Tzvetan Todorov Theory

Tzvetan Todorov

Tzvetan Todorov was born on March 1st 1939 in Bulgaria. He lived in France and spent most of his life there. Also in his life he published 21 books on a range of theories. He wrote mostly books and essays about ‘thought history’, ‘literary theory’ and ‘culture theory’. Furthermore, Tzvetan also was a professor that often visited many universities across the world, including Harvard University in America. Also Todorov is most well-known for his theories. He suggested that stories begin with equilibrium, which means at the start everything is balanced, and then something happens, this often disrupts the equilibrium, after this there’s then a decision that’s made and the equilibrium is then restored. The theory is often applied to a narrative and can be applied to a wide range of genres.

1.     Equilibrium

The first part of the narratives will display a peaceful start, where the characters in the narrative are happy and content and life is continuing as normal.

2.     Disruption

The second part of the equilibrium theory is that a disruption occurs, this means that the problem has started to cause a change and will affect characters in the narrative which means there situations will change.

3.     Realisation

This part is when the characters come to realise and understand the change and life is now unbalanced.

4.     Order is restored

The forth part is when the characters try to restore order and return things to the way they were, to help restore the equilibrium.

5.     Equilibrium is Restored

The final part is when the characters have successfully restored order and the equilibrium and there is once again balance.