The Death of the author and it's Postmodern implications ( Continued 1)

Summary

The NPTEL course session delves into Roland Barthes' seminal essay 'The Death of the Author,' exploring its significance in postmodern literary theory. Barthes argues for the independence of the literary text from the author's intentions, advocating a 'birth of the reader' approach that emphasizes reader interpretation over authorial intent. The essay is contextualized within the intellectual shift from Structuralism to Poststructuralism and the broader socio-political movements of the 1960s. Barthes' ideas challenge traditional literary criticism and celebrate the multiplicity of meanings in literature, ultimately positioning the reader at the center of the narrative.

Takeaways

• 📖 Roland Barthes' essay 'The Death of the Author' is pivotal in understanding Postmodern literary critical practices and the shift in understanding subjects and narratives.
• 🗣️ Peter Barry emphasizes the essay's assertion of the literary text's independence from the author's intentions, promoting the idea of radical textual independence.
• 🏙️ The context of 1960s Paris, with its intellectual movements, influenced Barthes' reaction against the overemphasis on the author's identity.
• 🔄 Barthes' essay signifies a transition from Structuralism to Poststructuralism, marking a shift in his critical approach.
• 🖋️ Barthes argues that writing creates the author, not the other way around, challenging the traditional notion of authorship.
• 📚 The essay advocates for the liberation of texts from the constraints imposed by authorial intent and emphasizes the role of the reader in interpreting texts.
• 🔍 Barthes criticizes the focus on biographical and historical criticism, arguing that the author's life and intentions are irrelevant to the text's meaning.
• 🌐 Barthes' ideas resonate with Marxist views on authorship as a construct of capitalist ideology, stressing control and authority.
• 📜 The essay reflects a historical trajectory of evolving notions of authorship, influenced by movements like Romanticism and Enlightenment.
• 🎨 Barthes' work, along with similar approaches in literature, promotes the idea of multiple interpretations, celebrating the plurality and liberation in reading texts.

Q & A

What is the significance of Roland Barthes' essay 'The Death of the Author'?

The essay 'The Death of the Author' is significant as it marks a transition from Structuralism to Poststructuralism. It argues for the independence of the literary text from the author's intentions, emphasizing the reader's role in interpreting the text and allowing for multiple interpretations.

How does Peter Barry interpret the importance of 'The Death of the Author' in contemporary critical theory?

Peter Barry interprets the importance of 'The Death of the Author' as a rhetorical assertion of the literary text's independence and immunity from being unified or limited by the author's intentions. It declares the birth of the reader, highlighting the text's freedom from the author's restraints.

What was the intellectual climate in Paris during the 1960s that influenced Barthes' essay?

The intellectual climate in Paris during the 1960s was characterized by a move within the European tradition that overemphasized the identity of the author. Barthes' essay was a response to and reaction against these dominant tendencies, positioning it as a landmark text in the shift from Structuralism to Poststructuralism.

How does Barthes view the author in the context of language?

Barthes views the author not as a person existing prior to or outside of language but as a product of history and societal compulsions. He argues that the author is a construct within the structures of language and that writing, rather than being a product of the author, actually constructs the author.

What does Barthes mean when he says that 'the death of the author' is also the 'birth of the reader'?

By saying 'the death of the author is the birth of the reader,' Barthes means that the significance shifts from the author's intentions to the reader's interpretations. It suggests that the reader's engagement with the text is more important than the author's original intentions, allowing for a more liberated and diverse understanding of the text.

How does Barthes' essay challenge traditional literary critical approaches?

Barthes' essay challenges traditional literary critical approaches by rejecting the idea that a text's meaning can be determined by the author's intentions or biography. Instead, it promotes the idea that texts have multiple meanings that are subjective to each reader's interpretation, thus decentralizing the author's authority and empowering the reader.

What is the role of the reader according to Barthes' essay?

According to Barthes, the reader plays a crucial role as the one who brings meaning to the text. The reader's personal experiences and interpretations are what give the text its significance, allowing for a plurality of meanings and interpretations.

How does Barthes' view on authorship relate to the concept of the 'work'?

Barthes argues against the idea of the 'work' as a fixed entity with a singular, ultimate meaning. Instead, he sees writing as a central factor that engages with the reader, where the communication is between the text and the reader, diminishing the author's significance.

What intellectual traditions influenced Barthes' ideas in 'The Death of the Author'?

