An interesting quote by a translator of Borges

[Kyriakos]

This time not a quote by Borges himself, but of one of his most notable (in fact by far the most notable) translators of his work into Greek.

According to which "a labyrinth is that which its creator knows to be finite, but also that which the person lost in it mistakes for being infinite in its variations".

I think that this is a very nice quote. And i was thinking of something relevant, since half an hour ago i finished a 3-pages very short story. In it something horrible may be happening, but at the same time it is not evident if it is happening.

And i wondered if a reader could read the story, do not pick up its hidden meaning, but feel horrified nonetheless since some deeper part of his psyche will have computed it perfectly well (it just would not be conscious).

Is it ethical, in your view, for a writer to deliberately play such games with the reader's mind? And could it be dangerous? Spoiler for more information particular to the labyrinth in this story:

Spoiler :

It is narrated by someone who seems to be perpetually in a hospital, visiting a friend, and then doing the same circular movements, walking out of the corridors and rooms and having a walk in the garden of the hospital.
Then he returns to the room of his friend, who just wakes up once more, and they have a little discussion.
Now the hidden meaning of the story, which i sought to craft, is that narrator and friend may well be the same person, and this would explain the circular moves, since the narrator is confined to his bed in the room, but has fooled himself into thinking he is merely a visitor there.
The labyrinth has a minotaur as well, since the narrator (but not the friend) appear to know that the friend has had one of his legs amputated.

So, if you want to, have a look at the spoiler, and reply if you believe this kind of crafting in a story to be potentially ominous, and not a very good idea

 

[Kyriakos]

Anyone? I think it is a reasonably good question :suicide:

Maybe too literature-oriented though.

 

[downtown]

Also prob in the wrong forum.

 

[Ayn Rand]

I don't know anything about storywriting - but as for ethics, the ultimate judge is you. As you've brought it up, this means that perhaps you don't feel comfortable using this technique. You probably know that often, authors or film-makers reveal the meaning of the story in some subtle way, or perhaps an obvious way that is designed to flatter the reader by appearing to be subtle. Perhaps you could use the technique but bring the reader into it as an equal partner, perhaps implying in some way that the reader is supposed to imagine what it would be like to not know. As I say, I don't know about writing - however I do know that an artist should never make anything they don't feel entirely comfortable with [unless your purpose is somehow served by such discomfort, but I'm not an artist!]

 

[Kyriakos]

Well usually i want to be (to some extent) in control of what is going on to the reader's mind. Now this is not that easy- perhaps it is impossible- since the reader reconstructs the story in his own mental world which is different from mine. But generally i am of the view that most meanings of the story will remain hidden, but experienced in some deeper sense- through emotion which appears unintelligible- by the reader. Then again the reader may discover other meanings of which i am not conscious of, and i had that happen to me some times, people making observations which make utter sense about my plots, but which were not conscious to me while i was writing them

 

[Ayn Rand]

Well usually i want to be (to some extent) in control of what is going on to the reader's mind. Now this is not that easy- perhaps it is impossible- since the reader reconstructs the story in his own mental world which is different from mine. But generally i am of the view that most meanings of the story will remain hidden, but experienced in some deeper sense- through emotion which appears unintelligible- by the reader. Then again the reader may discover other meanings of which i am not conscious of, and i had that happen to me some times, people making observations which make utter sense about my plots, but which were not conscious to me while i was writing them

Interesting post - it has never really occured to me that it may be possible to give careful thought to crafting a series of thoughts in the mind of another. Perhaps that is why literature is not so real to me - and why I'm such a bad writer

Anyway, it is insightful to realise the care and thought you put into your writing, and that you view it primarily from the perspective of being inside the mind of your reader. I'm sure that if you carry on with this view then you can only do well

 

[Kyriakos]

Thank you

Well i am of the view that what gets communicated is not the actual meaning, but the mental patterns creating a meaning. A bit like picking up an equation not as having known variables, but as a relation of unknown ones; the equation still forms a pattern, whereas if it was known digits you would just be led to a numerical conclusion.

So i suspect that it is very different from what i have in mind, what each reader takes in from the work, but in the end there is some sort of "communication"

 

[warpus]

Is it ethical, in your view, for a writer to deliberately play such games with the reader's mind?

It isn't only ethical, but also required of authors to play games with the reader's mind