Snape, Snape, Loverly Snape...and authorial intent

[exodusts]

No: HPFGUIDX 148301

> Lupinlore:
>
> True.  However, one should never forget that interpretation of 
> anything, be it a novel or the U.S. Constitution, is a profoundly 
> political act.  As I've said before, in a very real way the books 
> are about certain things, in my case child abuse, because we say 
> they are about child abuse, just as Tolkien's work was about WWII 
> because people said it was.
> 
> The problem is what to do with the notorious "original intent" of 
> the author/framer/creator?  How does the author's intent, in so far 
> as it can even be determined, play into the politics of 
> interpretation?  How much should it play into those politics?

Exodusts:

Just a quick point that is getting off-topic: to Tolkien, his own 
work was very much about his life just before, during and after World 
War One, and that is probably the single strongest interpretation to 
bear in mind when reading it (whatever anyone else brings to the 
mix). Author's intent is not the only tool to understanding a work, 
but is often the most powerful and most obvious.