(3) With regard to the first column, I have included the slash between
Actual Author and Implied Author for two reasons: (a) I find that the extended
arguments about the efficacy of the concept of implied author have given the
term so much baggage that it does not readily communicate what I would like
it to, that is, the streamlined version of the actual author responsible for the
construction of the narrative, including its ethical and thematic commitments.
From the rhetorical perspective, designating an authorial agent is far more
important than whether one calls that agent an author or implied author. To
put this point another way, theorists who want to reject the implied author
but retain the author as the constructor of the text have far more in common
with me than those who want to reject the implied author because they believe
meanings arise primarily out of text-audience interactions. That said, (b) I still
find the concept of the implied author useful, and, in some cases, I find it all
but indispensable. On its overall utility, see the discussion in chapter 9. On its
indispensability, consider hoax memoirs and especially the negative responses
the exposure of the hoax typically generates. In those cases, drawing on the
difference between the actual author and implied author enables a clear and
effective account of the teller-listener relationships. The actual author per-
petrates the hoax by constructing a purported version of himself who tells
26 • CHAPTER 1
TABLE 1.1 CHART OF CONSTANTS AND VARIABLES IN NARRATIVE COMMUNICATION
AUTHOR ←----→ RESOURCES ←----→ AUDIENCE
ACTUAL/
IMPLIED
AUTHORIAL AND ACTUAL
(ESP. RHETORICAL)
Paratexts
Occasion
Narrator(s)/Narration
Characters/Dialogue
FID
Voice
Style
Space
Temporality
Arrangement/Gaps
Narratee/Narrative Audience
Genre/(Non)Fictionality
Intertextual References
Ambiguities
Etc.