Global Fandom Jamboree: Elizaveta Kasilova

My fan studies research is devoted to the receptive analysis of the Harry Potter novels by J.K. Rowling. Here, the problem of reader’s reception is examined on the material of fan fic texts which are considered a fixed receptive response. Reader's creativity is analyzed via “interpretation map” – the reading model formed jointly by author and reader. The research is concentrated mainly on the Russian reading experience of Rowling’s novels that did not lose its own originality despite the fact it includes European and American reception background.

I offer a new concept – “interpretation map” – in order to solve the problem of interaction between the text and the reader. The process of reading is considered the process of formation of the “interpretation map” consisting of two parts, invariant and variable. The invariant part includes literary and cultural traditions explicated by the author, “memory of a genre”, various thematic and figurative references; the variable part is filled by the recipient during the process of reading: what is read is influenced by reader’s experience in life and in reading, and by additional factors that determine reader reception (critical reviews, literary awards reviews, public actions, publishing policy).

The proposed term is a logical continuation of the works of the representatives of transactional reader-response theory (especially Wolfgang Iser’s [Iser 1989, 2000]) on the interaction between the reader and the text and on the “implicit reader” category. Iser did rarely take into account the real reader; it remains unclear how the text directs the reader, to what extent the reader obeys the text, how we should deal with the elements of the reader's interpretation that are imposed on the text by the reader, contradicting the author's intention. The “interpretation map” term is designed to solve this problem. The relations between the reader and the text are presented in the form of an infinite number of reading routes, which are determined by both author and reader. The author places some identification marks in his text, and the reader is free to choose to what extent he wants to follow them and whether to follow them at all; the reader is free to unite these identification marks in associative rows, not necessarily implied by the author, to give them different meanings or rebuild them in another hierarchy. The identification marks placed by the author are the invariant part of the interpretation map, and the extent to which they are to be captured, reinterpreted and rearranged in some associative rows by the reader forms its variable part.

Interpretation map is individual and is formed by the real reader during the process of his reading and under the influence of the text. I see the two-component nature of the map as a compromise between the unambiguously dominant role of the text from the point of view of transactional theory (W. Iser, H.R. Jauss, F. Rosenblatt, etc.) and the almost-negation of the text as an independent object in affective stylistics and subjective and psychological receptive theories (where the structure of the text is equated to the structure of the reader's response).

In this research [Timoshenko 2018] I consider fan texts a fixed receptive response, a form of creative mastery of the high literature and a kind of intercultural communication. The field of fan literature makes possible to see the process of reading, process of interpretation, and demonstrates the specificity and the interaction between individual and collective forms of interpretation.

In fan literature the category of author is revised, and the reader, while creating his response text, determines to what extent he should focus on the invariant part of the “interpretation map” and with which associations from personal experience and cultural luggage he should fill the variable part. The source text exists in the world of fan reader and is perceived not as a complete aesthetic object, controlled by the author's intention, but as a model of the world with hero archetypes which allows him to think and write about life and tell stories using these images.

There is somewhat peculiar relationship between the author of the source (in our case, Rowling) and readers: on the one hand, the Harry Potter text is of the greatest significance and value (the author of the fanfic must explain which pieces of original information were taken into account), on the other hand, interpretative freedom, that inherent fan fiction feature, proves that in the reader’s eyes the author of the source does not have a monopoly on truth. The author of the original text is its narrator, just like the author of the fan fic, who does not only fill the “gaps” in the original text, but also sometimes change the events quite drastically.

The most striking feature of fan fic texts – the reproduction of key scenes of the source text – is conditioned by giving equal rights to the writer and to the fan fiction author as storytellers working in the same literary universe. 

Fan fiction gives us opportunity to analyze the reader's reception as a collective activity, as I said before. Fan fiction written by fan community is regarded as a discourse controlled by the “canon” (i.e., the Harry Potter novels cycle) and the “fanon” (a collection of popular and most influential fan-made interpretations of the source). When a fan fic author is writing his text, he should inscribe it in the “canon” so that the text would be acknowledged as a part of the Harry Potter fan field; it is also impossible to ignore popular fan interpretations, as each new fan text becomes a “cue” in the dialogue that fan community represents.

