Criticism In 'The Intentional Fallacy, And Great Expectations'

W. K. Wimsatt and Monroe C. Beardsley are two of the most famous New Critical theorists. Their essay, “The Intentional Fallacy” impacted and further developed the study of New Criticism. It even has a profound impact on the way scholars practice criticism now. “The Intentional Fallacy” exposes the various “fallacious” or mistaken approaches to the interpretation of literature. It is false to believe that literature follows through with what the assumed purpose is from the author himself. Wimsatt and Beardsley argue that there are a whole variety of meanings of which the author might even be unaware of or never intended to be. If the audience can produce textual evidence, that meaning is valid. Meaning is found within the text itself and not within the intentions of the author. If the reader focuses on the intentions of the author, that is a fallacy or a mistaken approach to the

For example, Dickens portrays the symbol of certain characters’ hands as a representation of their own hearts. “The sheer number of hand-related references in Great Expectations makes the topic difficult to miss. There are more than 450 allusions to the word “hand” alone, with many of them appearing regularly in the text’s tragi-comedic undercurrent” (Capuano 187). Pip recounts, “knowing her to have a hard and heavy hand, and to be much in the habit of laying it upon her husband as well as upon me, I supposed that Joe Gargery and I were both brought up by hand” (Dickens 8). Mrs. Joe’s character is described by her hands and her role throughout the novel proves this meaning. She is authoritarian, abusive, and uncaring. She not only abuses Pip, but she mistreats her own husband as well. On the other hand, Joe’s hands are portrayed to have “the touch of a woman” (Dickens 136). Although his hands are strong and callous, they also prove to be gentle like his