How can it be that, in this day and age, in the western world, most heroic narratives — which usually shape or reflect deeply held views about ethics — assume an honor culture while, at the same time most of its content (e.g revenge, retribution) generally seem anathema nowadays?
Does anybody actually think Robbe-Grillet is *fun* to read? That’s what a story structure looks like that really rejects the premise of the heroic epic.
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Ensemble-cast, realistic novels (eg Tolstoy or George Eliot) get away from the epic format somewhat, and can be engaging to read, but iirc they were never *mass-market* hits; they require a more educated reader.
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(This isn’t a high-culture/low-culture distinction exactly. Shakespeare was popular in his time; and his plays *are* epics, though they subvert the tropes.)
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