Week 8 - The Death of the Author

  The Death of the Author written by Roland Barthes is an essay that asserts when one reads a piece of writing that the reader enters into birth and the author dies. Historically, people have had to find out everything about an author or an artist to attempt to understand the work that they produced. This is why there are so many biographical books on artists, such as Van Gogh, Tchaikovsky, and Baudelaire. According to Barthes, there is great importance put on the author’s life, his taste, and his passions. Because of the nature of capitalism, it attaches importance to the author. Otherwise, how would one sell its work and capitalize on it? 
 When reading this essay, the author that came to my mind is the famous French author, Alexandre Dumas. He wrote books like The Three Musketeers, The Count of Monte Cristo, and The Man in the Iron Mask. Dumas had much success in his writing career. Dumas became accustomed to a lavish lifestyle from the royalties of the books that he wrote. He wanted to continue to afford his luxurious lifestyle so much so that he continued to frantically write in order to afford his life. He eventually went into debt and was unable to pay back his creditors. Even so, his books are so adventurous and popular that even Hollywood has made movies out of them. My point is if it weren’t for capitalism would there be such an emphasis on the author? 

Portrait of Alexandre Dumas, 1855, oil on canvas


 Additionally, Barthes asserts that once a text is narrated the author loses its voice and enters into his own death. In this essay, Barthes references a french Poet Mallarme. Mallarme states that the “language speaks not the author”. Mallarme stressed the linguistic of a text. I can agree with this assertion to some degree. 
 If the author is removed, the reader’s thoughts are not contaminated by who wrote the text. But instead, the reader brings their own experiences and background to the text and the piece of literature takes on a different meaning. On the other hand, I would argue that if it were not for the author there would be no text for the reader to read and gather some meaning from it. I try to apply that thinking to something more tangible, like a house. Someone must design the house, have the money to buy the materials to build the house, then have a plan to build the house (down to the foundation, the plumbing, and the electrical). There are so many parts to building a house. Society (in this country) does not put much emphasis on the builder of a house. However, the families that have purchased a home and built memories in that home, that is what sticks. I think when applying Barthes's argument to a house it makes more sense to me. 
 There is also the idea that nothing is original and that everything is a quotation. I think this statement is true in that when one writes or produces a piece of work, the work that is made has influences. For instance, this blog is completely influenced by what I read and by the statements of other students in class. It also has my own personality and experiences trickled throughout the text, but it is not completely original. 
    Initially reading this essay, it made no sense to me and I did not agree with the writer at all. But after thinking about what my classmates have said and meditated on Barthes' thesis, I agree with his assertion.

Sources

Barthes, Roland, “The Death of the Author,” 1967.

Powell, William Henry. “Portrait of Alexandre Dumas.” Smithsonian American Art Museum. Accessed October 18, 2021. https://americanart.si.edu/artwork/portrait-alexandre-dumas-19997. 

Comments

  1. SandrahOctober 18, 2021 at 10:45 AM

    Great post! I feel that the sentiment that removing the author gives the reader the ability to apply their own meanings and experiences to the text is true, but capitalism definitely complicates both the responsibility and influence of the author. Authors are given so much power from their platforms under capitalism and it's an important factor to truly understanding the influence they hold. I would be curious to know some of the specific things our classmates have said which influenced your ultimate take, if you're into sharing that.

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  2. Yvonne_HumeOctober 19, 2021 at 1:37 PM

    Hi Sandrah,
    Thank you for your feedback. To answer your question, I mainly had a difficult time understanding the reading. But after having the discussion in class about the reading, I re-read the essay and tried to apply his thesis to something more tangible, which helped me understand his point of view. But at the end of the day, when some one is attempting to communicate something, I think it’s natural for humans to want to understand what the writer is trying to say. It’s basic consideration for that individual.

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