The Denouement: What is it, and how it is important to your story
Have you ever read a book where the ending felt “rushed”? Where it was all action through the climax of the story and then before you know it… the end. It’s a sort of hollow victory, where even though there are no more pages the story remains unfinished in your psyche.
This is where the denouement comes in. Deriving from the French verb denouer, which means to unwind or unknot, the denouement has come to mean the moment in a story where all the plot points are resolved, and all the loose threads pulled together.
When writing a novel, however, the denouement has another, key function. Placed between the climax and the ending of the story, it serves as a moment for the readers to breathe and reflect on the plot. It also provides much needed clarity on any plot points not explained during the climax.
A good example of this is in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling. (Spoilers ahead) After Harry defeats Quirrell/Voldemort, he wakes up in the school infirmary where he has a conversation with Professor Dumbledore about what had really been going on behind the scenes during the school year, with explanations about anything the reader may have wondered about in the previous chapters. The true ending of the story comes when the children mount the train back to their homes and Harry acknowledges Hogwarts as his true home, but the moment in the infirmary serves as a brief reflection on everything that happened since the beginning of the book.
A common moment of denouement is the resolution of a love story if there is one involved. The cliché of the two main characters getting together immediately after the antagonist of is defeated ties into this, but it may also be the first moment that those same two characters are allowed to be together. Whatever blocks were in their way have been removed, and they are now free to be together.
The denouement should also show how the characters have been changed by the story. In many ways, it should be a reflection of the exposition in the beginning of the book with the new status quo on display. If in the beginning of the story the main character was uptight and proper and has now changed into someone who enjoys life with a laidback attitude, the denouement should be the moment to showcase this.
As a side note, the denouement is of particular importance when writing a series. Typically, the end of one book should segue into the other, with the author leaving just enough of the story open for the reader to look forward to reading the next one. This means that unlike most book endings that feature falling action, in a book series it usually presents with somewhat rising action in order to set up the next plot. With this in mind, the denouement is the only moment of calm the reader gets before the end of the book, set right before the climax and the true ending.
What about you? How have you used the denouement in your story?
