( The Author in Literary Criticism in the Nineteenth Century)

Abstract

Abstract: The problematization of the "author" in nineteenth-century literary criticism assumed a central position within the intellectual and cultural transformations that Europe experienced at the dawn of that century. It was closely tied to profound philosophical and social changes that became embedded in the intellectual and cultural fabric of the age. This period coincided with the rise of individualist philosophy and the consolidation of the modern notion of the self, which, in turn, shaped the understanding of the literary text as an extension of the author’s consciousness and as a manifestation of their creative experience. Romanticism, in particular, underscored the genius of the author as a singular creator capable of constructing a symbolic world grounded in individual uniqueness. Conversely, the same century witnessed the emergence of positivist tendencies that framed the author in social and historical terms, interpreting them as a product of the intellectual and cultural milieu to which they belonged.

Philological studies and historical criticism reinforced this perspective, shifting attention from the text as an isolated entity to the text as a document that reveals its cultural, historical, and political contexts. Likewise, realism contributed significantly to highlighting the author as a social agent committed to representing reality and interrogating its structures. Within this framework, new conceptions of the text–author relationship emerged, encompassing both the individual, creative dimension and the collective, historically situated one.

Furthermore, major intellectual movements such as Marxism and the sociology of literature reshaped the definition of the author, moving away from the idea of a transcendent self and toward conceiving of the author as a bearer of ideology and as a position within networks of cultural production. In conclusion, the nineteenth century constituted a formative moment in establishing a dual perspective on authorship—one that continues to shape debates in literary criticism up to the present day.