Meanings Are Abstract, Not Concrete

On page 37 of Beginning Theory by Barry, the fourth idea expressed about theory is that “the meanings within a literary work are never fixed and reliable, but always shifting, multi-faceted and ambiguous.” Everyone has a different set of beliefs, values, and background that alters their opinions of a text.

First, the meanings in literary work as always shifting is apparent in your own approach to a text. If you are sad at the time you are reading a novel, you may transmit your feelings into your interpretation of characters or events occurring in that novel. Also, rereading a novel can help you to discover a new outlook about a character or setting that you did not pick up on beforehand.

Secondly, the meanings of a text can be multi-faceted, which effects your interpretation. For example, aspects of happiness can be analyzed. Is it just a feeling, or is there more to it? Are there requirements for being happy, like qualities you need to be deemed as happy? Is happiness a state of mind, or a result of an experience or action (innate, or acquired through external surroundings)?

Lastly, there’s ambiguity in texts. For example, if a character in a novel is said to have a “dark appearance,” that could be could be taken as the shade of clothing, the dimness of lighting in the setting that gives the character shadows, or it can describe an evil look, and so on. Each of these interpretations of a dark appearance will evoke different ideas the reader ascribes to the character’s personality and how the reader feels about the character.


                                                  The World Wide Web of Happiness

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