View source for Self-insertion

{{Short description|Literary device where the author writes themself into their fictional story}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2017}}
{{Globalize|article|Western culture|date=February 2017}}

[[Image:Botticelli - Adoration of the Magi (Zanobi Altar) - Uffizi.jpg|thumb|[[Sandro Botticelli]]'s painting of the ''[[Adoration of the Magi of 1475 (Botticelli)|Adoration of the Magi]]'' has an inserted self-portrait at the far right: the position in the corner and the gaze out to the viewer are very typical of such self-portraits.]]
'''Self-insertion''' is a [[List of narrative techniques|literary device]] in which the author writes themselves into the story under the guise of, or from the perspective of, a fictional [[character (arts)|character]] (see [[author surrogate]]).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.yourdictionary.com/self-insertion|title=Self-insertion meaning|access-date=20 February 2022}}</ref> The character, overtly or otherwise, behaves like, has the personality of, and may even be described as physically resembling the author or reader of the work.

In [[visual art]], the equivalent of self-insertion is the '''inserted self-portrait''', where the artist includes a [[self-portrait]] in a painting of a narrative subject. This has been a common artistic device since at least the [[European Renaissance]].

Among [[Professional writing|professional writers]], the intentional, deliberate use of first-person and third-person self-insertion techniques are commonly considered to be an unoriginal action on the author's part, and represents a paucity of creative thought in their writing.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://jezebel.com/tv-writers-self-insert-brunson-fey-waller-bridge-kaling-1850077191|title=I Love When Women TV Writers Write Themselves Hot Love Interests|date=17 February 2023|website=[[Jezebel (website)|Jezebel]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://confluence.gallatin.nyu.edu/context/interdisciplinary-seminar/triggering-manhattan-the-ethics-of-self-insertion|title="Triggering" Manhattan: The Ethics of Self-Insertion – Confluence|date=28 October 2021}}</ref>

== Literary forms ==
Similar literary devices include the author doubling as the [[first-person narrator]], or writing an [[author surrogate]] in the [[Narration#Third-person|third-person]], or adding in a character who is partially based on the author, whether the author included it intentionally or not. Many characters have been described as ''unintentional'' self-insertions, implying that their author is unconsciously using them as an author surrogate.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/aug/13/fan-fiction-fifty-shades-grey|title=In the beginning, there was fan fiction: from the four gospels to Fifty Shades|first=Ewan|last=Morrison|date=13 August 2012|newspaper=The Guardian}}</ref>

Self-insertion can also be employed in a [[Narration#Second-person|second-person narrative]], utilizing the imagination of the reader and their [[suspension of disbelief]]. The reader, referred to in the second person, is depicted as interacting with another character, with the intent to encourage the reader's [[Immersion (virtual reality)#Etymology|immersion]] and [[psychological projection]] of themselves into the story, imaging that they, themselves, are performing the written story.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-03-22|title=The A to Z of Fan Fiction|url=https://lifestyle.inquirer.net/380736/the-a-to-z-of-fan-fiction/|access-date=2021-10-30|website=Inquirer Lifestyle|language=en-US}}</ref> While examples in published fiction of second-person self-insertion are rare, the use of such is common in [[fan fiction]], in which the reader is paired with a fictional character, often in an intimate setting.

