ABSTRACT. According to the artefactual theory of literature, fictional characters are contingently existing abstract objects. Sherlock Holmes, Fyodor Karamazov and other creatures of fiction are contingent existents because they are brought into being by the creative acts of their authors, and they are abstract objects because they are not denizens of the spatiotemporal world. Although the artefactual theory seems to correspond to our literary practices, it has some counterintuitive features. The paper will propose a modified and more plausible version of artefactualism. The basic idea is that fictional characters must be thought of as linguistic representations. After analysing the representation-dependent features of authorial creation, I will argue that the proposed view helps us to make progress in the debate on the ontological status of characters. pp. 68–79

Keywords: fictional characters; artefactual theory; abstract objects; non-relational representation

How to cite: Vecsey, Zoltán (2015), “A Representational Account of Fictional Characters,” Analysis and Metaphysics 14: 68–79.

Received 5 January 2015 • Received in revised form 23 April 2015
Accepted 24 April 2015 • Available online 1 November 2015