Barthes' ideas were influenced by various intellectual traditions, including Lacanian psychoanalysis, which questioned the unified subject, and Marxist perspectives that saw the author as a modern invention tied to capitalist ideologies. His work also resonates with the Enlightenment's emphasis on individuality and the Romantic notion of the writer as a creator.

How does Barthes' essay relate to the concept of multiplicity and plurality in contemporary culture?

Barthes' essay celebrates the multiplicity and plurality of interpretations, which aligns with contemporary culture's emphasis on diverse perspectives and individual interpretations. It reflects the current social media landscape, where every individual can offer their own interpretations of texts and situations.

What is the significance of the epigraph in Barthes' essay, and how does it set the tone for the discussion?

The epigraph, which discusses Balzac's story 'Sarrasine,' introduces the theme of indeterminacy in identifying the voice behind a text. It sets the tone for the essay by highlighting the impossibility of knowing the specific origin of a text's voice, which is central to the celebration of multiple interpretations and the liberation of the reader.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Introduction to 'The Death of the Author'

This paragraph introduces the essay 'The Death of the Author' by Roland Barthes, emphasizing its significance in postmodern literary criticism. It discusses the essay's role in the shift from modern to postmodern understandings of literature, narrative, and the subject. The paragraph also highlights the importance of understanding the historical and intellectual context of Paris in the 1960s, which influenced Barthes' work. It touches on the transition from structuralism to poststructuralism and the ongoing debate within French literature at the time.

05:07

🌟 The Emancipation of the Reader

The second paragraph delves into the concept of the author's death as an emancipatory event, marking the beginning of an era where the reader takes on a more significant role. Barthes' discomfort with being labeled a critic is noted, as he focused on the semiotic significance of works rather than providing verdicts. The paragraph also discusses how Barthes' poststructuralist analysis influenced cultural studies and how he challenged traditional literary criticism, celebrating the reader's emergence and the multiplicity of interpretations.

10:10

🛕 The Author as a Social and Historical Construct

In this paragraph, the authorship is explored as a social and historical construct rather than a personal identity. Barthes argues that the author is a product of societal compulsions and history, and that the concept of the author exists within the structures of language. He suggests that writing creates the author, not the other way around, and that the author's identity is constructed through their writings. This shift in perspective leads to a foregrounding of the text and the reader while the author's traditional elevated status is diminished.

15:13

📜 The Rejection of Authorial Intent and Biography

Barthes' rejection of the idea that a text reflects the author's distinct personality or that the author's biography is relevant to understanding a text is discussed in this paragraph. He challenges the notion that authors create original works, instead arguing that they combine existing elements. The paragraph also touches on the influence of Lacan and Marxist perspectives on Barthes' ideas, and how the concept of the author has been shaped by various intellectual traditions and socio-political movements.

20:15

🚀 The Elevation of the Reader and Plurality of Interpretations

This paragraph focuses on the elevation of the reader's role and the potential for multiple interpretations in literature. Barthes argues that meaning is brought to the text by the reader's personal experiences rather than the author's genius. He traces the intellectual trajectory leading to the death of the Author, highlighting the historical and critical changes that have occurred. The paragraph also mentions how contemporary social media platforms celebrate multiplicity and plurality, and how works like 'Tristam Shandy' and 'The French Lieutenant's Woman' invite reader participation.

25:21

🔍 Deconstruction and Theoretical Critique

The final paragraph discusses similarities between Barthes' ideas and the deconstructionist critics of the Yale school, who also emphasized the disjointed nature of texts. It mentions alternative readings of 'The Death of the Author', including the satirical interpretation, which is not widely accepted. The paragraph concludes by emphasizing the essay's importance in understanding literature, culture, and the contemporary world, which is characterized by multiple interpretations and the absence of a single authoritative voice.

30:26

📝 Conclusion and Preview of Further Discussion

The lecturer concludes the session by encouraging participants to read the original essay for a deeper understanding before the next session. They reflect on the essay's significance in understanding postmodern literature and critical practices, and how it has become a seminal text in the field. The lecturer thanks the audience and expresses anticipation for the following session's more detailed exploration of the essay.

Keywords

💡Postmodernism

Postmodernism is a philosophical movement characterized by skepticism, relativism, and a general distrust of grand theories and ideologies. In the context of literature, it often involves a playful and critical approach to traditional narratives and forms. The video discusses Postmodernism's impact on literary criticism and the shift in understanding the role of the author and reader, as exemplified by Roland Barthes' essay 'The Death of the Author'.

