Narrating Emotions: Towards Deeper Understanding

Abstract

Qualitative research aims at unwrapping the ordinary and the exceptional in order to bring us closer to a complete description and interpretation of life. People’s narratives are particularly effective in revealing deeper dimensions of experience and of meaning. Narratives always need to be read against the background of the empirical reality in which they are embedded. Most of the narratives referred to in this article are situated against the empirical reality of South Africa as a society in transition, still marred by inequality and inequity. One narrative, from a project conducted in the Czech Republic, shares some contextual characteristics with the South African examples—the Czech Republic is also a society in transition, previously employing institutional violence to suppress political dissent.

An important aspect when dealing with intense political and social transformation is the presence of highly charged feelings and emotions. As part of the contextualization for this article I briefly argue that the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (1996-1998) in many ways did the groundwork for a new appreciation of the sharing of emotional accounts and revelations pertaining to atrocities, injustices, and suffering. This Commission’s work prepared the way for recognition of the potential of such sharing to create a better understanding of the experience of life in a deeply divided context.

In the article, I argue for the establishment of a social encounter—a concept frequently used in the micro-sociological writings of Randall Collins—between researcher and research participant in an attempt to come to deeper levels of understanding. During episodes of emotional sharing of experiences and feelings a research participant often reveals deeper levels of social interaction—these revelations have the potential to open the way for a hermeneutical process towards understanding. Dramatic recall can lead to reconstructing a story that contains all the elements of what was originally heard, seen, and felt.

The article uses five examples of narratives containing moments of high levels of emotion—each example opening the way for better understanding of the experiences of the research participants.