==Examples==
{{More citations needed section|date=August 2023}}

*''[[Money (novel)|Money]]'' by [[Martin Amis]]
* ''[[The Razor's Edge]]'' by [[Somerset Maugham]]
* ''[[Slaughterhouse-Five]]'' by [[Kurt Vonnegut]]<ref name="Mason2009">{{cite book|last=Mason|first=Fran|title=The A to Z of Postmodernist Literature and Theater|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vJRJKXy3_cgC&pg=PA338|access-date=22 September 2014|year=2009|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=9780810868557|pages=338–}}</ref><ref name="Klinkowitz1992">{{cite book|last=Klinkowitz|first=Jerome|title=Structuring the Void: The Struggle for Subject in Contemporary American Fiction|url=https://archive.org/details/structuringvoids0000klin|url-access=registration|access-date=22 September 2014|year=1992|publisher=Duke University Press|isbn=9780822312055|pages=[https://archive.org/details/structuringvoids0000klin/page/52 52]–}}</ref>
* ''[[Breakfast of Champions]]'' by [[Kurt Vonnegut]]
* ''[[The French Lieutenant's Woman]]'' by [[John Fowles]]<ref name="Britannica">{{cite book|title=The Encyclopædia Britannica|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1102665/The-French-Lieutenants-Woman|access-date=17 November 2014|year=2014|publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica}}</ref>
* [[Stan Lee]] is depicted as himself in different [[Marvel Comics|Marvel]] comic books and [[Marvel Cinematic Universe|movies]]
* [[Clive Cussler]], author of [[Dirk Pitt]] novels, has inserted himself as a [[deus ex machina]] character in several of his books<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://clive-cussler-books.com/dirk-pitt-revealed/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151120020252/http://clive-cussler-books.com/dirk-pitt-revealed/|url-status=usurped|archive-date=20 November 2015|title=Dirk Pitt Revealed &#124; An Official Web Site for Bestselling Adventure Novelist &#124; Author Clive Cussler|date=16 June 2015}}</ref>
* In ''[[Gargantua and Pantagruel]]'' by [[François Rabelais]], Rabelais takes over the narration of the story and personally describes [[Vorarephilia|the enlarged tongue of one of the protagonists]] as if he was physically in the story<ref>''Gargantua and Pantagruel'', Francois Rabelais, chapter "How Pantagruel, With His Tongue, Covered a Whole Army, and What the Author Saw In His Mouth".</ref>
* [[William Blake]] is said to depict himself in the novel ''[[Milton: A Poem in Two Books]]''
* The ''[[Divine Comedy]]'' by [[Dante Alighieri]] features the poet Dante himself as a character, visiting [[Hell]] through [[Heaven]], where he meets people he does not like being punished, and his friends and famous historical heroes having eternal rest
* In ''[[Don Quixote]]'', by [[Miguel de Cervantes]], the novel ''[[La Galatea]]'' by Cervantes himself is mentioned among the books in Don Quixote's library; then, one of the characters adds "that Cervantes has been for many years a great friend of mine"<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cervantes |first=Miguel de |date=1605 |title=Don Quixote |url=https://en.m.wikisource.org/wiki/Don_Quixote/Volume_1/Chapter_VI |website=[[Wikisource]]}}</ref>
* [[Randolph Carter]] adds himself as a character in several spin offs of [[H. P. Lovecraft]]'s [[Cthulhu Mythos]]
* In the ''Rush Revere'' series of books, authored by [[Rush Limbaugh]], Limbaugh uses himself as the narrator, who is exploring various American historical settings and concepts and explaining them to readers
* In the ''[[Twilight (novel series)|Twilight]]'' novel series by [[Stephenie Meyer]], [[Bella Swan]] is argued to either be Meyer herself or a [[blank slate]] on which the reader is expected to [[psychological projection|project]]
* The title character of ''[[Jane Eyre]]'' by [[Charlotte Brontë]] is accused of being a self-projection<ref>Keith M. May. ''Characters of Women in Narrative Literature''. Springer, 1981. ISBN 9781349166268. P. 75.</ref>
* ''[[The Messenger (Zusak novel)|I Am the Messenger]]'' by [[Markus Zusak]]
