We love imaginary stories that transport us to a different world. By identifying with the characters, we live thrilling, marvelous, or even implausible adventures. Beyond this pleasure of an adventurer on the sofa, I believe that they have an effect on us similar to that of dreams. They make us reflect on ourselves, our relationship to the outside world, our desires and our hopes.

Acting like a simulator, literature allows us to experience situations without having to actually live them. Thus, when we encounter these situations in reality, we are not completely helpless.