On the Rhetorical Mechanism of Narrative Empathy

Narrative empathy is deeply linked with empathy rhetoric in terms of the ingredients of empathy.This study aims to first figure out the rhetorical foundation of narrative empathy and then its rhetorical mechanism, based on a clarification of the relationship between narration, empathy, and rhetoric.It is found that pathos and identification by sympathy serve as the rhetorical foundation on which narrative empathy is built.Moreover, the rhetorical mechanism of narrative empathy can be illustrated from those rhetorical elements, including rhetor, rhetorical goal, rhetorical situation, rhetorical strategy, and audience.To be specific, rhetors in narrative empathy are narrators.Rhetorical goals in narrative empathy depend upon related rhetorical situations.Rhetorical situations in narrative empathy are composed of exigence, audience, and timing.Bounded strategic empathy, ambassadorial strategic empathy, and broadcast strategic empathy respectively correspond to identification by inaccuracy, identification by contrast, and identification by sympathy.Finally, audience is the foothold of narrative empathy.An exploration of this rhetorical mechanism may be conducive to the building of a system of Chinese narrative.