Morphologies and Functions of Self-Criticism in Modern Times: Has the Author Come Back?
2003; Johns Hopkins University Press; Volume: 118; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1353/mln.2003.0029
ISSN1080-6598
Autores Tópico(s)Linguistic Studies and Language Acquisition
ResumoThe practice of reflecting upon oneÕs own art is probably as old as literature. Nowadays the custom has taken on a new significance, since we consider the literary text to be an open work with ever-expanding borders, including those heterogeneous practices which adorn and accompany the bound text: titles, epigraphs, dedications, notes, inscriptions, etc. Consequently the interactions between text and paratext, writer and reader, the producer of the text and its user, its owner and its producer, and the reciprocal nature of literary experience are my concerns here. In this article I will be using modern examples of self-consciousness in epitexts (SabaÕs Storia e cronistoria del ÔCanzoniereÕ) and peritexts such as prefaces (EcoÕs Il nome della rosa, SvevoÕs La coscienza di Zeno, CalvinoÕs Il sentiero dei nidi di ragno) and afterwords (SavinioÕs Hermaphorodito, GaddaÕs La cognizione del dolore, TabucchiÕs Si sta facendo sempre piu tardi). I here suggest three main functions of authorial criticism which can be very well present at the same time and integrated. First, it may be a list of real or potential variants, as in SabaÕs critical work. Secondly, self-commentary can occur as self-censorship or moral and poetic justification. This is the case of SabaÕs essay and GaddaÕs post-face in La Cognizione del dolore. Finally, self-commentary can place the text within an historical and linguistic tradition, as with Calvino's preface, or within a line of personal development, as with Svevo' s preface. In most cases authorial commentaries, I propose, are responsive. They arise out of an authorÕs reaction to his text, sometimes printed earlier, and are by definition dependent upon that text for their meaning. I hope to show the importance of reading these texts for precise information about the laborious process of creating literature and its historical and literary setting.
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