Can I switch from past tense to present tense in an epilogue?
I have written my entire novel thus far in past tense. However, I feel like my final chapter/epilogue would work better in present tense. I want to give the reader the sense that everything s/he has read so far is a narration of events. What do you think? Is the tense-switching rule so vital that it would take away from the overall strength of my book?
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Switching to present tense in the epilogue would suggest that the story is in a frame. That is, the story is a narration in the present of events that took place in the past. The narrator is not relating in real time, but is looking back over the entire story and relating it in hindsight.
This is a common enough technique, but if it is employed only in the epilogue that means that you are springing the fact that there is a frame on the reader at the end, rather than placing it in the frame from the beginning. I don't see why that cannot be made to work, but I think you have to think about it consciously, and make sure the main story is narrated as if it were in a frame, even if the reader is not aware of it.
This may be subtle, but I think if it is done well, the reader should feel satisfaction, rather than surprise, when the frame is made explicit in the epilogue. In other words, the switch to present tense should make structural sense in the book as a whole, rather than coming across as a random change.
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I agree that it's springing it on the reader a bit, but done properly it can be a powerful tool. An example would be a story about WWII told by a veteran. The main text of the story contains the events that happened, in the past, told in past tense - as a story like this often would be. When the epilogue comes and the veteran is talking about missing his brothers, or that there are so few of them left, or something like that, the switch can be extremely powerful emotionally.
If it drives the narrative, an emotional response, or benefits the scope of the story, then definitely go for it - just make sure you do it right! :)
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If the story was written in first person past tense, then a final chapter titled "Epilogue" would be perfectly fine.
A present tense epilogue after a third person past tense story might work, but I can't think of a way to do it satisfactorily.
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This kind of thing is always Your Mileage May Vary, of course, but I think if you're doing it in an epilogue (clearly labeled as such), you can probably get away with it. The main story is done, and this is a separate after-piece.
The tense-switching rule is meant to address comprehension. If part of what you want the reader to comprehend is that "All of this part that you just read is in the past, and we're now in the present," then switching tenses may be exactly what you need to aid comprehension. There's no ironclad rule against it.
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