What is the relationship of the story teller to the story?

Answer 1

The storyteller is, in most cases, the person who thought the story up. Also, the storyteller knows the story better than anybody else. They know all of the little meanings, themes, details. They know the characters, what they want, what their motivations are, what their personality is like. One storyteller once said that they knew things about the characters that they didn't even include in the story (like favorite color, fears, likes, what makes them happy or sad, what kinds of friends they have, etc.) Basically, a story is a universe, and the storyteller can tap into that universe like nobody else can. They are the conduit through which the story can be lived by the listeners. In a sense, the storyteller is the story in human form.