John’s Rhetorical Use of Narrative Time

In Paul Ricoeur’s work Time and Narrative, he considers the poetic act of emplotment as involving at once three aspects of mimesis: M1 is that aspect which reflects reality, M2 is the truly creative aspect of imitation which “re-presents” reality within a poetic form, and M3 involves the rhetorical or persuasive turn in the muthos (or plot) of a narrative work. In this construction, Ricoeur considers M2 to be critical because it mediates between the stark imitation of reality (M1), and the intentional effort of the rhetorical purpose (M3). The creative nature of the plotting devices, including aspects of narrative time, can thus be understood as functioning in this mediating role. Narrative time, including duration and point of view or perspective, is an essential feature by which an author represents (or re-presents) a view of the world. The interplay of these elements of mimesis is striking in the Gospel of John. Perhaps no other gospel is as apparent in its rhetorical use of narrative time, both in terms of constructing events and in the use of varied “points of view” of narrative time. The construction of the narrative time around festival seasons, of iterative “signs,” the slow advancement of time in the discourses, and especially the periodic critical observations by the narrator that are clearly from a post-resurrection perspective, all indicate a manifest rhetorical objective (“that you may believe”). At the level of the unfolding drama of the plot, the Fourth Evangelist has often been seen as highly creative. And indeed John’s developing plot, in which the increasing conflict between his self-revelation and the opposition of “the Jews” at once supports the rhetorical purpose of the gospel, and yet also presents a reality which is compelling. In this paper I explore, under the influence of Ricoeur and Gerard Gennette, how the 4th Gospel uses narrative time to both create a pleasing and realistic muthos and to support the rhetorical purpose of the gospel. In the process I also find support for a relatively unified and holistic view of the narrative work of the evangelist—that is, that the overall use of narrative time suggests a consistent poetic effort.