WHAT IS THE EQUISCIENT NARRATOR? - LITERATURE - 2025

An equiscient narrator or observer narrator is one who has a character within a story but has limited knowledge of his own thinking, so he does not know all the aspects and elements of the story in depth.

He differs, for example, from the omniscient narrator, because he does not have absolute knowledge of all the details of a narrative despite being part of it.

An equiscient narrator is a variation of the third person narrator, since it does have a physical representation in the story, but with a limited view of the events.

Characteristics of the equiscient narrator

Within a story, an equiscient narrator may or may not be a main character, the most common being a supporting character but with a recognizable relationship with the main actors.

His perspective will always be limited to some extent, he may have his own consciousness and thoughts, which are transmitted to the reader.

He is also capable of having some knowledge of the actions taken by the main characters, but the rest will be simple assumptions.

This element of ignorance regarding the development of subplots and other characters generates a certain effect of uncertainty, ideal for many genres in literature, but especially for suspense and horror.

Empathy

Equiscent narration generates empathy in whoever reads a story, due to its character of partial knowledge with a single point of view.

A reader can perfectly identify with the narrator because he is involved in a story where he only knows the facts as he discovers them on his own.

When it comes to moving or generating terror, the equiscient narrator is widely used because it allows the reader to feel the facts of a story firsthand.

Speculation

By having a unique perspective, an equiscient narrator will generate doubts, speculations, conjectures, and assumptions in the reader that may or may not be correct. This is perhaps the most engaging aspect of using equiscent storytelling.

Many books and also movies, video games or series, apply this method to not reveal the most important details of a story until the narrator / reader discovers it first hand

Even though other people may know the outcomes in advance, the limited perspective will keep the suspense going until the end.

Equiscent narrator and multiple narrator

Sometimes the equiscient narrator is often confused with the multiple narrator, because both are capable of providing a narrative from the point of view of a single character.

However, the multiple storyteller repeats this action with various actors in the story, so even though he provides an individual point of view during a chapter or part of the story, at some point he speaks what a different character thinks.

It is during this transition that he ceases to be an equiscient narrator.

An example of multiple storytelling can be seen in the works of the A Song of Ice and Fire saga by George RR Martin, where it is possible to learn the thoughts of various characters as the story progresses.

References

1. Ginny Wiehardt (October 15, 2017). Third-Person Point of View: Omniscient or Limited. Retrieved on November 16, 2017, from The Balance.
2. Third Person Limited Narrator: Definition & Examples (sf). Retrieved on November 16, 2017, from Study.
3. The Equiscient Narrator (March 28, 2012). Retrieved on November 16, 2017, from Literautas.
4. Types of narrator (sf). Retrieved on November 16, 2017, from Read Infinity.
5. The Equiscient Narrator (June 12, 2014). Retrieved on November 16, 2017, from Factoría de Autores.