💡Roland Barthes

Roland Barthes was a French literary theorist, philosopher, linguist, critic, and semiotician who influenced the theory of symbols, cultural phenomena, and the way we read texts. His essay 'The Death of the Author' is central to the video's discussion, as it challenges the traditional view of the author's role in determining the meaning of a text.

💡Author

The term 'Author' in the video refers to the traditional concept of a writer as the originator and authority on the meaning of their work. Barthes' essay argues against this notion, suggesting that the author's intent should not limit the interpretation of a text, thereby 'killing' the traditional authority of the author.

💡Textual Independence

Textual Independence is the idea that a literary work should be considered independently of the author's intentions or personal context. The video explains how Barthes' essay promotes this concept, asserting that the meaning of a text is not determined by the author but is open to the reader's interpretation.

💡Reader

In the video, the 'Reader' emerges as a significant figure in the interpretation of literature. Barthes' essay posits that with the 'death' of the author's authority, the reader is 'born' as an active participant in creating the meaning of a text through their unique experiences and interpretations.

💡Structuralism

Structuralism is a theoretical movement that suggests that elements of culture can be understood through their relationships to one another within a larger system. The video mentions that Barthes began his career with a Structuralist approach, but his essay 'The Death of the Author' marks a transition towards Poststructuralism.

💡Poststructuralism

Poststructuralism is a movement that emerged as a critique of Structuralism, emphasizing the instability of meaning and the importance of context and reader interpretation. The video describes how Barthes' essay is a landmark text in the transition from Structuralism to Poststructuralism, highlighting the shift in focus from the author to the reader.

💡Intention Fallacy

The 'Intention Fallacy' is the mistaken belief that an author's intention is the primary or ultimate meaning of a text. The video explains how Barthes rejects this concept, arguing that the author's intent should not confine the reader's interpretation of a text.

💡Biographical Criticism

Biographical Criticism is a critical approach that interprets a work of literature based on the author's life and experiences. The video discusses how Barthes' essay undermines this approach by suggesting that the author's biography and personal life are irrelevant to the interpretation of their work.

💡Interpretation

Interpretation, in the context of the video, refers to the process of attributing meaning to a text. Barthes' essay emphasizes that interpretation should not be limited by the author's intent but should be open to the reader's subjective experience and understanding, allowing for multiple and diverse interpretations.

💡Cultural Studies

Cultural Studies is an interdisciplinary field that examines cultural phenomena and practices. The video mentions that Barthes' Poststructuralist analysis of literary texts has had a significant impact on the methodologies and techniques within Cultural Studies, particularly in understanding the role of the reader and the multiplicity of meanings in texts.

Highlights

The Death of the Author by Roland Barthes is a seminal essay in Postmodern literary criticism.

The essay argues for the independence of the literary text from the author's intentions or context.

Barthes' work is a response to the overemphasis on the Author's identity within the European tradition from the 1950s onwards.

The essay is a landmark text in the transition from Structuralism to Poststructuralism.

Barthes challenges the traditional literary critical approach and the idea of the Author as a unified intending subject.

The essay celebrates the emergence of the reader and their significance in the interpretation of texts.

Barthes views the Author not as a creator but as a product of history and societal compulsions.

Writing is seen as constructing the Author rather than the Author creating the writing.

The Author's elevated status is diminished, and the text and reader are foregrounded in Barthes' theory.

Barthes rejects the idea of the Author producing original works, emphasizing the combinatorial nature of writing.

The essay posits that the Author's biography and historical context are irrelevant to the interpretation of a text.

Barthes' approach is influenced by Lacanian psychoanalysis and Marxist ideology, which also critique the concept of the Author.

The essay is part of an intellectual tradition that reimagines the role and understanding of the Author in society.

Barthes' theory is aligned with the Romantic notion of the writer as a subjective identity, yet also seeks to transcend it.

The Death of the Author essay calls for an elevation of the reader's role and the multiplicity of interpretations.

Barthes' ideas have parallels with the Yale school of deconstructionist critics, focusing on the disjointed nature of texts.

The essay concludes by emphasizing the impossibility of knowing the voice behind the text and celebrating the plurality of interpretations.

Barthes' work remains influential in understanding Postmodern literature and the shift towards reader-centric interpretations.

Transcripts

Good morning and welcome to today's session of  the NPTEL course Postmodernism in Literature.  

In continuation with the previous session, we  shall be discussing the essay The Death of the  

Author by Roland Barthes. As we have indicateed  earlier, this is a seminal essay which is located  

in a transitional phase, this is also considered  as an important piece in the understanding of  

Postmodern literary critical practices and also  in the understanding of a Postmodern shift in the  

understanding of subject, in the understanding of  narrative and even in the meaning-making process. 

