Evil author

[dumbledore11214]

Alla:
<SNIP>
> > I think it still requires a mind reading to figure out for WHAT 
> > purpose message was put in the story :)

Catlady: 
> I'm sorry, Alla, you're not very successful at reading my mind
> (long-distance anyway).

Alla:

Yes, I knew that I was not very succesful as the student of 
divination, heheh, thus I restricted myself to the guesswork :)

Catlady:
> You *did* get that it was the hypothetical person, not me, who 
thought
> that that message (choosing goodness over obedience) was an evil
> message. <SNIP>

Alla:

Sure.


Catlady:
<SNIP> 
> And you *did* put your finger on the Real Point I was trying to
> display, except you disagree with it. << I think it still requires 
a
> mind reading to figure out for WHAT purpose message was put in the
> story >>. I am pushing that in many cases it takes only reading the
> *text* (NOT the writer's mind) with an ear for connotations to 
figure
> out for what purpose the message was put into the text.
>

Alla:

Well, thank you I guess, but I am afraid you lost me then. Textual 
analysis is well, textual analysis ( forgive me for this sentence 
full of depth, lol), but how is figuring out the story translates 
into figuring out author's personality?????

Wasn't that the point as well, which you were arguing as 
hypothetical with which you disagree?

I mean, by analysing the text we can figure out.... what exactly?

Plot development, symbolism in the story, character arc, etc, etc, 
etc.

I find the idea ( and I have no idea if you are arguing this or not, 
sorry) that by reading the text we can figure out the personality of 
the author beyond earlier discussed author's attitude to the 
characters to be bizarre.

I mean, there is that idea in *Crime and Punishment* that 
extraordinary people can kill other people and laws be damned.

I mean, sure the person who entertains that  idea suffers a whole 
lot, but how do you know that Dostoevsky approves the suffering for 
the crime and not just put the suffering there for the sake of the 
story?

Maybe he put that theory in there on purpose to say that it is the 
right one?

I mean, I do not think he did, but we can speculate, no?

I just cannot wrap my mind around author writing the work of fiction 
and somebody ( not you obviously) judging the author real life 
personality without ever meeting her and concluding that she is evil.

Strangely bizarre. IMO of course.

Alla.