This review of the Polish translation of Mieke Bal’s Narratology includes a brief delineation of the author’s narratological model of text description and analysis based on three levels: text, story and fabula. The structuralist background of Bal’s theory is
also discussed at some length as well as the author’s arguments for the evolution of her model beyond pure structuralism. The complexity of Bal’s conceptual apparatus and its didactic applications are given a brief overview, following which the focus is shifted to the relevance of narratological models for translation research. Based on existing translation scholarship where narratological models were successfully employed (such as Legeżyńska 1999 and O’Sullivan 2003), it is argued that although no single comprehensive narratological model of translation analysis has been created so far, descriptions of translated texts which employ conceptual tools like those suggested by Bal and other scholars could be viewed as a useful and effective instrument in translation research.

This review of the Polish translation of Mieke Bal’s Narratology includes a brief delineation of the author’s narratological model of text description and analysis based on three levels: text, story and fabula. The structuralist background of Bal’s theory is
also discussed at some length as well as the author’s arguments for the evolution of her model beyond pure structuralism. The complexity of Bal’s conceptual apparatus and its didactic applications are given a brief overview, following which the focus is shifted to the relevance of narratological models for translation research. Based on existing translation scholarship where narratological models were successfully employed (such as Legeżyńska 1999 and O’Sullivan 2003), it is argued that although no single comprehensive narratological model of translation analysis has been created so far, descriptions of translated texts which employ conceptual tools like those suggested by Bal and other scholars could be viewed as a useful and effective instrument in translation research.