The Role of the Reader

Eco’s The Role of the Reader points to the construction of the reader in a closed text as well as the open text. This construction of the reader depends upon the intention of the author in the closed text while the role of the author is limited in an open text as it does not require a reader to read the text consciously. An open text has an open structure and invites the reader to examine it using multiple approaches for the production of a hosts of meanings. In contrast, the closed text impedes the reader from generating his own meanings since the text continuously reminds him that its relevance emerges from the time period in which it was produced. The reader finds himself stuck in the closed meanings deeply rooted in the life of author. Not only this, the text forces the reader to context it with the author’s politics. There is another dimension to it which Eco defines in the following words - ‘‘You cannot use the text as you want, but only as the text wants you to read it’’ (Eco, Role 9).  In order to construct a model reader with the help of text, the art of decoding the meaning from the structure of the novel has to be learned.