With these stirring words the American critics, W. K. Wimsatt Jr. and Monroe C. Beardsley, established a principle still maintained by many: namely that once a book is published its author relinquishes authority over it and becomes, in effect, a reader like any other, with ** special power to determine meanings or control interpretations. Any intentions **t realized in the book itself can**t be shoehorned in by post-facto pro**uncements, even by the author.
It was always more complicated than that, but the relationship of J.K. Rowling to the world of the Harry Potter ****** shows the serious limitations of this view. Read more...