Post #1 - Narrative Shapes

During today's discussion, I was struck by how often the power of pre-formed narrative shapes shows itself. As we mentioned in class, most of the world's moviegoers can accurately predict the ending of a romantic comedy before the conflict is even introduced. But the narrative expectations of the human mind are not confined to works of fiction. With the subject of monarchy already on my mind, my thoughts turned immediately to the saga of Prince William and Kate Middleton. If tabloids and blogs are to be believed, the whole world is waiting on the edge of its seat for news of a royal baby. At first glance, this expectation does not seem unreasonable. The newlyweds are powerful, beautiful, and financially secure; why wouldn't they procreate immediately? But if we look to the root of this expectation, we will find that (yet again) predetermined narrative shapes are to blame. "First comes love. Then comes marriage. Then comes the baby in the baby carriage!" William and Kate's relationship has to follow this path because we just say it does. That's how these stories go. The traditional sequence of courtship, marriage, and childbirth has been drilled into the minds of human beings for centuries. What if William and Kate don't want to be parents - ever? Why do we expect that this must be their next step? Clearly, narrative shapes exert their influence in even such trivial matters as these.