Cheryl Mattingly (1991, p. 237) points out that narratives not only give meaningful form to experiences we have already lived through, they also provide us a forward glance, helping us to anticipate situations even before we encounter them, allowing us to envision alternative futures. Narrative inquiries do not - indeed, cannot - start from explicit theoretical assumptions. Instead, they begin with an interest in a particular phenomenon that is best understood narratively. Narrative inquiries then develop descriptions and interpretations of the phenomenon from the perspective of participants, researchers, and others. [Flyvbjerg summary]

"Stories not only give meaning to experiences we have already lived through. They also provide us a forward glance, helping us anticipate meaningful shapes for situations even before we enter them, allowing us to envision endings from the very beginning." [actual text]

to entertain

to gossip

as evidence for our arguments

to reveal who we are (Mattingly, 1991)

“Telling stories offers one way to make sense of what has happened. We may even catch a level of meaning that we only partially grasped while living through something.” (Mattingly, 1991, 235)

“Narratives are powerful because we can relate to them….The development of the plot often parallels our development as persons.” (Mattingly, 1991, 248)

“Narratives... nearly always contain an evocative element that draws listeners into an empathic identification with the protagonist. It allows them to experience something of what being in this sort of situation would feel like if they were actually there.” (Mattingly, 1991, 248)

“Events in a story are construed as a passage, movement from some initial situation through various twists and turns to some final situation.” (Mattingly, 1991, 248)

This being drawn into a situation leads us to wonder, “What would I have done? What would I do, faced with a similar situation?” (Mattingly, 1991, 248)