Theme Engine v2.1

Define themes as questions or tensions, not slogans. A theme stated is a thesis; a theme dramatised is a novel. The engine's job is to ensure the story tests its own questions rather than answering them in narration.

Model

Record in themes/THEME.md:

• the question or tension
• which characters, conflicts, choices, and institutions test it
• major plot events that embody or complicate it
• counterexamples — the case against the theme
• consequences of the thematic position characters commit to
• status and where it resolves

Embodiment

A theme is present when a character must choose between values and pay for it. Look for: