As with many other books we have read throughout the semester, a central theme in Aura was perception. For example, Aura and Conseulo were the personification of one identity with two ways to look at it. I think you can apply this to reading literature as a whole. From what I’ve learned so far, there isnt one absolute truth, no one way to interpret the purpose of a quote, and no fixed way to read a book. You can read a book for its similarity to war to start a discussion on the horrors of Vietnam, or you can read that same book to try and find the truth to story telling. Thus, a book is one identity with many different ways of looking at it. It’s almost the same thing as reading a poem. The meaning behind the poem is the meaning that you find, and its not necessarily the meaning that the author intended (does that meaning even really matter?).
I like your comment that Aura and Consuelo are just two different perceptions of the same thing. Although many people have touched upon this point in various ways, I think you have phrased it the best in relation to the course.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting to go into class and have an idea of what you think the novel means, and then hear something completely different that is just as valid as your own interpretation. With respect to the author's intensions, maybe he meant to imply multiple interpretation. But I am a strong believer that the book is in the readers' hands as soon as it is published. Although there may be clear themes in the novel that an author is trying to point out, the details may get lost and others detail may come out. Just as the class has pointed out, you may something and someone interpret in a totally different way that you had not intended but you also agree with.