Bidirectionality in Literature & Literary Theory

Bidirectionality: Etymology

Bidirectionality is a term derived from the fusion of “bi,” meaning two, and “directionality,” denoting the quality of having a specific direction.

In an academic context, bidirectionality refers to the interactive and reciprocal nature of a relationship or process where influence or communication occurs in both directions. It als underscores the idea that causation or effects are not unidimensional but rather mutual, acknowledging the interconnectedness in a system.

This term often appears in various disciplines, such as psychology, communication studies, and sociology, to articulate the dynamic, two-way nature inherent in many phenomena under study.

Bidirectionality: Concept in Literary Theory

Aspect	Meaning
Bidirectionality Definition	Interactive and reciprocal relationship between elements within a literary text.
Text-Reader Interaction	Mutual influence between readers and texts, emphasizing reader interpretation alongside author intent.
Intertextuality and Bidirectionality	Interconnectedness between texts, creating a dynamic network of meaning where texts influence and are influenced by each other.
Author-Reader Relationship	Bidirectional communication acknowledging readers’ unique experiences and perspectives shaping text interpretation.
Character-Reader Interaction	Exploration of how readers shape and are shaped by characters in a narrative, projecting emotions onto fictional personas.
Time and Bidirectionality	Bidirectional connections between past and present events, influencing reader comprehension through narrative temporal aspects.
Cultural Bidirectionality	Examination of bidirectional exchange of ideas and meanings between cultural influences in the text and readers’ cultural backgrounds.
Narrative Structure and Bidirectionality	Analysis of bidirectional relationships created by narrative structures, including nonlinear storytelling and multiple perspectives.
Dialogical Nature of Bidirectionality	Recognition of literature’s dialogical nature, where ongoing conversations between text and reader continually shape meanings.
Reader Response Theory and Bidirectionality	Exploration of how reader response theory emphasizes the active role of the reader in constructing meaning, highlighting bidirectionality in the reading process.

Bidirectionality: Definition as a Literary Term

Bidirectionality in theoretical terms refers to the dynamic and reciprocal relationship between different elements in a text.

It signifies the interactive exchange of influence between various components, such as the interplay between the author’s intent and the reader’s interpretation.

This concept underscores the multidimensional connections in a narrative, showing interactions among characters, the temporal structure, and cultural influences, contributing to the nuanced nature of literary meaning.

Bidirectionality: Theorists, Works, and Arguments

Theorist	Works	Arguments
Wolfgang Iser:	The Act of Reading: A Theory of Aesthetic Response (1976)	Iser emphasized the active role of the reader in the literary experience, highlighting bidirectionality in the creation of meaning as readers engage with the text.
Roland Barthes:	S/Z (1970) and The Pleasure of the Text (1973)	Barthes explored the idea of intertextuality, emphasizing bidirectional relationships between texts and the role of the reader in constructing meaning through engagement with multiple texts.
Julia Kristeva:	Revolution in Poetic Language (1974)	Kristeva’s discussions on intertextuality and the semiotic chora highlight bidirectional influences between the linguistic and non-linguistic elements, contributing to the complexity of literary interpretation.
Hans Robert Jauss:	Toward an Aesthetic of Reception (1982)	Jauss introduced the concept of reception theory, emphasizing the role of the reader in shaping literary meaning and positing a bidirectional exchange between the text and its audience.
Umberto Eco:	The Role of the Reader (1979) and The Limits of Interpretation (1990)	Eco discussed the openness of texts to interpretation and the variability of meaning shaped by both the author’s intent and the reader’s engagement, illustrating bidirectional communication in literary interpretation.

