selfcharacterization

Selfcharacterization is a narrative technique in which a character reveals their own personality, beliefs, motives, or backstory. Unlike external characterization, where traits are shown through how others perceive the character or through the narrator’s description, selfcharacterization is delivered through the character’s own voice, perspective, and self-report. It can appear in various forms, including interior monologue, diary entries, confessional scenes, direct address to the reader, or dialogue that explicitly conveys self-perception. It may unfold gradually through narration or be presented as a single revealing moment.

The technique functions to establish intimacy and immediacy, offering readers access to the character’s inner world. It also shapes questions of reliability, since selfcharacterization reflects bias, self-deception, or strategic self-presentation. Together with other narrative devices, it can generate irony when a character’s self-portrait diverges from others’ views or from later events, and it can illuminate identity, growth, or conflict as self-concept evolves.

In practice, selfcharacterization interacts with concepts such as focalization and point of view. It is common in first-person narratives, memoir-in-fiction, and confessional scenes, and can appear in drama through soliloquy or asides, or in film via voice-over and direct address. In interactive media, players may shape self-characterization through choices that reveal or redefine how they see their character. Overall, it is a versatile tool for exploring subjectivity, identity, and personal perspective within a story.