Fan fic authors and readers’ interpretation of the source text has two forms, implicit and explicit. Implicitly the interpretation is expressed in the fan text, explicitly – in the author's comments and discussions that surround the fan text. Fan texts as well as discussions contain numerous references to the source (Rowling’s novels) that become the “access code”, creating a separate group of fan readers.

Fan literature dialogism is embodied in a specific type of image, “charactereme”, which reduces the hero to a set of repeating features, both external and internal [Prasolova 2009]. The discourse nature of fan creativity is also expressed in the specific chronotope of fan texts: an author takes well-known places from the Wizarding world in order to inscribe his text into Rowling’s universe. Fan texts are not always tied to the time period of the Harry Potter books events, but temporary markers (Harry Potter’s school years, Harry’s parents’ school years, etc.) are always present in the fan fic, directly or indirectly.

“Fanon” also includes a set of “interpretative clichés”, which are international and does not depend on national factors. Via “interpretative clichés” analysis I can divide them into creative interpretations of 1) love plots, 2) climactic moments of the Harry Potter saga, 3) images of main characters, 4) family relations, 5) wizarding world in general; 6) dominant space or time coordinates of the fan fic events. In addition to international “interpretive clichés”, there are many other sustainable interpretations in the fan community.

One of the most important part of the Russian fan interpretation’ analysis is a discussion on the questions: 1) How do Russian fans understand literary and cultural allusions in the Harry Potter cycle? 2) Are there any Russian specifics in Russian fan fiction?

Despite the fan authors’ attempts to make Russian fan texts sounds “in the English way”, there are lots of specific features in representation of characters, plot devices, concepts, etc. 

For instance, the “universal hero” archetype (Rowling used it describing Harry Potter) is transformed into the set of features called “heroism”, inherent for Harry as a character. However, this set is used in fan fiction in different ways: a popular pattern is to explain Harry’s heroism, his being elected, as a heavy burden imposed by a) fate (thus Harry stands very close the hero of classic tragedy), b) cruel society, which does not care about a broken life (in this case hero’s image acquires some features of a so-called “small man” – important Russian cultural concept), c) cunning politicians (Harry appears a puppet, naive idealist, who is being sacrificed for some great idea). 

As another example, “snake-like opponent”, Lord Voldemort, rarely appears in fan texts; the “snake” connotations are understood by Russian fan authors, but the Dark Lord himself becomes a background rather that an acting character. Perhaps it is because of these folklore connotations that the readers perceive the antagonist as an abstract evil, not a person with his own experience and life choices, and therefore he is not suitable for the strategy of emotional intensification so important for fan literature. Death Eaters (Voldemort’s allies), however, are exposed to psychological unfolding and sometimes justification, “protest interpretation”. 

Rowling’s appeal to national folklore traditions while describing magical creatures and wielding magic is supported in a number of fan texts. I know fan texts in which a ritual rooted in some national tradition is described, but these rituals are interesting to the author only as a way to show the developing of some kind of relationship between the characters.

The “Englishness” of Rowling’s books is reflected in fan texts in the form of attempts to create “British flavor”: 1) they use foreign names and descriptions of real places in England; 2) they mention English everyday realities; 3) they appeal to cultural phenomena (e.g., classic English literature); 4) they mention the features traditionally attributed to British mentality.

Russian national specificity is manifested in the considered texts explicitly and implicitly: explicitly – in the names of fan texts or separate chapters referring to famous Russian poems, etc., in the use of Russian colloquial expressions; and implicitly – in the form of behavioral or social traits that consciously or unconsciously penetrate into fan texts. Colloquial speech and profanity are used by the author most often to create a comic effect via the combination of incongruous: typically “Russian” speech inside English fairy tale. If specific Russian vocabulary and imagery are used seriously, and not for comic relief, it is, as a rule, perceived as marginalized by members of the fan community and is ridiculed in discussions inside the community. 

As the analysis of the texts shows, the reader most often takes into account the invariant part of the interpretation map (to the extent allowed by his/her reading experience and education), since thus it is possible to create his/her interpretation, but he is absolutely free to decide to what extent he/she should obey Rowling’s intention. The source exists in the fan reader world not as a complete aesthetic object, controlled by the author's intention, but as a myth, a certain model of the world with some archetypal participants, and using them one is allowed to speak freely about life, about oneself, to tell stories of one’s own liking.

