Speculative Finance and Narrative Tension[Produits financiers et récits spéculatifs]

This article explores the parallels between contemporary speculative finance and narrative theory, arguing that financial instruments rely on mechanisms akin to narrative tension. Through a fictionalized scenario, it draws an analogy between the pricing of financial options—particularly the Black–Scholes model—and the cognitive processes by which readers anticipate, revise, and project possible outcomes in a narrative. Drawing on cognitive narratology (surprise, curiosity, suspense) and on philosophical and literary references (Aristotle, Mallarmé, Mark Fisher, Donna Haraway), the article suggests that narratives, including speculative and science-fictional forms, provide valuable tools for thinking about economic uncertainty, systemic risk, and contemporary collapse, beyond the limits of purely mathematical models.