I have a particularly weak spot for British accents. With descriptions almost David Attenborough-esque in flow and richness, how could I even dare to defy the liquid gold gushing from The Stanley Parable's narrator? What if my defiance led to his silence?
On my first playthrough of The Stanley Parable, I'll admit I made my decision to follow the narrator's tale exactly was based somewhat heavily on my fear of losing the soothing British voice who seemed to know the way ahead clearly. Upon further reflection, though, I find myself questioning why I decided to give credence to this voice at all, British or not.
Two factors I thought were important in establishing the narrator as an authority figure:
1. While we hear at most the sounds of pages flipping to suggest that the narrator exists in physical space, the narrator is at no point ever visible to the player, yet demonstrates the ability to omnisciently track Stanley's actions and alter room geometry. Especially after the "real life" ending, where one is placed above the two-door room to view Stanley, the player is acutely aware of the narrator's invisibility in the contained world of the office. Despite leaving the physical boundaries of the workplace, we find no answers or solace in the darkness that surrounds us, and the muffled echo of the narrator's voice seems to imply that the voice is entirely contained within the room itself.
2. The narrator's ostensible "free will" strengthens the connection between him and the player. I reached the "confusion" ending quite early on in my time with the game, and thought that the narrator's self realization served to distinguish him from the game system itself. Through this distinction, the narrator not only appears to be more relatable and able to influence our decisions through empathy, but also proves his "strength" by defying the game's "script."
I'm curious to know more about your thoughts on the female narrator. In one ending, she becomes the narrator, replacing the male narrator. Essentially, she narrates on the narrator (and Stanley). Does this therefore make her more omnipotent, and thus more of an authoritative figure, than the male narrator?
Thank you for your post. I think it's really worth looking into what makes the narrator authoritative (or not). I think the maleness and Britishness of the voice were very deliberate choices: they're demographics that people are inclined to listen to, and when put in a commanding role through their omnipresence in the game, the player doesn't question them too much. I think this leads to the phenomenon of the Confusion ending being so disconcerting- the omniscient narrator has suddenly lost control of the situation he's supposed to be in charge of. However, I think on top of these demographic characteristics of the narrator, it's also important to examine tone and framing. For me, the very fact that the narrator…