Meaning, Intent, and the Implied Author

Abstract

Abstract The implied author has been assigned three major functions: 1. The implied author is a necessary parameter in the communicative model of literary narrative fiction. 2. The implied author is a design principle, responsible for the narrative techniques and the plot of the text. 3.The implied author is the source of the norms and values communicated by the text. In this article I propose a critique of the three functions and defend the idea that if an author-figure reveals itself through a text — a phenomenon which can occur to variable degrees — it is as the manifestation of a real person that this figure attracts the interest of the reader. J.L. Borges' ironic text “Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote” is invoked in support of the view that an implied author imagined on the basis of the text exclusively cannot account for its full significance.

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