Mimesis and the subject in the light of the cognitive impulse and the theory of fictional worlds

This present study revisits the role of the subject in the light of mimesis theory and the urgency of the questions it raises in the theory of fictional worlds, mainly following the model that Lubomir Dolezel has "canonized," after many years' reflection, in his essential book, Heterocosmica (1998). The study measures the shift within this theory that has occurred under the influence of the subject, sketches the complex of problems that it raises, and shows how the subject itself, conversely, demands redefinition in the light of the theory of fictional worlds. Because this area is very wide, the study is limited to that part of it defined by the pairing of subject and mimesis as literary categories. And it indicates that it is precisely the theory of fictional worlds that can prove how ambiguous the simple dichotomy of subject and object is.