Gray 1

ShannonGray
LIBA497.NO1
Dr.TamaraHunt
1June2015
WhatisaTextwithnoAuthor?

InFrenchliterarycriticRowlandBarthessessayDeathofanAuthor,Barthes
voiceshisoppositiontowardsthepracticesofclassicliterarycriticisminwhichaworkis
readandanalyzedwithlargeregardtowhatmessagetheauthoristryingtoconveytothe
audience.Barthesarguesthatratherthanabsorbingthecontextofthewriterandwhat
imprintheorshehasleftonawork,awrittentextshouldbeitsownentitythatgenerates
uniquemeaningwitheachofitsconsumers;completelyseparatefromtheauthorwho
createditandwhattheirintentionsmayhavebeen.
Barthesssuggestedwayofchangingthisintermixingofcomposerandcomposed
istoreplacetheauthorwithwhathecallsthemodernscriptor,whichremovesallofthe
personwritingexceptforthehand,cutofffromanyvoice,bornebyapuregestureof
inscription(andnotexpression)(Barthes279).FrenchphilosopherMichelFoucaultin
hisarticleWhatisanAuthor?whichalsoanalyzestherelationshipbetweenthetext
andtheauthorversusthetextandthereaderopposesBarthessargumentoverthe
importanceofanauthor.
OverallBarthessargumentisunderstandableandagreeabletoanextent,likehis
beliefthatthereistoostrongofalinkbetweenanauthorandhisworkaswellasthe
observationthatnotenoughattentionisputonthereaderandanalyzingtheirresponseto

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atext.Nonetheless,therearealsosomepointstohisnewsuggestedapproachtowriting,
specificallytheconceptofthescriptoraswellasthesuggestedlimitationsanauthor
imposesonaworkpostproduction,thatIdonotagreewithandthatmanyoftheclass
readings,suchasFoucaultsrebuttal,disproveorcounterargue.
ThebiggestissueIpersonallyhadwithBarthessargumentthatmanyoftheother
writersalsodidnotagreewithishisbeliefthat,togiveatextanAuthoristoimposea
limitonthattext,tofurnishitwithafinalsignified,toclosethewriting(Barthes279).
Foucaultdoesnotappreciatethewayinwhichwritingusunderestimatedherewith
Barthesimplyingthataworkisnotcapable,thatbyitselfitisnotstrongenough,tohave
anauthorandalsopossessandproduceitsownmeaning.Foucaultsaysinsteadthat,
writingisidentifiedwithitsownunfoldedexteriority.Thismeansthatitisaninterplay
ofsignsarrangedlessaccordingtoitssignifiedcontentthanaccordingtotheverynature
ofthesignifier(Foucault281).TobetterunderstandFoucaultspoint,aswellastheone
beingmadeinthepaperbasedoffofhispoint,theremustfirstbeanunderstandingof
signs,signifiers,thesignified,andwheretheyallcomefrom.
Thesignifiedistherootofallsigns;itisthecoreinwhichexpressionand
communicationdiffusefrom.InFoucaultsquote,signifiedcontentcouldbereplaced
withoriginalthought,theideathattheauthorhadwhichsparkedhiswriting.The
signifier,ontheotherhand,iseverythingusedtoexpressthatthought,itistheexternal
representationoftheinternalthought,andinthecaseofwritingitisthetextitself.
Therefore,tobreakdownwhatFoucaultwriteswouldbetosaythatwritinghaslesstodo
withtheauthorsthoughtandmoretodowiththetextitself.

