ANALOGY AND LITERATURE: A method for the interpretation of literary text

This essay proposes analogical hermeneutics as a method to interpret literary texts with polysemic readings in their structure. The interpretative exercise is applied to three stories by Mexican authors: “The News” (2004) by Juan José Arreola, ‘Fragments of a Diary’ (2009) by Amparo Dávila and ‘Pilgrims’ (2018) by Elpidia García Delgado.

In addition, this work seeks to adapt and nurture the steps of the Subtilitas proposed by analogical hermeneutics (Beuchot 2009) aided with literary theory (Ricoeur), in order to achieve a balanced interpretive application, supported by a literary analogical method. The above aims to find analogous interpretations taking into account the author's context, the plot of the writing and the reader's reception.

For the development of this work, analogical hermeneutics was chosen because it appears as a method, which mediates between the two historical tendencies that have existed in the interpretation of texts: the univocist and the equivocist.

The order of exposition is presented as follows: first, analogy is presented as a suitable route for approaching the literary text, then the key figure of a reader who seeks to refigure and interpret this type of text is approached. Subtilitas method is then developed and nurtured with the aim of adapting it to a literary analysis. In this way, we seek to elaborate interpretations of the stories in due proportion and balance.

Juan José Arreola, Amparo Dávila and Elpidia García show in their stories an architecture that invites the refiguration of the reader. The role of the reader becomes participatory and is fundamental to integrate the literary work of art. In the hermeneutic exercise, approaches can be reached that contemplate certain intentions of the author with the reception of the reader, in this way, it is proposed to achieve an interpretation of the text that seeks humanistic dialogue instead of imposing it or losing it in equivocism.