William Ray is Associate Professor of French at Reed College, Oregon.

• Introduction The Quest for Literary Meaning: A Historical OverviewPhenomenology and the "Intentionality" of MeaningDeconstruction and the Challenge to Stable InterpretationPart I: Foundations of PhenomenologyChapter 1: Edmund Husserl and the "Transcendental Ego"The concept of "Noema" and "Noesis"The "Epoché" or Bracketing MethodApplying Phenomenology to Literary TextsChapter 2: Maurice Merleau-Ponty and the Body SubjectEmbodiment and PerceptionThe "Flesh" and IntercorporealityImplications for Literary ExperiencePart II: Deconstruction and the Critique of MeaningChapter 3: Jacques Derrida and the "Logocentrism" CritiqueThe "Trace" and "Différance"The "Supplement" and the Play of LanguageDeconstruction of Binary OppositionsChapter 4: Key Concepts in DeconstructionUndecidabilityAporiaThe "Textual" and the "Contextual"Part III: Applying Deconstruction to LiteratureChapter 5: Deconstructing Narrative StructureUnreliable NarratorsThe "Open Ending"The Role of AmbiguityChapter 6: Deconstructing Character and IdentityThe "Split Subject"The "Other" in LiteratureGender and Identity Politics in DeconstructionChapter 7: Deconstructing Genre ConventionsThe "Subversion" of GenreThe "Hybrid" TextThe Limits of Genre ClassificationConclusionThe Legacy of Deconstruction in Literary CriticismBeyond Deconstruction: New Directions in InterpretationThe Ongoing Debate about Meaning and Interpretation

William Ray is Associate Professor of French at Reed College, Oregon.

• Introduction The Quest for Literary Meaning: A Historical OverviewPhenomenology and the "Intentionality" of MeaningDeconstruction and the Challenge to Stable InterpretationPart I: Foundations of PhenomenologyChapter 1: Edmund Husserl and the "Transcendental Ego"The concept of "Noema" and "Noesis"The "Epoché" or Bracketing MethodApplying Phenomenology to Literary TextsChapter 2: Maurice Merleau-Ponty and the Body SubjectEmbodiment and PerceptionThe "Flesh" and IntercorporealityImplications for Literary ExperiencePart II: Deconstruction and the Critique of MeaningChapter 3: Jacques Derrida and the "Logocentrism" CritiqueThe "Trace" and "Différance"The "Supplement" and the Play of LanguageDeconstruction of Binary OppositionsChapter 4: Key Concepts in DeconstructionUndecidabilityAporiaThe "Textual" and the "Contextual"Part III: Applying Deconstruction to LiteratureChapter 5: Deconstructing Narrative StructureUnreliable NarratorsThe "Open Ending"The Role of AmbiguityChapter 6: Deconstructing Character and IdentityThe "Split Subject"The "Other" in LiteratureGender and Identity Politics in DeconstructionChapter 7: Deconstructing Genre ConventionsThe "Subversion" of GenreThe "Hybrid" TextThe Limits of Genre ClassificationConclusionThe Legacy of Deconstruction in Literary CriticismBeyond Deconstruction: New Directions in InterpretationThe Ongoing Debate about Meaning and Interpretation

William Ray is Associate Professor of French at Reed College, Oregon.

• Introduction The Quest for Literary Meaning: A Historical OverviewPhenomenology and the "Intentionality" of MeaningDeconstruction and the Challenge to Stable InterpretationPart I: Foundations of PhenomenologyChapter 1: Edmund Husserl and the "Transcendental Ego"The concept of "Noema" and "Noesis"The "Epoché" or Bracketing MethodApplying Phenomenology to Literary TextsChapter 2: Maurice Merleau-Ponty and the Body SubjectEmbodiment and PerceptionThe "Flesh" and IntercorporealityImplications for Literary ExperiencePart II: Deconstruction and the Critique of MeaningChapter 3: Jacques Derrida and the "Logocentrism" CritiqueThe "Trace" and "Différance"The "Supplement" and the Play of LanguageDeconstruction of Binary OppositionsChapter 4: Key Concepts in DeconstructionUndecidabilityAporiaThe "Textual" and the "Contextual"Part III: Applying Deconstruction to LiteratureChapter 5: Deconstructing Narrative StructureUnreliable NarratorsThe "Open Ending"The Role of AmbiguityChapter 6: Deconstructing Character and IdentityThe "Split Subject"The "Other" in LiteratureGender and Identity Politics in DeconstructionChapter 7: Deconstructing Genre ConventionsThe "Subversion" of GenreThe "Hybrid" TextThe Limits of Genre ClassificationConclusionThe Legacy of Deconstruction in Literary CriticismBeyond Deconstruction: New Directions in InterpretationThe Ongoing Debate about Meaning and Interpretation