The Death Of The Author
(Barthes, Roland.)
A path breaking treatise on literature that changed the way the world viewed the role of an author. Roland Barthes, contrary to the popular notion of the author being the omnipotent, omniscient force behind a piece of work, believes that he is no more than a mere narrator of events. The role of an author is over once he has written what he set out to write. From thereon it is up to the readers how they perceive the piece of work.
Perhaps that explains the fact that the same book can at times be the ultimate, blissful reading experience for one person and utter trash for another. That proves that one can not ignore the intelligence, psyche, state of mind and socio-political background of a reader in gauging the success or failure of a book. In fact the same book may be loved by a person at some point in his life and hated at some other point in his life. So where does that leave the all-important role of an author.
The process of publishing is akin to giving birth. A mother nurtures a child in her womb to the best of her ability. Yet, once the child is born, the umbilical cord has to be cut to let the child live its own life. Similarly, an author conceives a piece of literature in all earnestness, giving his heart and soul, sweat and toil. Yet, once the written word is in the public domain, it is no more his sole property.
The author effectively concludes that the birth of a conscientious, informed, self-actualized reader occurs at the cost of the death of an author. You may agree or agree to disagree for isn?t Roland Barthes an author himself, his book no more a sole possession of his than it is of any other person.
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