Social and emotional intelligence (SEI) has emerged as a critical construct across disciplines concerned with human development, communication, and social well-being. While psychological and educational research has extensively examined SEI through empirical and behavioral models, the role of literary narratives as a formative medium for emotional and social cognition remains comparatively underexplored within linguistic frameworks. This paper argues that literary narratives significantly contribute to the development of social and emotional intelligence by enabling readers to engage with complex emotional states, interpersonal relationships, and moral dilemmas through language. Using linguistic stylistics as an analytical lens, the study examines how specific narrative techniques—such as focalization, free indirect discourse, metaphor, evaluative lexis, and dialogue representation—facilitate empathy, emotional awareness, and perspective-taking. The paper integrates insights from stylistics, narratology, cognitive psychology, and social-emotional learning research to demonstrate that literary texts function as simulated social environments. Through close stylistic analysis of selected passages from canonical English literature, including Pride and Prejudice and To Kill a Mockingbird, the study illustrates how linguistic choices shape readers’ emotional responses and social understanding. These textual analyses are further contextualized through parallels with everyday social interactions, highlighting literature’s relevance beyond aesthetic appreciation. The paper concludes that literary narratives, when examined through stylistic analysis, play a crucial role in cultivating emotional literacy and social intelligence, and therefore warrant greater emphasis in educational and interdisciplinary research.
Mr. Ranjeetkumar Bajirao Yadav (Thu,) studied this question.