the narrachara theory: proof

(undertale spoilers)

the popular “narrachara” theory argues that all narration is provided by chara across all routes. everything from item descriptions to witty comments about the environment reveal chara’s personality. chara speaks for frisk and tells the player how frisk is feeling or what they’re doing.

it’s easy to be skeptical of the narrachara theory. at first, it might be hard to connect the cold, abrupt language of the genocide route with the playful descriptions used in the pacifist and neutral routes. however, close inspection reveals underlying connections between all of the dialogue.

the canon: chara is present in the genocide route

once the genocide route begins, after the monsters in the ruins are eradicated, the narration suddenly and dramatically shifts. the most notable change occurs in the mirror, which normally exclaims that “it’s you!”

after the final pacifist route battle, the text in toriel’s home will clarify that the “you” is actually frisk rather than the character the player named at the beginning of the game (chara). the text remains in second person. in the genocide route, however, it switches to first person.

it is chara, through frisk, speaking in first person, letting the player know that chara is in control for the time being. there are many other instances in which they let their presence be known as well.

most ominously, an innocent piece of text describing “cookie cutters for gingerbread monsters” is replaced with something more sinister.



the red text is generally accepted as chara’s dialogue, and for good reason. first person red text appears again and again in new home.



without a doubt, these all clearly refer to chara’s experiences.

more canon: the white text

all of the flavour text and narration in the game is white, and the mirror is definitive proof of chara’s ability to communicate through white text as well as red text. however, there are several other instances of them doing just that, even in battles and in menus.

while facing monster kid in the genocide route, chara speaks not only in battle, but also in first person and through white text.

examining the real knife will only produce words that seem to come from chara, rather than a description of the weapon itself.

this leads to the conclusion that regardless of text color, chara uses first person to describe themself, and uses second person to describe frisk. though it may seem strange that chara may be so bold as to claim what frisk is feeling or thinking, they do the same thing with the player at the end of the game.

in the darkness of the abyss after the world is erased, chara mentions “you” several times, assuming the player’s thoughts, and even providing the player an opportunity to respond to them.



the way “you” is used in this segment is similar to the way “you” is used throughout the narration in undertale. chara does not hesitate to speak for their partner. while it’s clear chara can communicate via flavour text in battles, in menus, and on the field, there is one last question: does chara narrate outside of the genocide route?



the theory: chara in other routes

in pacifist or neutral routes, there are certain lines that don’t seem to come from frisk. these bits of narration draw on outside knowledge or are oddly cryptic. the only way to explain them is if another entity is providing them. in typical games, this entity would be an omniscient narrator, but in undertale there is evidence linking this narration directly to chara.

CHARA’S BED

for example, the left bed in asriel’s room is revealed to be chara’s bed in the genocide route. while not as explicit, this fact is also alluded to in the neutral route.

the game heavily implies that chara died of buttercup poisoning. the neutral route narration suggests “my bed” was quite literally chara’s deathbed.

“DIRTY” JOKES

in any route, the joke ACT in the battle with woshua will produce one of three jokes at random.

all three of these jokes seem a bit arbitrary – until one considers chara and asriel, that is.

muddy flower garden:

there is a flower garden in asgore’s house. he waters his flowers often, which would make the ground muddy.

there is a flower garden in asgore’s house. he waters his flowers often, which would make the ground muddy. a kid who slept in the soil:

in the genocide route, flowey states that toriel probably moved chara’s body to give them a “proper burial.” chara’s body is resting in the soil.

in the genocide route, flowey states that toriel probably moved chara’s body to give them a “proper burial.” chara’s body is resting in the soil. ate a pie with their bare hands:

toriel is fond of baking pies and likely made them for her children. perhaps chara once “ate a pie with their bare hands.”

frisk couldn’t have know about any of these things. therefore, the suggestions may have come from chara.

SNOWDRAKE’S MOTHER

while the check and joke ACT options in the battle against snowdrake’s mother seem typical, there’s something very different about the text produced if the laugh or heckle ACT is selected.

usually, frisk follows through with the ACT selected. in these two cases, however, frisk does not, and the narrator has to correct themself.

because the narrator does not accurately describe frisk’s actions, this confirms that the narrator is not frisk. furthermore, the narrator cannot be omniscient because an omniscient narrator would not be inaccurate. if the narrator is not all knowing, and capable of making mistakes, then it gives room to believe the narrator is an entity with their own personality, feelings, and being.



CHARA’S MEMORIES

from the start of the game, frisk will hear the voice of asgore, a character they have not met yet, when they die.

in toriel’s home, going to sleep triggers a memory that prompts frisk to wake up. this memory is very similar to what was said to chara while they were dying.

NARRATION WHEN SLEEPING IN TORIEL’S HOME (asgore’s voice):

VHS TAPE 5 (toriel and asgore’s voices):



in waterfall, after being chased by undyne, frisk falls onto a flowerbed. before waking up, they experience memories that do not belong to them.

during asriel’s battle, another set of memories are shared. it is these memories of asriel that allow frisk to save him in the pacifist route, and these memories could only belong to chara and asriel. since asriel is the one fighting frisk, it makes sense that chara is the one to share the memories with frisk. however, there is evidence that the memories belong to asriel instead.

it’s also worth examining the opening scenes regarding the ancient war and chara’s fall in 201X. it’s possible that these scenes are shared by chara when frisk first arrives in the underground. this idea is all conjecture, but if the fall knocked frisk unconscious then these scenes would match how the other memories are shared.

the narrachara theory holds up

while technically impossible to claim the narrachara theory as unequivocal canon, no evidence appears to contradict it, and circumstantial evidence suggests it as highly plausible. interpreting the narration as coming from chara provides insight into their personality and character.

