A Virtual You: Reading Kurahashi Yumiko’s Kurai Tabi through Virtuality

Within literary criticism, the second-person narrative is frequently read within conventions of modern realistic novel, tackling narratee/protagonist as a narratological problem. Such an approach, however, overlooks core component what fiction aims to do: that is, draw reader into and experience world text firsthand. Seeking instead theorize ways in which narratives involve invite act perspective-taking, I turn virtual reality, deeply invested cognitive mechanisms through sense presence produced questions how mediated reality can influence human thought behavior. Examining Kurahashi Yumiko’s Kurai Tabi (1961), one earliest examples form Japanese literature, consider during moments text, drives reader’s identification with “you” who target narration. Analyzing virtuality provides new avenue for understanding engagement fiction.