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From Ruth As a student of lit (one of many on this list), I wanted to reply to your questioning of interpretation...I think that in the context of 'studying' literature, it would be impossible not to be in some way affected by others' interpretations, by your own reading being directed to the symbolism seen by other readers. Sometimes this does go far beyond authorial intention; that seems to be the state of the discipline these days...? But as for Joyce and religious symbolism, I don't think that's too unlikely, given Joyce's own strongly religious education. And about the East, doesn't it still stand for the 'unknown', as far as the west is concerned? i.e, it is still the source of 'Other'. That's just my musing on the subject... From Chandra Does it mean that we, the readers, see only what we want to see? what we are programmed to see? Does it mean only Joyce knows the answer to the question whether the girl in Araby was just an ordinary girl, or whether she was Eve or even Maria? Does it also mean that it hardly matters who Joyce intended her to be? If yes, then what matters is what she is to me, what kind of tune she plays on my harp. I actually like this interpretation of mine :-) It does not matter whether the girl can play any tune at all, what is more important is whether and how my harp responds. From Ruth I like your interpretation too - essentially a reader's interpretation is the final one, and anyway, reading, like Life is a subjective experience...I think that all the levels of interpretation u mention are correct and valid: the 'play' of meanings in language is infinite, as is deferral of Meaning. Art is all things to all (wo)men..? From Champa Chandra, I too am not a student of literature in the classical sense but a student of literature none the less! Yes I had to learn to read literature and to mine for meaning in the writing and get at truly what it means. This informs my writing as well, and my writing informs my reading of literature so it is a circular process. Anyway, Chandra, I find I have to read Joyce's and other writers that I admire, not once but several times. And in these works, short fiction, it is well to remember that not one word, not one sentence, is there without reason so you need to always ponder as to what they are trying to say. And yes always look for symbolism, metaphors. The course I took taught me to break down a story, and to see it from its historical/cultural/social context and exposed me to a lot of different writers in a short time from Hawthorn to Carver to Jamaica Kincaid. It may seem like a lot of work but it's incredibly more fun to read it that way. When I write I find I need to read my own work, go over it again and again, to know where I am going and what I'm trying to say! I know this sounds crazy but many writers work this way, so that the story emerges from the writing and not the other way around. |
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