Understanding the discourses of ageism: A positioning analysis of narrative identity and agency in Kazuo Ishiguro’s “A Village After Dark”

This study applies Michael Bamberg’s three-level positioning analysis to Kazuo Ishiguro’s “A Village After Dark” to demonstrate how narrative fiction both reflects and challenges ageist discourses. Through systematic analysis of story content (Level 1), interactional context (Level 2), and socio-cultural discourses (Level 3), we show how protagonist Fletcher’s experiences of memory loss initially reinforce stereotypes of decline, yet his persistent repair strategies, self-correction, and social engagement reveal an agentic identity that resists reductive ageing narratives. The analysis reveals the linguistic mechanisms through which ageist assumptions operate—apologies, self-diagnosis, hesitation, repetition, and dehumanizing metaphors—and demonstrates fiction’s capacity to subvert them. By bridging cognitive-linguistic studies of ageing with literary gerontology, this study contributes to understanding how narrative positioning affects identity construction in later life. The findings carry implications for clinical communication and public health messaging about ageing, suggesting that healthcare providers should recognize older adults’ communication strategies as expressions of agency rather than evidence of decline.