* [[Andrew Hussie]] used himself to recap story beats of his [[webcomic]], ''[[Homestuck]]''
* ''[[JPod]]'' by [[Douglas Coupland]] is said to employ the author as a character
* A character in ''[[The Dark Tower VI: Song of Susannah]]'', by [[Stephen King]], is thought to be directly based on King himself
* ''[[Handbook for Mortals]]'' by Lani Sarem
* ''[[A Series of Unfortunate Events]]'' by [[Lemony Snicket]]
* ''[[The Map and the Territory]]'' by [[Michel Houellebecq]]
* Frank Owen in ''[[The Ragged-Trousered Philanthropists]]'' by [[Robert Tressell]]
* [[Robert Langdon]] in the ''[[Robert Langdon (book series)|Robert Langdon]]'' book series by [[Dan Brown]]
* John Barth in the [[Chimera_(Barth_novel)#Dunyazadiad|Dunyazadiad]] segment of John Barth's novel ''[[Chimera (Barth novel)|Chimera]]''.
* Rohan Kishibe in ''[[Diamond Is Unbreakable]]'' by [[Hirohiko Araki]]
* Louis, a student enrolled in ''[[Wayside School]]'', is based on author [[Louis Sachar]]
* [[Rudyard Kipling]] writes himself a cameo in ''[[The Man Who Would Be King]]''
* The Thin Clergyman in ''[[The Railway Series]]'', written by [[Wilbert Awdry|Reverend Wilbert Awdry]], is said to be based on the author himself
* Mandy from ''I Am Not Starfire'' and Kimberely Keiko "Skim" Cameron from ''[[Skim (comics)|Skim]]'' by [[Mariko Tamaki]]
* [[Velma Dinkley]] from the animated television series ''[[Velma_(TV_series)|Velma]]'' has been cited as a self-insertion of [[Mindy Kaling]], due to the character's mannerisms and appearance<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/izzyampil/mindy-kaling-backlash-velma-mindy-project-never-have-i-ever|title=Mindy Kaling's Comedy Has Gotten Tired And Now She's Being Dragged For It|first=Izzy|last=Ampil|date=18 January 2023|website=BuzzFeed News}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/maindy-kaling-velma-south-asian-tropes_n_63c84a9ce4b04d4d18dc014a|title=6 Tweets That Perfectly Sum Up Our Disdain For The New Velma|date=19 January 2023|website=HuffPost UK}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://parade.com/tv/hbo-velma-series-premiere-slammed-by-fans|title=HBO's 'Velma' Series Slammed by Fans Following Season Premiere|first=Marisa|last=Losciale|date=15 January 2023|website=Parade: Entertainment, Recipes, Health, Life, Holidays}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.easterneye.biz/mindy-kalings-velma-emerges-as-the-worst-rated-show-on-imdb-and-other-review-aggregator-websites/|title=Mindy Kaling's Velma emerges as the worst-rated show on IMDb and other review-aggregator websites - EasternEye|date=25 January 2023}}</ref>
* Protagonist [[Jake Wheeler]] from ''[[Chucky (TV series)|Chucky]]'' is based the experiences of franchise creator [[Don Mancini]] as a gay teenager<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.them.us/story/don-mancini-chucky-creator-interview-season-two|title=How Don Mancini Drew from His Own Closeted Catholic Childhood to Create Chucky|date=13 October 2022}}</ref>
* Peter Marlowe in [[James Clavell]]'s ''[[Asian Saga]]''
* The "[[Anon in Equestria]]" subgenre of [[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic fan fiction|''My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic'' fan fiction]]<ref name="bailey">{{cite journal |last1=Bailey |first1=John |last2=Harvey |first2=Brenna |title='That pony is real sexy': My Little Pony fans, sexual abjection, and the politics of masculinity online |journal=[[Sexualities]] |date=2017 |volume=22 |issue=3 |pages=325–342 |doi=10.1177/1363460717731932 }}</ref>
* The characters Annoying Dog (from [[Toby Fox]]) and Temmie (from [[Temmie Chang]]), both in [[Undertale]]

==See also==
* {{anl|Cameo appearance}}
* {{anl|Self-parody}}
* {{anl|Self-portrait}}
* {{anl|Self-reference}}
* {{anl|Mary Sue}}
* {{Annotated link|Author surrogate}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Fiction writing}}
{{Fan fiction}}
{{Branches of the visual arts}}
{{Aesthetics}}
{{Humanities}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Self-insertion}}
[[Category:Self-portraiture]]
[[Category:Narratology]]