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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Kahuna Burger" data-source="post: 2777474" data-attributes="member: 8439">why thank you, I think I will.  <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /> First of all authors may be influenced by and present ideas that they would honestly claim weren't meant to be part of their story. To give an extreme example, suppose Bob the writer has a story in which two male supporting characters live together, show up at "family" events together, etc. Folks reading the book decide the characters are gay. Bob the writer is insulted at the very idea, the characters are composites of his brother (and said brother's good friend) and a couple of fellows he knew in college. Now if, in reality, both of those examples are in fact gay, who is right? The author who envisions them as confirmed bachelors, or the readers who see a gay couple as supporting characters?Second of all, allegory can just being a way to say that one story maps well to another. It doesn't (imho) have the same strict meaning of intentional message as say a parable or a homage does. A story could be an allegory for something that doesn't happen until after the story is written if it maps well and is evokative of the same themes.And third of all sometimes authors really aren't honest about their creative process. I don't know why, I think some want to be super mysterious and get annoyed when the raw craft behind their beautiful art is examined. JMS for instance was known to spin a elaborate line of BS on how B5 turned out exactly as he had planned the five year arc when practical concerns threw monkey wrenches in things on several occasions. He also either gave out misinformation or changd his mind on background details. While statements of intent may be helpful, a work of fiction stands alone, and what is taken from it is the perogative of the reader. If thats not what the author meant, too bad, thats what he created. (I think there is a Penny Arcade on this subject.  <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" /></blockquote>

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