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ThispointissoveryimportantbecauseFoucaultwantsexactlywhatBarthes
wants,forthetexttobeinfluentialandexistonitsown,butFoucaultspointshowsthat
textsalreadypossessthisindependencethatbothpartiesdesireandthatthereistherefore
noneedforaction.Authorshipislikemotherhood;thecreationofatextandthe
relationshipbetweenabookanditsauthorislikethatofamotherfirstcarryingandthen
havingachild.Awrittenworkstartsoffasthough,asmallseedplantedintheauthors
mind.Itcouldnotexistonitsownorsurvivewithoutthehelpoftheauthor.Itisthejob
oftheauthortocarrythisideaasamothercarriesherchild,developingit,nurturingit,
givingitpiecesofherselfinorderforittodevelopfully.Andlikeamother,whateveris
intheauthormayfinditswayintothebook.Ifamotherdoesdrugsandsmokesand
drinksitwillaffectthebabyinamuchdifferentwaythanifshetookcareofherself.
Likewise,theexperiencesandemotionsfoundinanauthormayseepintohiswriting.On
theothersideofthings,whenababyisstilldeveloping,itdependsentirelyoninits
mother;ifsheweretodiethebabymaydiealongwithher.Thisisthesamewithatext;if
theauthorweretoberemovedfromatextduringitscreationthenwewouldbekilling
thetextitself.
Butalsolikeamothergivingbirth,onceanauthorhaspublishedhiswork,onceit
hasenteredtheworldasitsownentityseparatefromitscreator,thenheorshenolonger
hasthesamecontroloverthattext.Itisnolongerapartofthem,butsimplysomething
thathascomefromthem.Anauthormayexplainandspeakoutabouthisbooklikea
mothermaypraiseorbragabouttheirchild,butattheendofthedaytheyareboth
separatedfromtheircreations,justapersonobservingthatworklikeeveryoneelse.

Gray 4
Movingfromwritertoreader,theimportanceofauthorshipandtheneedfora
subjectiveauthorratherthananobjectivescriptorinwritingandreadingisjustas
defined.AfterreadingDonAbbottsRhetoricaEElocuencia:TheEvolutionof
RhetoricalThoughtinEighteenthCenturySpain,itwouldseemappropriatetoargue
thatareadersconsumptionofrhetoricandtheprocessofanalyzinganinterpretingthat
rhetorictoformpersonalopinionsusactuallyverybeneficialtothedevelopmentof
knowledgeandisthereforeextremelybeneficialtoreadersandtheircriticalthinking
skills.AbbottwritesabouttheMayansbeliefinthefourrationalartsofknowledge
andthat,manmustlearntofind;tojudgethatwhichisfound;toretainthatwhichis
judged;andtoteachthatwhichisretained(Abbott297).Thisquotecanbereadin
regardstoboththemanasawriteraswellasthemanasareader.
Awritermustlearntofindmeaninginathoughtoridea,hemustjudgeor
interprethisthoughtsandtheirpersonalmeaning,hemustretaintheconclusionshehas
drawnandtheopinionshehasmade,andhealsomustteachhisaudiencetheconclusions
thathehascometothroughhiswriting.Areader,ontheotherhand,mustlearntofind
hisownmeaningwithinatext,hemustanalyzethepersonalmeaningsfoundinthattext,
hemustkeepthedecisionsthatweremadeaboutthetextsmeaning,andthenhemust
alsoteachothersabouthisownassessmentandinterpretation.
ThisisalsowereanissueriseswithinBarthessessayandhisproposedtreatment
oftheAuthorbeforeatextispublished.Hesaysthat,TheAuthoristhoughttonourish
thebook,whichistosaythatheexistsbeforeit,thinks,suffers,livesforit(Barthes
278),andIcompletelyagree.Atextthathasnotbeennourishedorprovidedfor,onethat

Gray 5
hasnotbeensustainedorstrengthenedbythesubjectivityofanauthorbutratherforged
bytheobjectivedetachedhandoftheproposedScriptor,isatextthatbecomesfragile,
malnourished,hollow;itlacksdepthoranygreatermeaning.
WithaScriptorthereisundeniablynooriginality;notbecauseoriginalitydoesnot
exists,butbecausethevoidoforiginalitycomesfromtheobliterationofcreativity
injectedbyanAuthor,byemotions,byexperiences.BarthesgoesontosaytheScriptor
nolongerbearswithinhimpassions,humours,feelings,impressions,butratherthis
immensedictionaryfromwhichhedraws(279).Adictionarydoesnothaveexperiences,
itdoesnotunderstandemotion,allitcontainsarewords,whicharedefinedbymore
wordsindefinitely.Thatiswhythepersonaltouchofauthorshipmustbeaddedtomake
upforwhatlanguagecannotcreateonitsown.
MichaelUllyotinhisessayEarlyModernBiography,NewHistoricism,andthe
RhetoricofAnecdotesisquickandtoannouncethatmanywriters,suchasWilliam
Haydon,openlyuserhetoricandsubjectivewritingtoexpresstheirthoughtsand
interpretations.Haydonistransparentabouthisrhetoricalmotivesinthisbiography,
whichopenlyselects,interprets,andappliestheevidencenecessarytomakeacaseabout
hissubject(Ullyot309).Hegoesontosaythattheirrhetoricaluseofantidotes
convincereadersofthecriticscredibility,indispensability,andresourcefulnessinsum,
thisusecreatestheethosnecessarytopersuadeustheyarelegitimate(313).Ullyot
bringsupanimportantpointherethatIdontthinkIwouldhavethoughtofonmyown.
AsIsaidinmypreviousexampaper,thethreeelementsthatmakeuprhetoricareethos,
logos,andpathos.Itcouldbeeasilyarguedthatallthreeoftheseelementsarepossible