So, continuing our discussion, we begin looking  at one of the statements made by Peter Barry in  

his important work Beginning Theory. He talks  about The Death of the Author in such a way  

that he locates its importance within contemporary  critical theory ; Peter Barry writes: “The Death  

of the Author is a rhetorical way of asserting the  independence of the literary text and its immunity  

to the possibility of being unified or limited by  any notion of what the Author might have intended,  

or ‘crafted’ into the work. Instead, the  essay makes a declaration of radical textual  

independence: The work is not determined by  intention or context. Rather the text is free  

by its very nature of all such restraints. Hence  as Barthes says in the essay the corollary of The  

Death of the Author is the birth of the reader.”  As some of the things Peter Barry talks about,  

we shall come back to discuss in detail. And moving on, it is very important to  

understand the context which produced this essay  by Barthes, The Death of the Author. Barthes’  

essay- and his pronouncement of The Death of  the Author needs to be understood within the  

intellectual life of a Paris, especially in  the 1960's. So, there was a particular move  

within the European tradition from the 1950's  onwards which placed an overemphasis on the idea,  

the identity of the Author. So, we need to understand that  

Barthes was in certain ways, responding to and  reacting against such dominant tendencies. And  

this becomes very important to contextualize the  essay The Death of the Author. So, in that sense,  

we can understand this understand this essay as  a landmark text in the move from Structuralism  

to Poststructuralism. So, as we have indicated  in one of the earlier sessions Roland Barthes;  

when he began his carrier, he began with  a very predominant Structuralist mode,  

but it is with this essay, The Death of the  Author that we began to see the Poststructuralist  

tendencies emerging from Barthes’ works  and also his attitude towards criticism,  

theory and also most of the things in general. And this essay needs to be read in this  

transitional context and also as a response to  some of the things that were considered more  

important during that period. And Barthes’  essay also needs to be seen as part of an  

ongoing battle within the fortress of French  literature. And French literature during that  

time particularly in the late 50s and 1960s- it  was a part of a network of ownership and control. 

So, Barthes was in multiple ways responding  to these dominant tendencies of that period,  

particularly, in Paris. And even today when  we look at this essay The Death of the Author,  

we can see that there is a clear stance that  Barthes displays against the enclosure of  

Structuralism and the Authority of Formalism. So,  in certain ways, we can see kind of a departure  

away from the Structuralist modes and also away  from the Formalist modes. If you know the history  

of particular theory, we also know that in the  40s and 50s, the dominant modes of understanding  

literary texts were also related to, were also in  connection with the understanding of the Author. 

So, in multiple ways, Barthes is challenging  this traditional literary critical approach  

and also foregrounding newer ways of looking at  a text and the Author. And also celebrating the  

emergence of the reader as a corollary and whether  we agree or not with Barthes, the revolutionary  

aspect of this text cannot be denied at all.  Because this is located at such a transitional  

phase that it becomes a seminal text even in our  discussions related to Postmodernism to be able  

to understand how the intellectual tradition  was forged in such a way that the Postmodern  

tendencies also celebrated a radical move away a  radical shift from the traditional understandings  

of literature and the reading of literature. So, though death is usually seen as something  

not very positive; in this essay we can see that  Barthes is using the idea of death the aspect of  

death as an emancipatory event. So, here The Death  of the Author does not mark the end of anything,  

but it only marks a beginning of a new  era, beginning of a new kind of mode,  

new kind of freer and emancipatory reading in  which reader assumes more relevance, reader  

assumes more significance than that of the Author. So, having said that it is also important to  

stress the fact that Barthes never saw himself as  a critic; in fact, he was very uncomfortable with  

this identification of him as a critic, because he  did not access or provide verdicts on particular  

literary works; if we look at the general  corpus of his works we understand that he only  

interpreted the semiotic significance of works. And more often than not, he did not focus on  

particular works; he only refer to a general  system of works and in analyzing their semiotic  

significance he also opened up newer avenues  to engage with literary texts. And here it is  

also important to remember that it was  this kind of Poststructuralist analysis  

of literary texts that played a major role  in the emergence of various methodologies  

and techniques; within Cultural Studies. And in various ways when we look back at  

Barthes works, we find that he was not in adherent  of traditional literary critical practices,  

but by challenging those practices he in fact,  was opening up newer avenues for us to engage  

with literature and culture in general. In continuation with the previous session,  

where we started looking at some of the particular  aspects of the essay we continue to look at how  