Fans’ attachment to the “characteremes” when an infinite range of interpretations and the development of images has already been invented by Rowling, shows that the characters are used in fan writing not only to create a reinterpretation, but also as a way to tell one’s story, talk about problems, express feelings. As Rowling’s heroes’ “characteremes” are connected to the images that exist in our minds and popular culture as certain patterns or stereotypes, they are being used very actively. 

There is a revision of main literary categories in the field of fan literature: 1) genre system becomes a system of labels associated with some event, plot scheme or mood; 2) an image exists as a set of fixed features, but fans are free to interpret it as they see fit, which reflects the nature of reader's perception of character and his existence in culture, especially popular culture; 3) reader's interpretation is considered not so much as personal phenomenon, the formation of which is connected to the psyche of a particular person, but as a social phenomenon.

Fan fiction literature also shows how national and international aspects are interconnected: while the international system of interpretative and genre clichés is very well developed, national matters are also reflected in the fan fiction.

References

1.     Wolfgang Iser. The Range of Interpretation. – 2000. 

2.     Wolfgang Iser. Prospecting: From Reader Response to Literary Anthropology. – 1989.

3.     Prasolova K.A. Fanfiction: A literary phenomenon of the late XX – early XXI century (the work of fans of J.K.Rowling). - Philosophy Doctor Thesis (in Russian). – Kaliningrad, 2009.

4.     Timoshenko (Kasilova) Elizaveta K. Reception of the Harry Potter novels by J.K. Rowling: Russian reading pattern. - Philosophy Doctor Thesis (in Russian). – Moscow, 2018.

Elizaveta Kasilova - PhD in literature (Russian State University for the Humanities, subject of the dissertation paper: “Reception of the Harry Potter novels by J.K. Rowling: Russian reading pattern”). She is a literature teacher at the National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow, and a creator of the courses on creative writing and guest lecturer at culture centers “Level One”, “Punctum”, “Chitalcafe” (Moscow). Her research interests are mostly concentrated on fan fiction, comparative research, creative writing.

Her publications related to “Harry Potter” and fandom are: 

1.     Kasilova E.K. Russian fan fiction about “Harry Potter” as a model of the reader's reception: reinterpretation of archetypes. - Archives of Affect. Productivity in Fan Cultures. Amsterdam University Press. (in press)

2.     Timoshenko E.K. Allusions to the Arthurian legend in J. K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter”. Humanities and Science University Journal, 2018, no. 41, pp. 129-134. (in Russian)

3.     Timoshenko E.K. Neo mythological issues of J.K. Rowling’s novels “Harry Potter”. Udmurt State University Bulletin, 2017, vol. 27, i. 5, pp. 767-770. (in Russian)

4.     Timoshenko E.K. The Russian fan fiction strategies in texts based on the “War and Peace” by Leo Tolstoy. Udmurt State University Bulletin, 2015, vol. 25, i. 6, pp. 89-94. (in Russian)

5.     Timoshenko E.K. The “Russian code” in fan fiction on “Harry Potter”. National codes in 19th-21st century European literature, collective monograph. Lobachevsky State University of Nizhni Novgorod, 2016, pp. 238-245. (in Russian)

6.     Timoshenko E.K. Genre originality of fan literature: cliché, canon, “fan poetics.” Proc. 45th International Philological Research Conference. St. Petersburg, 2016, P.58. (in Russian)

7.     Timoshenko E.K. Fanfiction of community of fans of the Harry Potterʼs saga as a discourse. STEPHANOS online edition. Peer reviewed multilanguage scientific journal. Project of Philological faculty of Lomonosov Moscow State University. 2015, no. 6 (14), pp. 250-255. (in Russian)

8.     Timoshenko E.K. Russian reception of the English text: fan fiction on Harry Potter. Proc. 44th International Philological Research Conference. St. Petersburg, 2015, pp. 81-83. (in Russian)

9.     Timoshenko E.K. Russian fan fiction on Harry Potter: image system and chronotope. Russian literature in the world cultural context: 5th International congress. Selected papers and abstracts. Moscow, Belyi Veter Publ., 2015, vol. 1, pp. 714-719. (in Russian)