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onlythroughthepresenceofanauthor.Whatmakesatextoriginalisthemeaning
behindit.Themeaningthattheauthorhadinwriting,themeaningtheaudiencefoundin
readingit.Meaningisinjectedintoandextractedoutofaworkbythosewhointeract
withit.Withascriptorwrittentext,therewouldbenomeaning.
TakingthewayBarthesdescribestheScriptor,assomethingthatsolelycreatesa
puregestureofinscriptionandtracesafieldwithoutorigin,theproductofaScriptor
wouldlackallthreeelementsofwriting.AScriptorremovesallemotionandfeelingfrom
atext,whichalsoremovesitspowerofpathospersuasionandcanbethemost
detrimentaltoaworkbecausepathosisarguablythemostpowerfulelementofthemall.
AlsowithaScriptorsremovalofauthorshipthereisalsoalossofcredibility,aworkno
longerhasrootswithinapersonsknowledgeofthewriting,andanentitywithoutroots
cannotstandnorcanitgrow.Lastly,withtheremovalofthoughtputintoatextandwhat
isbeingsaid,itisverylikelythatalllogicalcontentislostaswell.WithaScriptor
pullingwordsfromitsenormousdictionaryatrandom,withnomotiveorgoal,itisvery
possiblethataworkwillnotonlylackdeepermeaningbutthatitwillalsolackanytype
ofsenseatall.IfallthewordsintheEnglishlanguagewereputintoabowlandpulled
outatrandom,itisveryunlikelythatthewordorderwouldmakeanysense;itiseven
lesslikelythatthesentencesmadewithprovideanymeaningforthereaderatall.
Theoriginofawork,bothbeingtheauthorwhowroteitandtheideathatsparked
it,areofnoconsequencetoawrittenworkbecausethetextnolongerthere.Whatmatters
toatextiswhereitisgoing;whereitwillbe.Afteratexthasbeenpublished,itsorigin
withintheauthorsmindnolongermattersbecauseitisnotthere.Whatwasoncehisor

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herpersonalwritinghasnowmovedintothehandsandmindsofreaders,anditisthe
readerthatmustbeattheforefrontwhenconsideringatextatthatpoint.Awriterwrites
forhisreader,butareaderconsumesatextforhimself.ToremoveanAuthorfromatext
wouldprovidenobenefitforthereader,butratheritwoulddamagetheexistenceofthe
author,reader,andtextaswell.Takingtheprosandconsofbothsidesoftheargument,it
isclearthattheAuthorneedsaplacewithinatext.

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Works Cited
Abbott, Don. "Retrica E Eloguencia: The Evolution of Rhetorical Thought in Eighteenth
Century Spain." Quarterly Journal of Speech 64.3 (1978): 295-303. EBISCO.
Web.
Barthes, Roland. "The Death of the Author." 2006. The Book History Reader. Ed. David
Finkelstein and Alister McCleery. 2nd ed. New York: Routledge, 2006. 277-80.
Print.
Foucault, Michel. "What Is an Author?" The Book History Reader. Ed. David Finkelstein
and Alistair McCleery. 2nd ed. New York: Routledge, 2006. 281-91. Print.
Ullyot, Michael. "Early Modern Biography, New Historicism, and the Rhetoric of
Anecdotes." Clio 40.3 (2011): 307-29. Indiana University Purdue University of
Fort Wayne Campus. Web.