Barthes locates the significance of the Author.  And here we also realize that for Barthes,  

Author ceases to be a commonplace a  commonsensical figure. He tries to  

understand the Author as the socially-constructed  and historically-constituted subject and here the  

Author ceases to be simply a person. But he becomes a product of history,  

a product of the societal compulsions as well and  also continuing with his Structuralist tendencies,  

Barthes also places on record that the  Author does not exist prior to or outside  

of language the existence of Author, the  identification and the idea of the Author,  

it exists only within the structures of language;  it is impossible to make sense of an Author just  

as a person outside the systems of language.  In that sense, Barthes goes on to suggest that  

it is not the Author who makes the writing,  but on the contrary writing makes an Author. 

So, the writing instead of seeing it as a product  of the Author; Barthes sees the Author, being  

constructed through his writing. Barthes sees the  Author assuming an identity of his own assuming  

a character and stature of his own through the  kind of writings that he produces. In that sense,  

from this point of, from this point of time, from  the moment The Death of the Author the essay gets  

published we find a foregrounding of the text, we  find a foregrounding of the reader, and alongside,  

we also find that the Author loses the elevated  status that he held until that point of time. 

And in Barthes’ own words, “the writer can  only imitate a gesture that is always anterior,  

never original. His only power is to combine  different kinds of writing to oppose some by  

others, so as to never sustain himself by just  one of them, if he wants to express himself at  

least he should know that the internal thing; he  claims to translate is itself only a readymade  

dictionary whose words can be explained (defined)  only by other words and so, on ad infinitum.” 

So, here Barthes is challenging the very idea of  the writer, producing original works. And he says  

that all that the writer does perhaps is combined  various kinds of things which were always already  

available. So, it is this combination which makes  the writing different or distinct from one another  

and it is never dependant on the originality or  the genius, as we would say of the Author. So,  

here, Barthes is throwing the emphasis away from  an all-knowing and unified intending subject as  

the site of production on to language. And he  hopes that through this process, through this  

critical unpacking of the idea of the Author, the  idea of the text, he hopes to liberate writing  

from the despotism of what he calls ‘the work’. So, here, ‘writing’ becomes the central factor  

rather than the work or the book or the text as  we would call it; writing becomes a central aspect  

with which the reader engages. So, the ultimate  communication is between the writing, between  

the text and the reader and the Author loses his  significance entirely in this sort of an analysis. 

And when Barthes talks about death; his death is  not directed to the idea of writing. He does not  

mean that the writing will come to an end; or that  he does not try to dismiss the process of writing  

altogether, but on the contrary he uses the term  death to address specifically the French image  

of ‘auteur’ and it is the French word for Author  as a creative genius expressing of inner vision. 

So, by attributing certain particular and specific  traits to the Author of having originality,  

of having genius there is also a sense of  power being bestowed upon the Author. So,  

Barthes is in fact, reacting against those sorts  of attributions to the Author and he is also  

opposing a view of texts as expressing  a distinct personality of the Author. 

Because in Barthes’ analysis the text  need not, and perhaps may not at all  

reflect the personality of the Author. So,  it is completely futile attempt according  

to Barthes to try look for the personality of  the Author, within a text and equally futile  

to hope to be able to understand the text in  accordance with the biography of the Author. 

So, here, contrary to the popular assumption  that Authors consciously create masterpieces;  

we find Barthes totally challenging and even  rejecting this idea. In the similar way, he also  

completely rejects the idea that Author should  be interpreted in terms of what they think they  

are doing- the intention of the Author becomes  completely irrelevant. It is only the intention  

and only the meaning that the reader attributes to  the text- becomes important at the end of the day. 

And in Barthes’ approach and when he pronounces  The Death of the Author, the biography of the  

Author ceases to have any relevance. So, any kind  of biographical or historical criticism completely  

falls apart when we look at it through the lens  of Barthes’ essay, and here he is also trying  

to tell us that the Author is perhaps no more  important than perhaps a scientist who is doing  

an experiment, the biography of the Author, the  personality of the Author ceases to be important;  

just like the details about the personality  of the scientist ceases to be important when  

he is performing a scientific experiment. While we totally admit the revolutionary  

ideas that this essay was foregrounding  was upholding. We cannot entirely say that  

the revolution of the essay happened all of  a sudden, there is an intellectual tradition  

attached to it; there is a historical precedence  as well. In fact, Barthes’ approach, Barthes  

pronouncing The Death of the Author could be seen  as an extension of the end of the unified subject  

as Lacan had done in his re-reading of Freud. Barthes was heavily influenced by Lacan’s  

re-reading, Lacan’s approaches and we too found  that there is an extension of some of Lacan’s  

views that they find in Barthes’ articulation of  The Death of the Author as well. And also as a  

corollary, we can even take a look at the Marxist  perspective which understood the Author as a very  

