Thoughts on Kolodny

"We must reexamine...the inherent biases and assumptions informing the critical methods which (in part) shape our aesthetic responses" Annette Kolodny

After reading Ms. Kolodny's essay, Dancing Through the Minefield, I find the quote above to be very interesting and somewhat controversial. If human beings, as both readers and critics of literature, are supposed to ignore and throw away all of the assumptions and judgements we have grown up being taught and learning, then what does this leave for us to interpret a work of literature with? I understand that Kolodny is trying to remind us all that it is important to put aside biases and read text from a neutral perspective, but quite frankly, I think this is virtually impossible. The word in the above quote which undermines Kolodny's desire is "inherent." I was incredibly confused by this statement because if something is inherent, it usually means that the person who it is an inherent thought or quality to has no concept of the idea what so ever. This then, would make it extremely difficult to pinpoint and do away with those social constructs which define the way a certain individual reads and interprets a text. I also have an incredibly difficult time with this concept because I believe, to some extent, that biases are important to the interpretation of literature. All human beings have grown up in different contexts. The way I interpret a particular poem is going to be incredibly different from the way somebody who has grown up in a completely different environment is going to interpret that same poem. And this is the beauty of discussing literature! Because we have grown up in completely different contexts and because we have different biases, we each bring new elements to the text that others can think about and learn from. Now, I understand the danger in biases as well, because some people's biases overrule them completely, only allowing them to have a closed mind when interpreting text. However, when used in a good way, with an open mind and communication, the biases and social contexts from which we look at the world can provide a great learning experience for both ourselves and other literary critics that we engage in discussion with. 

I think my real problem with Kolodny's above quote is, again, her use of the word inherent. This word just throws me off because to me, if something is inherent, it cannot be or is extremely difficult to identify within oneself--making it even more difficult to get rid of. 

On another note, I really appreciated Kolodny's view that the "individual success of some women is not enough." I think one of the main issues with bringing women into the light as great writers who should have their voices heard is that when one woman gets published or has her voice heard, she feels so has achieved success and stops there. I agree with Kolodny that there needs to be a community effort when it comes to allowing women's voices to be heard. If every woman just looks out for herself and her own voice, nothing is going to be accomplished.