The Pleasures and Consolations of Narrative Openness
Sunday, November 10, 2024.
There’s something truly wonderful about a story that leaves room for interpretation—a narrative that doesn’t hammer its meaning into us but instead invites us to wander around and discover for ourselves.
This approach, often called “narrative openness,” is like a choose-your-own-adventure for adults, minus the treacherous caves and pirate maps (though those would be fun too).
But narrative openness isn’t just a stylistic choice in storytelling; it’s also a quality that enriches our lives in subtle, surprising ways. So let’s dig into why leaving room for possibility in our stories, and in our lives, can bring both pleasure and consolation.
The Gift of Ambiguity: Why We Love Open-Ended Stories
Some of the best stories are like mirrors; they reflect back whatever we bring to them. Instead of tying up every loose end, they allow us to play a role in the narrative, finding meaning in our own unique way.
Research even suggests that people high in “openness to experience”—a personality trait associated with curiosity, imagination, and an appreciation for novelty—tend to enjoy this quality in storytelling.
Openness is often linked with greater psychological flexibility and a richer, more adaptive imagination. Essentially, the more open you are to new experiences, the more likely you are to appreciate a story that doesn’t dictate every twist and turn.
According to psychologist and personality researcher Dr. Oliver John, openness to experience is a cornerstone of personal growth and creativity (John & Srivastava, 1999). Those who score high in openness thrive on complexity and ambiguity, and narrative openness taps right into that preference.
It’s like offering a playground where every swing or slide represents a different interpretation, inviting the open-minded reader to explore freely.
Why Narrative Openness Can Be Good for Us
Life itself is a bit like one of those open-ended stories, isn’t it?
Rarely does every event wrap up neatly, with every question answered and every “character arc” completed.
As we navigate careers, relationships, and unexpected plot twists, narrative openness encourages us to hold space for uncertainty without rushing to conclusions. This approach is incredibly valuable for resilience.
In fact, research published in The Journal of Personality shows that those with higher openness to experience tend to handle stress better and adapt more easily to change (Fleeson, Malanos, & Achille, 2002).
When we embrace narrative openness, we train ourselves to tolerate uncertainty and even find beauty in it, which can be a source of both pleasure and consolation.
The Consolation of Multiple Possibilities
Open-ended stories also offer us a way of re-examining our own lives. Imagine you’re reading a novel where the main character is stuck in a rut, but the story doesn’t provide a clear path for them to escape.
You, as the reader, get to entertain multiple possibilities for how they might find their way out, and in doing so, you start to imagine new possibilities for your own life too. This kind of narrative doesn’t just show us one way out; it opens up a variety of doors, making us feel less trapped by life’s limitations.
A study from Personality and Social Psychology Review found that people who engage in what researchers call “prospective imagination” (i.e., imagining multiple future scenarios) experience reduced anxiety and greater emotional flexibility (Suddendorf & Corballis, 2007).
By letting our minds wander through various narrative possibilities, we’re building a mental toolkit for approaching our own lives with greater flexibility.
The trick is in letting ourselves be open to different endings, different paths—even if they aren’t the ones we expected. I do this with my clients by saying … “but in a parallel universe Ben says this… what happens in your nervous system in that universe… and in that moment?”
Openness to Experience: The Real-Life Connection
People who score high on openness to experience are like our society’s adventurers, always ready to explore the unfamiliar, whether it’s a new hobby, a new culture, or even an ambiguous story.
This trait isn’t just a passport to interesting Netflix recommendations; it’s linked to increased empathy, emotional intelligence, and even life satisfaction. Being open to the unknown can make life feel more like a rich tapestry than a simple checklist, adding color and texture to our everyday interactions.
Consider the classic example of narrative openness in literature: F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby.
Does Gatsby really love Daisy, or does he just love the idea of her? Is Nick Carraway truly reliable as a narrator?
We’re left with more questions than answers, and that’s precisely what makes the story so powerful. It allows us, the readers, to interpret these ambiguities in a way that reflects our own values and perspectives, challenging us to see beyond a single, straightforward interpretation.
For someone high in openness to experience, this kind of story is irresistible.
It’s like a psychological playground, a chance to explore alternate interpretations and let our imaginations wander. And, as psychologist Dr. Art Markman points out, such openness also encourages us to be more flexible and resilient in real life, as it nurtures our ability to see situations from multiple perspectives (Markman, 2018).
Narrative Openness in Everyday Life: Embracing Uncertainty with a Smile
Now, how does this concept play out in the mundane, everyday world?
Imagine you’re cooking a new recipe, and you’re not quite sure how it’s going to turn out.
For the high-openness folks among us, this uncertainty is thrilling. You’re open to the possibility that the result could be deliciously unexpected—or, let’s face it, a complete disaster. Either way, you’ve enjoyed the experience, letting the process itself be just as satisfying as the outcome.
Similarly, narrative openness encourages us to approach life’s “unwritten” parts with a sense of curiosity rather than dread.
Even in relationships, narrative openness can be a game-changer.
In a 2015 study published in Emotion, researchers found that partners who are open to new experiences in their relationships reported greater relationship satisfaction and a deeper sense of connection (Graham & Gosling, 2015).
Being open to different interpretations of our partner’s actions or intentions allows us to avoid snap judgments and instead lean into the adventure of discovering them all over again, time and time again.
Finding Comfort in the Open-Ended
At its core, narrative openness reminds us that not every story needs a clear beginning, middle, and end—and neither does life.
In fact, some of the most meaningful experiences come from those moments that remain a bit undefined.
Narrative openness allows us to find comfort and even joy in that ambiguity, welcoming the unknown as a chance to grow rather than something to be feared.
So, next time you’re faced with a story (or a life situation) that feels a little too “up in the air,” take a deep breath and embrace the openness.
After all, as the writer, and self-absorbed bigamist Anaïs Nin once said, “We write to taste life twice, in the moment and in retrospect.”
Narrative openness gives us the chance to savor life’s stories a little longer, to linger in the “what ifs” and “maybes,” knowing that the beauty lies as much in the questions as in the answers.
In the end, whether we’re reading a book, watching a film, or simply living our lives, narrative openness lets us find pleasure in possibilities.
It teaches us that there’s comfort in not knowing, in letting the next chapter remain unwritten, ready for us to imagine it in ways we haven’t even thought of yet. And who knows? Maybe the story that unfolds will surprise us in the best possible way.
Be Well, Stay Kind, and Godspeed.
REFERENCES:
Fleeson, W., Malanos, A. B., & Achille, N. M. (2002). An intraindividual process approach to the relationship between extraversion and positive affect: Is acting extraverted as "good" as being extraverted? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83(6), 1409–1422. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.83.6.1409
Graham, J. M., & Gosling, S. D. (2015). Personality profiles associated with different motivations for relationships. Emotion, 15(4), 467–482. https://doi.org/10.1037/emo0000079
John, O. P., & Srivastava, S. (1999). The Big Five trait taxonomy: History, measurement, and theoretical perspectives. In L. A. Pervin & O. P. John (Eds.), Handbook of personality: Theory and research (2nd ed., pp. 102–138). Guilford Press.
Markman, A. (2018). Bring your brain to work: Using cognitive science to get a job, do it well, and advance your career.Harvard Business Review Press.
Suddendorf, T., & Corballis, M. C. (2007). The evolution of foresight: What is mental time travel, and is it unique to humans? Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 30(3), 299–351. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X07001975