Keywords
Point of view
Deictic shift
Empathy
Cognitive Studies
How to Cite
Abstract
This essay proposes a brief overview of empathy as a cognitive process involving our ability to imagine ourselves in someone else's place. When we read, we can feel and see what a character feels and sees. This happens thanks to our ability to adopt the point of view of others. Using the most recent cognitive theories as a starting point, this essay shows how writers "push" their readers to displace their deictic centers. It then illustrates some of the devices that writers use to reach this aim through the analysis of Luigi Pirandello's short story "La signora Frola e il signor Ponza, suo genero". Finally, it explains how Pirandello leads the reader to partake in the characters' confusion through continuous deictic shifts.
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