As a literary technique, an author surrogate is a fictional character based on the author.[1] On occasion, authors insert themselves under their own name into their works, typically for humorous or surrealistic effect.
Usage[]
Examples[]
British writer David Hume used the author-surrogate 'Philo' in the Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion. Michael Crichton used his character Ian Malcolm to express views on catastrophic system failure in his novel Jurassic Park. Perhaps the best-known philosophical author-surrogate is Socrates in the writings of Plato.
Fan fiction[]
Author surrogacy is a frequently observed phenomenon in hobbyist and amateur writing, so much so that fan fiction critics have evolved the term Mary Sue to refer to an idealized author surrogate. [2] The term 'Mary Sue' is thought to evoke the cliché of the adolescent author who uses writing as a vehicle for the indulgence of self-idealization rather than entertaining others. For male author surrogates, similar names such as 'Marty Stu' or 'Gary Stu' are occasionally used.[3][4]
Other uses[]
The expression has also been used in a different sense, meaning the principal author of a multi-author document. [1]
See also[]
- Audience surrogate
- Autobiographical novel
- Author character
- Mary Sue
Notes[]
- ↑ Pandey, Ashish (2005). Academic Dictionary Of Fiction. Isha Books. p. 18. ISBN 8182052629.
- ↑ Segall (2008). Fan Fiction Writing: New Work Based on Favorite Fiction. Rosen Pub.. p. 26. ISBN 1404213562.
- ↑ http://books.google.se/books?id=dG0hRbvV2yEC&pg=PA300&dq=%22marty+Sue%22&hl=nl&sa=X&ei=zvnCUKjAEfSM4gTe64GACQ&ved=0CD4Q6AEwBg#v=onepage&q=%22marty%20Sue%22&f=false
- ↑ http://books.google.se/books?id=y80Cr__mKlkC&pg=PA76&dq=Gary+Stu&hl=nl&sa=X&ei=jfnCUI7mGOeN4gTxkYCICA&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=Gary%20Stu&f=false