The Lexical Field as a Form of Fusion between the Author, Narrator, and Character in Ismail Kadare’s Novel “The Inhibited”

This paper examines the linguistic strategies employed by Ismail Kadare in one of his most significant literary works, focusing in particular on the dynamic relationship the author establishes with his own narrative. Central to this relationship is the infiltration of the narrative voice into what is termed “enunciation,” whereby the boundaries between author, extradiegetic narrator, and character become blurred. The study aims to investigate a phenomenon increasingly evident in 21st-century literature: the merging of narrative voices as a reflection of the re-emergence of the author within the fictional text. In Kadare’s prose, the discursive framework reveals innovative modes of organizing narrative discourse, guided by an inherent tendency toward osmosis—a gradual and deliberate interpenetration of the author’s voice into that of his characters. Within the broader inquiry into narrator-character dynamics, each mode of discourse functions as a distinct narrative conduit. Among these, the lexical field becomes a privileged site where the dissolution of boundaries among author, narrator, and character underscores the fluidity and multiplicity of perspectives. We argue that Kadare’s linguistic strategies signal a shift from conceiving language as a fixed mirror of reality to embracing a more dynamic, open-ended approach—one that values ambiguity and harnesses the generative potential of discourse as both a creative and interpretive force.