Read the passage and answer the questions:
The explanation of a work is always sought in the man or woman who produced it, as if it were always, in the end, through the voice of a single person that literature spoke: through the voice of a single person and the imprints of his or her passions. The image of literature that we seek to sustain is tyrannically centered on the author, his life, his history, and his intentions. But to give a text an Author is to impose a limit on that text, to furnish it with a final signified, to close the writing. Such a conception is born of the rationalist and capitalist ideologies that have placed the individual at the center of history, emphasizing his authority and coherence. Yet, in reality, writing is a destruction of every voice, of every point of origin. Writing begins at the moment the Author is set aside, and language speaks—not the Author.
To refuse the Author is not to refuse meaning, but to refuse the tyranny of a single, authoritative meaning. The text, instead, becomes a space of multiple interpretations, where meaning is neither fixed nor final. The unity of a text is not located in its origin but in its destination; it is the reader, not the Author, who gives meaning to a text. This radical displacement shifts the power from the creator to the interpreter, from the supposed intention of the writer to the infinite play of signifiers within the text itself.
According to Barthes, what happens when we remove the Author from our understanding of literature?
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B
Explanation
Correct Answer
The text gains the freedom to mean different things.
Explanation
To determine what happens when the Author is removed, evaluate the specific effects outlined in the second paragraph of the passage:
Textual Evidence: The passage explicitly states that "To refuse the Author is not to refuse meaning, but to refuse the tyranny of a single, authoritative meaning."
Consequence: By removing this singular authority, the text "becomes a space of multiple interpretations, where meaning is neither fixed nor final."
Conclusion: This directly translates to the text gaining the flexibility and freedom to carry various meanings depending entirely on the interpreter (the reader) rather than being limited to the writer's original intent.
Key Points
Core Concept: Removing the author shifts the analytical power from the creator to the interpreter.
Exam Shortcut: Eliminate options that suggest a total loss of meaning or restricted boundaries. The passage heavily emphasizes themes of "multiple interpretations" and "infinite play," pointing directly to the concept of interpretive freedom.