction's extent.
Frame and FRAME may also refer to:
Physical objects
In building construction
*Framing (con ...
") is interrupted by secondary narratives (involving secondary characters and/or told by other narrators), which may in turn themselves be interrupted by further narratives/narrators. As such, it is a form of the "
story within a story
A story within a story, also referred to as an embedded narrative, is a literary device in which a character within a story becomes the narrator of a second story (within the first one). Multiple layers of stories within stories are sometimes c ...
"
literary device
A narrative technique (known for literary fictional narratives as a literary technique, literary device, or fictional device) is any of several specific methods the creator of a narrative uses to convey what they want
—in other words, a stra ...
in which the fiction is nested in two or more layers and where the resolution of the main narrative is delayed because of the inserted secondary tales/stories. In French, the
embedded narrative
A story within a story, also referred to as an embedded narrative, is a literary device in which a character within a story becomes the narrator of a second story (within the first one). Multiple layers of stories within stories are sometimes c ...
s are referred to as ''récits enchâssés'' or ''récits emboités''.
The expression "à tiroirs" as applied to a work of literature dates from 1752, and appears to have been used originally in reference to theater and plays (a "pièce à tiroirs" or "comédie à tiroirs").
[''"Romans à tiroirs" d'hier et d'aujourd'hui: Parodie et experimentation romanesque."'' Maria Eduarda Keating]
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See also
*Story within a story
A story within a story, also referred to as an embedded narrative, is a literary device in which a character within a story becomes the narrator of a second story (within the first one). Multiple layers of stories within stories are sometimes c ...
*Frame story
A frame is often a structural system that supports other components of a physical construction and/or steel frame that limits the construction's extent.
Frame and FRAME may also refer to:
Physical objects
In building construction
*Framing (con ...
References
Fiction
Metafictional techniques
Plot (narrative)
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