The aim of this study is to analyze the complexity of a narration and how a narrator can show himself in a story. In the novel L’Élégance du hérisson, (The Elegance of the Hedgehog) (Barbery 2006) there are several voices to be heard in the narration and we will analyze the differences. In all literary genres there is always a voice that tells the story. This is what Gérard Genette claims as the starting point for his narratological theory, which is the theoretical basis for this study. The study of different techniques allows sometimes to better understand the action and the meaning of a story.          In this essay, we deal with the narrative instance, which is the fundamental form of the narrator, the questions of who speaks and how someone speaks in a story. Genette describes the narrative instance as the connection between the narrative voice, the time and the narrative perspective. The result shows that the thoughts and the metaphors in the time of the narration are the most important aspect, in particularly the interpolated narration. That because it’s not only the action in the story that counts but even what’s happening in between the events.

This study is part of the field of narratology. The aim is to examine the differences and similarities between the novels La Vie Devant Soi et Un Œil Rouge when it comes to l’instance narrative. The tools of the analysis are borrowed from Reuter (2009). With these narratology tools the analysis shows that there are several similarities between the two novels when it comes to the narration, such as for example the use of la fonction communicative, la fonction explicative et la fonction généralisante. This study also discusses how the narration gives an idea of the narratees of the novels.

À la fois procédé artistico-littéraire et réflexion intellectuelle, la mise en abyme est une des stratégies de création favorites du romancier Umberto Eco. Certains auteurs ont utilisé cette technique uniquement pour de créer de « simples » jeux de miroirs (comme c’est le cas des Nouveaux Romanciers). Chez Umberto Eco, la mise en abyme est destinée à faire saillir aussi bien l’intelligibilité que la structuration de l’oeuvre. Elle est un principe récursif de la génération de figures et de formes narratives fractales : elle est pour ainsi dire le raisonnement servant comme base dans la création d’un univers romanesque par excellence autoréflexif. Selon une représentation très succincte (mais essentielle), la mise en abyme est ce dispositif narratif consistant à insérer un (ou plusieurs) récit(s) dans le Récit, qui, en reproduisant les caractéristiques de ce dernier va (vont) l’illustrer, l’expliquer et mettre en évidence le/les thème(s) de l’oeuvre. / An artistic and literary procedure and, at the same time, an intellectual reflexion, mise en abyme is one of the favorite strategies of creation of the novelist U. Eco. Certain authors have used this technique just to create "simple" games of mirrors (such as the French writers called "Nouveaux Romanciers"). In the case of Umberto Eco, mise en abyme is destined to emphasize both the intelligibility of his work, as well as its being structured in multiple layers of narrativity. We reckon that this is the recursive principle, serving at the generating of fractal shapes and characters: this is therefore the reasoning laying at the foundation of creating a fictional universe self-reflective par excellence. If we want a very concise (but essential) representation, we will say that the mise en abyme is that device consisting of the insertion of one or many more stories into The Story, which, by reproducing the characteristics of the latter, provides us with an explanation and will shed light on the theme / themes of the work.