One important function of many historical narratives, then, is to give a fair representation of the fortunes of a central subject. Historians do not always write narratives with this purpose, for they occasionally write just to illustrate a hypothesis they have formed about the past, or to describe an aspect of a subject which interests them. And when historians do describe the history of a central subject, they normally do other things in the course of their narratives as well, explaining important events and noting the historical significance of what was done. All these facts have tended to obscure their basic function, which remains that of giving a true account of their subject, an account which is true in its detail and true when taken as a whole.
Recent analysis of historical narratives, focusing upon their structures, has done much to reveal their variety, their complexity, and their conventionality. But it has turned attention away from their representative function, a function which is peculiar to historical, as opposed to fictional, narratives. The present essay is offered as a first step in the analysis of that very important function of historical narratives.