The Arabic Graphic Novel and the Death of the Author The Dialectic Between the Algerian Text and Western Theory

Abstract

The graphic novel is considered a narrative form that has developed recently to provide a dynamic depiction of social, political, economic, and intellectual-cultural conditions, as it represents a space for experimentation and free expression. Here, comics appear as a discourse open to interpretation, often surpassing the author’s intent, embodying the reader’s participation in producing meaning.
The hybrid nature of this discourse reshapes narrative relations, enabling the reader to produce significance. This reinforces Barthes’ idea of textual openness and the multiplicity of interpretive levels, surpassing the notion of a single meaning (the death of the author). Based on this, the focus of this paper revolves around the extent to which the theory of the “death of the author” can be applied to the Algerian graphic novel specifically, in Roland Barthes’ conception, to assess the ability of this discourse to produce meaning independent of the author’s intent and the degree to which this meaning is liberated from the author’s references and identity.
The paper begins by identifying the most evident differences between the premises and foundations of the Arabic text and Western theory. Based on the divergence of references, it highlights the main difficulties encountered when applying Western theory to the Arabic text in general, such as: the methodological regulation of concepts (concept of text, concept of author, concept of language…), as well as other problems: (translation, consideration of context…).
It then examines the principles of Barthes’ death-of-the-author theory and its relation to comics in general, before dedicating a section to its reception in Algerian criticism. This is done through presenting the nature and specificities of comics in Algeria and examining the extent to which this theory can be assimilated, clarifying both facilitating and opposing factors. Finally, the paper offers a brief analysis of practical examples (from the most famous Algerian comic novels) in two parts: one concerning the difficulty of applying the death-of-the-author theory, and the other concerning the possibility of applying it.
It concludes that the death-of-the-author theory in the Algerian graphic novel is not theoretically rejected; however, it is simultaneously not literally applicable in practice due to the nature of the Algerian text, its cultural and social contexts, and the nature of the Algerian Arab reader.