Modern invention just like Barthes does. And it  is also there is a Marxist belief that the idea  

of the Author was derived from the Capitalist  ideology and it is also a reflection of the  

Capitalist stress on control through Authority. So, when Barthes is talking about the Author;  

when Barthes is trying to liberate the Author  from the certain commonsensical understanding  

from certain traditional clutches; he is  also participating in this intellectual  

tradition which had an exploring the idea of  the Author; which had been talking about the  

various ways in which the Author could be  constructed, the Author could be accessed. 

And here, it is also important to  remember that the Marxist ideology,  

just like Barthes would also. Barthes and  Foucault would later lead us towards-they  

also believe that the idea of the Author was also  akin to attaching more importance to an Author’s  

person. And in that sense, the Author also  becomes a part of the wider system of ownership  

property and privileges like we see even today. And there is also an Authoritative interpretation  

and the presence of a privileged interpreter that  we would see when we foreground the presence of  

the Author; when we foreground the dominance  of the Author. So, we find Barthes in certain,  

in multiple ways responding to all of these  things and also drawing from some of those ongoing  

intellectual traditions and intellectual  conversations of the twentieth century. 

And we can also say that a certain kind of  precedence could be found in the stress that  

the enlightenment placed on the individual, on  individuality. So, there is a way in which the  

Author figure underwent particular transitions  through these different ideological moves, through  

these different socio-political movements. And  we find that Barthes’ essay needs to be accessed  

needs to be read and understood in the context  of this various historical precedences as well. 

And there is also this Romantic notion of the  writer as a creator; writer as a subjective  

identity. And if you remember, there is a way in  which the idea of the Author underwent a radical  

change during the Romantic period especially with  the publication of The Preface to Lyrical Ballads  

by Wordsworth and Coleridge where together, they  looked at the idea of the poet and spoke about the  

poet merely as a man who is talking to other men. So, there were particular attributes, they gave  

to the poet, but nevertheless, we find that there  was a radical shift in the idea of understanding  

the poet. So, in this sense, always throughout  history; we do see that the idea of the Author,  

the sort of attributes that we give to the  Author, had always been changing historically,  

ideologically. But; however, Barthes was the only  one who pronounced the death of the Author so that  

we can look back and trace the intellectual  trajectory which led eventually to the death  

of the Author through a series of historical  socio-political and literary and critical changes. 

So, eventually, when Barthes talks about the  death of the Author; what he attempts is to  

elevate the status of the reader until that  point of time the reader was not a significant  

identity to deal with. And we also find Barthes  arguing that if a text renders an insightful  

interpretation if a text lends itself to  a particular kind of an interpretation,  

it is not because of the genius of the Author, but  because of the personal experiences of the reader. 

We also find certain attributes of the Romantic  strain also coming in in this approach,  

but nevertheless, we can find that rather  categorically privileges the reader over the  

Author. And here, he even goes on to argue that  it is the reader who brings meaning to the text  

and in that sense, if it is a reader who brings  meaning to the text, there could be multiple  

readers. And there also exists the possibility of  multiple interpretations available, there are no  

limits to the number of interpretations available,  the kind of interpretations available because  

we can not set any limit to the kind of personal  experiences that various readers had gone through. 

Here the death of the Author is not just about  the Author, but it is also about various other  

things happening at the same time, the emergence  of the Author and also the possibility of multiple  

interpretations. Even today if we are able  to look at to watch a movie and give our own  

comments and regardless of what the director  of the movie thought about, regardless of what  

originally a scene intended this is also  because we had been given this freedom to  

interpret the text in whichever way we want. And here we also we remember that the various  

platforms which have been opened up today,  the various social media platforms today,  

also celebrate this idea of multiplicity and  plurality to such an extent that; every reader,  

every single subject is capable of providing  their own interpretation to not just a text,  

but also to various situations in  the contemporary all around us. 

