The book and the reader form a dialogue. If the product of this dialogue is a particularly significant, impactful meaning that the reader experiences, then credit is due to both the text and the reader for this mutually-constituted process of meaning-making.
The oft-cited Roland Barthes "Death of the Author" essay has influenced many critics to view the author's intentions as either 1) irrelevant when compared to the text itself or 2) existing as a particular vein of historicism which focuses on the author's background, life, and personal psychology as a means of interpretation. This interpretation, mind you, is not a privileged position, but one amongst a myriad that exist for each reader.
McCarthy_Narrator t1_ix9d5dm wrote
Reply to The deep meanings we extract from books are not a reflection of the author's genius by virtualaenigma
The book and the reader form a dialogue. If the product of this dialogue is a particularly significant, impactful meaning that the reader experiences, then credit is due to both the text and the reader for this mutually-constituted process of meaning-making.
The oft-cited Roland Barthes "Death of the Author" essay has influenced many critics to view the author's intentions as either 1) irrelevant when compared to the text itself or 2) existing as a particular vein of historicism which focuses on the author's background, life, and personal psychology as a means of interpretation. This interpretation, mind you, is not a privileged position, but one amongst a myriad that exist for each reader.