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exploration (in his own categories afternoon is best described as an explorative" fiction),
but moves it onto a more abstract level of narrative space and, in its self-conscious
discussion of its own literary nature, into a closer and more direct context of literary
theory.
Interaction with a story can work on a number oflevels, on that of the narrative itself, as
in plot-branching story, where readers respond at certain prompts to the narrative)or on
the level of construction, where in a hypertext with several narrative threads the
interaction lies in the moving around in the narrative space. The first, the direct
interaction of interactive fictions, can only ever be very limited, creating the false
impression ofinteraction within a framework offixed plot and preprogrammed outcome.
The latter, more indirect way of interacting with a text is the approach authors of
hypertext fiction such asJoyce favour and, with readers rearranging elements, choosing
reading order and threading their own path through the narrative, is more related to the
general theories ofreader-response to which authors ofhyperfiction feel a close affinity.
To assume, however, that interactive properties can only be assigned to electronic
hypertexts, is a simplification of the complex issue of a reader's influence on the
construction of any text and mistakes the physical properties of the printed book with
the properties of the narrative structure in the book. Whereas the physical object ofthe
bound book is undoubtedly quite inflexible, to assume that the narrative always goes
along with and supports this inflexibility shows a very limited and conservative view of
fiction and ignores a large number ofprinted and bound texts that try to work against the
traditions and physical limitations of print and explore alternatives from within their
medium.
A traditional concept ofnarrative does indeed not allow for a lot of interaction. It very
much relies on development (ofplotand characters) and structure - "a collection ofideas
61 For Joyce's distinction between explorative vs. constructive hypertext see P·I34· Chapter 3 -page 115