Bidirectionality: Major Features

1. Reciprocal Influence: Bidirectionality in literature involves a reciprocal and interactive relationship between different elements within a text. This mutual influence shapes the overall meaning and dynamics of the literary work.
2. Dynamic Reader Engagement: One major feature is the dynamic engagement of the reader. Bidirectionality recognizes that meaning is not solely determined by the author’s intent but is actively constructed by the reader through interpretation and interaction with the text.
3. Intertextuality: Bidirectionality is evident in intertextuality, where texts are interconnected, and one text can influence and be influenced by other texts. This feature emphasizes the ongoing conversation between various literary works.
4. Author-Reader Relationship: The bidirectional communication between the author and the reader is a key feature. Readers bring their own experiences, perspectives, and cultural background to the interpretation of the text, influencing the way they understand and interact with the author’s work.
5. Character-Reader Interaction: Bidirectionality extends to the interaction between readers and fictional characters. Readers may project their emotions onto characters, empathize, or sympathize, creating a dynamic relationship between the reader’s experience and the narrative.
6. Temporal Aspects: Bidirectionality encompasses the temporal aspects of a narrative. Flashbacks, foreshadowing, and other temporal elements create bidirectional connections between past and present events, influencing the reader’s comprehension.
7. Cultural Bidirectionality: Cultural influences play a significant role in bidirectionality. Both the cultural context of the text’s creation and the cultural background of the reader contribute to a bidirectional exchange of ideas and meanings.
8. Narrative Structure: The structure of a narrative, including nonlinear storytelling or multiple perspectives, is a major feature of bidirectionality. Different parts of the text may interact bidirectionally, creating a complex and layered narrative experience.
9. Dialogical Nature: Bidirectionality highlights the dialogical nature of literature. The text and its various components engage in an ongoing conversation with the reader, shaping and reshaping meanings as the reader progresses through the work.
10. Reader Response Theory: – Bidirectionality is a foundational concept in reader response theory. This theoretical framework emphasizes the active role of the reader in constructing meaning, highlighting the bidirectional nature of the reading process.

Bidirectionality: Relevance in Literary Theories

Theory	Relevance
Reader Response Theory	Crucial for understanding how readers actively shape meaning through interpretation, emphasizing bidirectionality in the interaction between the text and the reader.
Intertextuality	Central to recognizing the interconnectedness between different texts, highlighting bidirectional relationships and emphasizing that a text’s meaning is influenced by its connections.
Poststructuralism	Aligns with the idea that meaning is not fixed by the author, emphasizing the multiplicity of meanings and the active role of the reader in the construction of meaning.
Reception Theory	Focuses on the reciprocal exchange between the text and the reader, emphasizing bidirectionality in how readers receive and interpret texts.
Dialogism (Bakhtin)	Emphasizes the interactive and dynamic nature of language and meaning, highlighting bidirectionality in the ongoing dialogue between the text and the reader.
Hermeneutics	Acknowledges the dual movement of understanding, involving a mutual interpretive process where interpreters engage with the text and bring their own pre-understandings.
Cognitive Poetics	Considers bidirectionality in the cognitive processes involved in reading, examining how the reader’s cognitive responses dynamically shape and are shaped by the literary text.
Cultural Studies	Explores bidirectionality by considering the cultural context of both the text’s creation and the reader’s background, emphasizing the reciprocal relationship between literature and culture.
Narrative Theory	Incorporates bidirectionality in analyzing the structure of narratives, examining how different narrative elements interact bidirectionally, contributing to the dynamic flow of meaning.
Postcolonial Theory	Examines bidirectionality in the power dynamics between colonizer and colonized, focusing on the bidirectional exchange of cultural influences and perspectives in postcolonial literature.

Bidirectionality: Relevant Terms

1. Reader-Text Interaction: Reciprocal engagement shaping meaning.
2. Intertextuality: Web of meaning between texts.
3. Authorial Intent: Author’s intended meaning.
4. Dialogism: Dynamic language interaction.
5. Reception Theory: Reader’s role in interpretation.
6. Cultural Context: Bidirectional cultural influences.
7. Narrative Structure: Organized event arrangement.
8. Hermeneutics: Interpretation theory.
9. Temporal Dynamics: Time-related narrative elements.
10. Cognitive Poetics: Cognitive processes in reading.

Bidirectionality: Suggested Readings

1. Iser, Wolfgang. The Act of Reading: A Theory of Aesthetic Response. Johns Hopkins University Press, 1978.
2. Barthes, Roland. S/Z. Hill and Wang, 1974.
3. Kristeva, Julia. Revolution in Poetic Language. Columbia University Press, 1984.
4. Jauss, Hans Robert. Toward an Aesthetic of Reception. University of Minnesota Press, 1982.
5. Eco, Umberto. The Role of the Reader: Explorations in the Semiotics of Texts. Indiana University Press, 1979.
6. Bakhtin, Mikhail. The Dialogic Imagination: Four Essays. University of Texas Press, 1981.
7. Fish, Stanley. Is There a Text in This Class? The Authority of Interpretive Communities. Harvard University Press, 1982.
8. Booth, Wayne C. The Rhetoric of Fiction. University of Chicago Press, 1983.
9. Rosenblatt, Louise M. The Reader, the Text, the Poem: The Transactional Theory of the Literary Work. Southern Illinois University Press, 1994.
10. Fish, Stanley. Surprised by Sin: The Reader in “Paradise Lost”. Harvard University Press, 1998.