An introduction to reader-response theory Ian Farrugia. 20.10.

2020

Throughout theoretic developments throughout the 20th century academics have explored different
approaches to the relationships between reader, text and meaning: the classical communication
schema. Different ways with which to tackle fiction were developed from the application of different
approaches to these three attributes and the weight that the reader holds in meaning in opposition
to the text.

Annotations allow the reader to become closer to Wolfgang Iser’s idea of an ideal, cultured reader.
They provide a context for references and critical aspects to be learnt in a fashion that is smoother
than independent research from the text. However, as you are learning about this context as you are
going along it is still a learning journey. This in turn is a give and take. The clear up of historical,
social, cultural, and religious context, as well as relevant factors of the author’s life and intent, serve
to provide a much clearer picture which is in many cases necessary. However, while this brings you
closer to the writer’s intended reader in terms of knowledge, it is active enough to be more tiring
and the interruptions make reading the text a longer and more drawn out process. It removes a valid
part of the rhythm of the story from the reading.

The notion of a narratee is an interesting addition from Gerald Prince. The film equivalent would be
the circumstances where the viewer follows a protagonist that is new to a circumstance and is
having circumstances explained to them, thus to the viewer a relay between narration and
perceiver. Notable instances of the direct involvement of a narratee are Maus and The Handmaid’s
Tale.

Maus is an example where the writer himself is both narrator and narratee at separate times. The
narrator-narratee relationship in Maus is also a father-son relationship. The interviews are a device
for the writer to learn about his father. Thus, there is a relationship of trust guiding the telling and
for the same reason it is more personal and emotional.

In The Handmaid’s Tale the narrator-narratee relationship is more subtle. There is hope in the
recordings of Offred, but her relationship with the listener is not fully one of trust as she records
while the regime is still active. Thus, not only is the narrator unreliable (an idea relevant to the novel
and novel discussion), but so is the narratee. This affects in turn both the narrator and the reader.
Offred omits details and changes names for the safety of herself and others. It echoes the fear of
being watched, constant in Gilead. She dares to hope of a sympathetic listener but instead finds a
sceptical scholarly society. The reader also questions the degree to which narratees have affected
the recording. It is revealed that the post-Gilead scholars have arranged the recordings in an order
that they suppose might be chronological. Whether or not previous narratees or the scholars
themselves have omitted from the narration is unknown.

The examples mentioned above are particularly Post-Modern in nature. Especially that of The
Handmaid’s Tale, where the concept is more complex and deeply woven into the plot itself. It is
interesting to note though, how this notion has been explored prior to the concept’s 1971 definition.
Such an example is Frankenstein, which is introduced and concluded by letters from Captain Walton
to his sister. The freedom of discussion in the letters allows a clearer view of the plot.

Iser suggests that there are two types of literary works. One is artistic, the text itself; whereas the
other is aesthetic; the reader’s virtual imagination of the text. He argues that the latter should not
affect the former directly. There is an argument to be made against this idea however, when it
comes to book illustration. An illustrator extends his virtual conceptualisation of the text into visual
art. Which in turn can become so closely connected to the text as a book cover or in page
illustrations that it directly effects the reader’s thematic approach to the reading and their visual
imagination of the story. It gives a new element to print books.

Taking the Haruki Murakami books for example. The minimal three coloured illustrations feel
mechanical, cold and serious when compared to the first paperbacks for the English translation.
They make the unique stories feel like they shifted from quirky young adult novels to a branch of
literary fiction. Perhaps this was intended for the way that the stories are marketed, but they do give
the stories a different atmosphere.