Perhaps the most significant example that  would come to our mind would be Tristam Shandy,  

the novel by Lawrence Sterne. And here, there  is a character Widow Wadman and to talk about  

the character, Lawrence Sterne feels that he is  incapable of describing the character and so,  

he leaves a blank page for the reader to  fill in their own ideal description of the  

most concupiscible woman in the world. So, here is how the text looks like he  

leaves an entire page with an invitation to  the reader to fill it in; “To conceive this  

right-- call for pen and ink—here’s a paper  ready to your hand-- sit down, Sir, paint her  

to your own mind.” So here is a text from the  seventeenth century which invites the reader to  

participate in the production of the writing. Here is an Author who is willing to go to the  

background and give the freedom to the reader  to co-participate in the creation of a text.  

And there is also John Fowles’ novel The French  lieutenants Woman, where the Author when he talks  

about this particular character Sarah Woodruff,  he says that the character is an ‘enigma’ that  

he cannot know and he also moves away from the  stance of an omniscient, omnipotent narrator and  

confesses to the reader that he does not know  anything more than the reader knows by now. 

So, there are these instances that we can find in  literary texts challenging the idea of the Author  

and foregrounding and giving a sort of a freer  hand to the interpretation and to the imagination  

of the reader. And Barthes’ essay, in multiple  ways, it consolidates all of these events,  

it consolidates many of these approaches and  gives it within a theoretical critical framework. 

And when we talk about Barthes’ approach; we  may also note certain similarities with the  

Yale school of the deconstructionist critics  who were popular in the 1970’s. There were  

four of them who made this particular school  extremely popular during the 1970's Paul de Man,  

Hillis Miller, Harold Bloom and Geoffrey Hartman. And they also insisted upon the disjointed nature  

of texts, their fissures of meaning and  their incongruities interruptions and  

breaks. We find Barthes’ essay having a lot  of similarity with these critics who emerged  

in the 1970s and just like Barthes, these-  the Yale school of deconstructionist critics  

also believe that it is not the origin,  but the destination that mattered more. 

They have also been alternative readings about  Barthes’ essay The Death of the Author. Some have  

even tried to read this essay as a satire upon  the very notions that Barthes advocates in the  

text. Actually some have argued that Barthes  is perhaps defending the traditional notions  

of Authorship in a very satirical way, but this  sort of an approach has only been accepted by a  

critical minority. And most of the leading  critics, most of the leading theorists did  

not really subscribe to this view that Barthes  actually was presenting this essay as a satire. 

Now, trying to highlight the intentions  of the essay The Death of the Author;  

we have also pointed out that there is a  transition that happens in the understanding  

of the text and also in the sort of privileges  that are being attributed to the Author. 

In Barthes’ own words, “to give a text an Author  is to impose a limit on that text, to furnish it  

with a final signified, to close the writing…  However, by refusing to assign a ‘secret’ an  

ultimate meaning to the text and the world as text  liberates what may be called an anti-theological  

activity. That is truly revolutionary since to  refuse to fix meaning is, in the end, to refuse  

God and his hypostases, reason, science, the law.” So, here when Barthes is trying to liberate the  

text from the Author; he is also trying  to liberate the text from the limits  

which had been imposed upon it by various external  aspects-- it could be dominant critical practices,  

it could be the ideas of reason and science,  it could be the methods of reading, it could  

be the methods of criticism. So, here Barthes is  embarking upon a task to liberate the text from  

the Author the figure whom Barthes understands  as being extremely Authoritative and also not  

allowing any other possible interpretations. And this refusal to assign one particular  

meaning to a text, Barthes argues,  would eventually lead to the emergence  

of freer and multiple meanings and the  emergence, of a celebration of a plurality. 

And if you look at the way in which Barthes has  structured this essay; he begins by addressing  

a problem in traditional critical approach to  literature. And he also asks this question: how  

can one detect precisely what the writer entitled?  And most of his arguments in this essay, we can  

see that they are all directed against particular  schools of literary criticisms that seeks to  

uncover the Authors meaning as a hidden reference. And also there is an attempt to entirely reject  

the journey seeking the final meaning of the text  because Barthes argues that there is absolutely  

no final meaning for a text; it is only the  various meanings that particular readers would  

assign to it. Barthes begins this essay with an  epigraph that is about Balzac's story Sarrasine. 

