Elmo, Macherey

After reading and reflecting on Pierre Macherey’s “A Theory of Literary Production” I came to have a new understanding of the word silence. One quotation from the reading that struck me was “silences shape all speech” (17). I underlined this in the essay and then continued to read. As I read onward, I had a better understanding of its meaning. While we initially read for the upfront meaning of the words on a page, we often times also read in order to understand a deeper hidden meaning. Macherey says, “speech eventually has nothing more to tell us: we investigate the silence, for it is the silence that is doing the speaking” (17). This is the essence of Macherey’s entire essay. When we read it is important for us to look further, we need to look beyond the words on a page. We need to talk about reading, try to examine and understand what the author might have been thinking, but not necessarily writing down for us. This silence that we investigate may provide us with more insight than we think. The interpretations we come up with aid us in drawing conclusions and ultimately understanding the authors opinions. Macherey later states, “to know the work, we must move outside it” (20). This also seems to be central in Macherey’s thinking because to truly “know” and understand a work we must look outside the box at the abstract thoughts and ideas that go along with the written words. I had never really thought about the things not said in writing as “silences” but after reading Macherey’s work I have come to understand this term with a new light. I always try to gain insight by looking for the underlying messages or meaning from a piece of literature but I never knew exactly why I would do this. Now I know that by doing this, I am actually gaining more knowledge of the work. Perhaps this concept could go along with the expression, “silence is golden”; because now I know that there really is something special to be said about the silence.