Proposing, disposing, proving: Barthes, intentionalism, and hypertext literary fiction

Abstract

ABSTRACT Hypertext has been described as embodying Roland Barthes' ideal text. This paper considers that association, and the relationship of each to literary theory's historical privileging of authorial intention over reader interpretation. Firstly it outlines the rise and fall of authorial intention in literary theory, culminating in Roland Barthes' 1967 essay The Death of the Author. Secondly, it challenges the relationship between anti-intentionalism and hypertext in three ways: by exploring hypertext as a dialectical situation, which places the reader in dialogue with the author; by challenging Barthes' galaxy of signifiers as an embodiment of links; and finally, by establishing a disciplinary emphasis on hermeneutics as intrinsically readerly in nature. The paper concludes by considering whether an intentionalist approach might in fact be the best fit for hypertext fiction.