If we try to read the essay The Death of  the Author which is also a very short piece,  

just about 5 or 6 pages; I strongly encourage  you to take a look at the original before we  

continue with the discussions as well. So,  Barthes begins with an epigraph where he  

talks about a story by Balzac which is Sarrasine.  And here, Barthes begins this discussion about  

a castrato disguised as a woman who writes one  particular sentence; I will read it out for you: 

“It was woman, with her sudden fears, her  irrational whims, her instinctive fears,  

her unprovoked bravado, her daring and her  delicious delicacy of feeling. And looking  

at this sentence written by Balzac in this story  Sarrasine; Barthes now asks a series of questions  

who is speaking in this way? Is it the story’s  hero concerned to ignore the castrato concealed  

beneath the woman? Is it the man Balzac endowed  by his personal experience with a philosophy of  

woman? Is it the Author Balzac professing certain  literary ideas of femininity? Is it a universal  

wisdom or romantic psychology?” And then he says,  “it would it will always be impossible to know”. 

So, here, Barthes talks about multiple  possibilities when he tries to discern the  

voice which is uttering that sentence; it could be  the character, it could be a particular philosophy  

which influenced the Author and one will not even  know whether it is a philosophy that influenced a  

character or the Author. And Barthes also tells  us right on our face, right at the outset of the  

essay that it will always be impossible to know. And in certain ways we can say that Barthes essay  

The Death of the Author is also an engagement with  this impossibility to know. And what makes it more  

Postmodern, in certain ways is that Barthes  does not make an attempt to know; rather he  

celebrates this impossibility to know. And here  is where we find also a radical difference that  

we noticed earlier in our discussions as well  from Modernism to Postmodernism; rather than  

lamenting the fact that it is impossible to know  whose voice it is, whose literary voice it is. 

Barthes is here inviting us to be a  part of this exercise of celebrating  

the impossibility of knowing because  within the impossibility of knowing;  

lies the many possibilities of plural and multiple  interpretations. Within this impossibility also  

lies the liberating effect of giving voice to  the voices that were either to unheard of. And  

also within this impossibility of knowing lies  a certain kind of liberation for the reader who  

is not constrained within particular aspects of  reading or within particular methods of reading. 

And he goes on to talk about this “impossibility  to know”, and he says, “…for the good reason  

that all writing is itself this special voice  consisting of several indiscernible voices. And  

that literature is precisely the invention of  this voice to which we cannot assign a specific  

origin. Literature is that neuter that composite  that oblique into which every subject escapes;  

the trap where all identity is lost beginning  with the very identity of the body that writes.” 

So, in the beginning of the essay, in this  epigraph itself Barthes pronounces that the  

very identity of the body that writers is lost  in this entire process. So, he begins by talking  

about the Death of the Author which happens,  which takes place even as the process of writing  

is completed. And here it is also interesting  to note that Barthes does not romanticise the  

idea of the Author; instead he only looks  at the Author as a body that writes. And  

this epigraph is important to set the tone, to set  the stage for the discussions that are to follow. 

To sum up, in the opening of the essay, Barthes  begins by asking this question about Balzac’s  

story who is speaking in this way; he talks about  the many possibilities that are inherent in any  

traditional literary critical approaches. And  then he highlights and rather asserts the fact  

that it is impossible to know which also remains  as a key for understanding any Postmodern text. 

And he also asserts that we cannot assign  a specific origin because it is impossible  

for us to know. And also asserting and also  identifying a specific origin would also mean  

that one would not be able to pursue the  various other kinds of meaning which are  

being made possible by the text. And then he  also talks about how ‘every subject escapes,  

all identity is lost including the  very identity of the body that writes’. 

So, Barthes begins this essay with this  note that there is no point looking at;  

there is no point trying to identify the voice.  There is no point in trying to locate the identity  

of the Author because in this practice of writing;  in this practice of literature every subject,  

all identity including the identity of the  body that writes is immaterial and it ceases  

to exist because it does not really help like we  thought it would in the meaning-making process. 

So, with this we come to an end of today's lecture  in the next session; we shall be taking a further  

detailed and closer look at the entire essay. I  would also strongly encourage you to take a look  

at the original essay and also be familiar with  it. So, that it would make more sense to you as  

we discuss it step by step in the next session. Before we wind up, it is also important to  

remember that though this text was written during  a transitional phase from the Structuralist mode  

towards Poststructuralist practices; now it  has become an important text in understanding  

literature, culture and even the contemporary  which is entirely devoid of this Author figure,  

which is entirely about multiple  interpretations and pluralities. 

So, this text in multiple ways, continues to  be seminal in our understanding of Postmodern  

literature, in our understanding of Postmodern  critical practices and in our understanding of  

how the idea of the text, how the idea of  the Author and also how the emergence of  

the reader becomes extremely significant in  understanding Postmodernism in literature. 

Thank you for listening, I will look  forward to seeing you in the next session.