Critic speak is tough, but we've got you covered.
Quote :"Structural Analysis of Narrative"
The object of our study must be narrative mood, or point of view, or sequence, and not this or that story in and for itself. […] The minimal complete plot can be seen as the shift from one equilibrium to another. This term "equilibrium," which I am borrowing from genetic psychology, means the existence of a stable but not static relation between the members of a society; it is a social law, a rule of the game, a particular system of exchange. The two moments of equilibrium, similar and different, are separated by a period of imbalance, which is composed of a process of degeneration and a process of improvement.
Here we've got Todorov's model of narrative theory. Todorov thinks that narrative is all about a shift from equilibrium→disorder→equilibrium. By equilibrium, he just means a state where everything's all good: people are going about their business and are in a good place but then—dun dun dun—something (or someone) upsets the balance. The bulk of the narrative is therefore about restoring harmony.
Okay, so there are plenty of narratives that don't work to this template (just think of all those books that have unhappy endings, or others that hurl the reader straight into the drama), but what Todorov is describing is the traditional model.
Todorov also emphasizes that narrative is a process: between the two states of equilibrium there is a period of imbalance, and it's during this time that changes or developments happen. These can be good or bad, but they help drive the narrative, bring about character development, and keep readers hooked.
Another point that Todorov makes is that narrative theory shouldn't focus so much on the story as a whole but more on the elements that are woven together to create the narrative. His own essay gives us a case in point: he may examine the stories in Boccaccio's Decameron, but his interest is less in these stories themselves than in how their narratives work, and how they can be defined.