If you think of a work of fiction as a kind of scale model of the world, then the positive valences - where things turn out better than you thought they would - ought to be in there somewhere, too.

Saunders is arguing against a default literary pessimism that treats fiction as a “realistic” mirror only when it emphasizes suffering, failure, or moral darkness. If a story is a scale model of lived experience, it should include not just negative outcomes but also the moments when reality surprises us in a generous direction—unexpected kindness, grace, reconciliation, or sudden improvement. The phrase “positive valences” borrows the language of chemistry/physics to suggest that emotional charge is part of a story’s structure, not mere sentimentality. The claim implies an ethical-aesthetic stance: fiction can be truthful while still making room for hope, and that hope is itself a recognizable feature of the world.