'A Victorian Fable (with Glossary)': Authorship as imposture. Issue 2 (1st October 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Thomas, Karima
• Is Part Of: Short fiction in theory and practice. Volume 6:Issue 2(2016)
• Page Start: 191
• Page End: 205
• Publication Date: 2016-10-01
• Subjects: Short story -- Periodicals; 808.31
• DOI: 10.1386/fict.6.2.191_1
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2043-0701

Abstract

Angela Carter's 'A Victorian Fable (with Glossary)' can be read as an allegory of the production/reception processes as well as the author/reader relationship. Through the study of its language, structure and enunciative economy, important premises concerning authorship are undermined. First, the myth of the author as a prophet gave way to the image of the author as a craftsman; second, the illusion of the author's will-to-say gave way to the reader's role in meaning ascription and the revelation of the Reader-as-author imposture. As a reader of Carter's short story, I will in my turn find myself in the position of an impostor, calling upon the real author and quoting her declarations, trying to build conformity between the real author and the authorial figure interpellated in the text.