Literary Fiction and Empathy

When one reads literary fiction they are required to use their imagination in order to gain a perception of the characters in the story. This imagination, which we learn to utilize in reading, later serves us with human interaction when we are faced with situations that are not explicitly clear. For example if I am trying to read the emotions on one’s facial expression, I will already have previous experience due to reading which will enable me to correctly assess the type of interaction before me. I will be acutely aware and empathetic of my companion.

During situations in which a character's innermost thoughts and feelings are expressed, we as readers begin to build connections with the characters themselves and discover more about them than actions can show. We find similarities in the experiences of others and incorporate these in our learning process, to help facilitate our overall understanding of them. For example when Hamlet delivers his first soliloquy we were exposed to his true thoughts on his situation and come to see him as one of us, a human being who is vulnerable to the events around him. We are given the opportunity to see him on different levels and gain an understanding on his later actions and their purpose. In the end his emotions are ours and his problems are ours.