Bella 1/29 Post Class

“Are there [texts] which say what they mean without depending directly on other texts?”- Macherey 16.

At first, I was a little put off by this quote. The concept seemed abstract, and like Macherey argues, could be interpreted in a manner of ways. I sat trying to wrap my head around his meaning of the question, however, and came to a conclusion. If I am following Macherey correctly, he would believe every text is open to interpretation and can’t say what it means because every interpretation will distort it. He likes the idea of open texts, fluid ideas. Each writer, reader, critic, or whoever is able to interpret a text through his/her own lenses. A text’s message is going to be different for each and every person who comes across it, and therefore could never have one solid meaning. A person’s cultural understanding, experiences, beliefs, etc. will drastically change the dynamic and perception of a single message. Text can mean anything, it is fluid, moving, changing. It is simply circumstance that whoever is reading this right now understands the words I am writing. You and I simply have a common understanding for the English language, and therefore are able to communicate. My messages are going to be received and understood by you. A person living in Germany, who does not know English, however, will have no idea of my messages or meanings. The circumstances of our lives are drastically different–we will not be able to communicate our messages to each other. We cannot understand each others’ meaning because we can’t fallback “directly on other texts” as Macherey says.

Does text ever really have its own meaning? Is it even possible? An author has a message, a reader perceives it, and a critic judges it. Does the text itself have a meaning? In class today, we ended class with the quote, “In order to say anything, there are other things which must be left unsaid”-Macherey 17. I am kind of captured by this idea….never before have I focused on the silence of a situation rather than the words, and I can’t even think of an example of something that uses this technique. Dr. Rog said that “the best authors/texts leave parts of their arguments unsaid”. Anyone have any examples of this? I get it….I appreciate it, I understand it, I just can’t think of any examples of when this has happened.