Barthes Multi-dimensional Space

April 30th, 2008 Fred McVittie Posted in Barthes, Roland, Dimension, Knowledge, Space, Up |

In ‘Death of the Author’ Roland Barthes refers to a text not as ‘a line of words releasing a single ‘theological’ meaning (the ‘message’ of the Author-God) but a multi-dimensional space in which a variety of writings, none of them original, blend and clash.’ The dimensionality that Barthes is referring to here is, presumably, the tissue or fabric of language (and quotations) which make up the text. In making mention of the concept of ‘dimension’ he invokes the idea of a space, in this case a space of connection, deferral, and difference. Within the terms of the metaphor of this blog however, it might be more useful to talk about the ‘three-dimensional space of writing’. In this imaginary space there is horizontal extension away from the body and there is vertical extension. The objects of knowledge which are created by some of the writing are positioned at some distance in the horizontal plane, whilst some are positioned closer. Distant objects are most clearly delineated and bounded, separate from contamination by the body of the subject. Closer objects of knowledge fall within the reach and grasp of the hand, and are given affordance and malleability by their proximity. Objects inside the body cease to be objects at all, and acquire the properties of subjecthood.

The vertical dimension offers a vantage point from which a greater span of space might be panoptically available, and this elevated position offers the possibility of overview unavailable from ground level. The higher ground also suggests a more rarified, convergent, ’spiritual’ view, from which the irrelevant details disappear in favour of the grand plan.