Mise en abyme: Variations on the Concept

The article is devoted to variations of the narrative term mise en abyme. By mise en abyme are commonly understood multiple meanings such as the "inner mirror" that reproduces the plot of the whole text within its single fragment (L. Dallenbach, J. Ricardou), or the recursive structure creating the effect of infinite regress (B. McHale), or the "reduced model" (C. Levi-Strauss), or the self-reflexive connection between the narrator and the text he creates (A. Gide). However, all these definitions are only approximately related to the complex of narrative phenomena denoted by the notion of mise en abyme. The article systematises different approaches to defining the mise en abyme figure established in classical and post-classical (especially French) narratology and clarifies its semantic and functional effects.