Metafictional Nudging

The chapter makes the argument that the moments when the narrative refers to itself do not necessarily disrupt readers’ immersion and sense of flow. Movement between different diegetic levels in mise-en-abyme can unfold fluently, and the joint attention is usually maintained. Instances of metafiction and metanarration rather serve as ‘nudges’ in the second-order probability designs that redirect readers’ attention while maintaining it. Novels as distant in time from each other as Heliodorus’ Ethiopian Adventures and Margaret Atwood’s The Blind Assassin deploy metafictional nudges in their second-order probability design, provoking readers without relinquishing sense of flow.