incertaines
Incertaines is a neologism used in some circles of literary and philosophical criticism to denote elements within a text that remain uncertain or indeterminate. The feminine plural form mirrors its origin in French, incertaine, and is sometimes employed to emphasize that uncertainty can pertain to multiple aspects—character motivations, temporality, or epistemic claims—rather than a single point of ambiguity. In analysis, incertaines function as structural devices that impede closure, encouraging reader interpretation and ongoing inquiry. They can arise from unreliable narration, contradictory testimonies, gaps in an archive, or deliberate incongruity between narrative voice and stated facts.
Critics treat incertaines as a useful lens to discuss openness of meaning and the politics of interpretation;