Roland Barthes

Date of Birth: November 12, 1915

Zodiac Sign: Scorpio

Date of Death: March 26, 1980

Biography

Roland Barthes was a French literary theorist, philosopher, critic, and semiotician. Born on November 12, 1915, in Cherbourg, France, Barthes is best known for his influential theories on language, literature, and culture, which revolutionized the field of literary criticism. He studied at the Sorbonne, where he earned a degree in classical literature. His career was marked by a series of groundbreaking works, including “Mythologies” (1957), “S/Z” (1970), and “Camera Lucida” (1980). Barthes’ work challenged traditional notions of authorship and meaning, emphasizing the role of the reader in the creation of textual meaning. He was a prominent figure in the structuralist movement and later became associated with post-structuralism. Barthes died on March 26, 1980, in Paris, France, after being hit by a laundry van.

5 Interesting Facts about Roland Barthes

1. Roland Barthes’ influential work “Mythologies” deconstructs cultural myths, analyzing everyday objects and practices as systems of signs.

2. Barthes introduced the concept of the “Death of the Author,” arguing that the interpretation of a text should not be limited by the author’s intentions.

3. “Camera Lucida,” Barthes’ final major work, is a profound reflection on photography and mourning, written after the death of his mother.

4. Barthes was a key figure in the development of semiotics, the study of signs and symbols as elements of communicative behavior.

5. Despite his critical acclaim, Barthes held relatively modest academic positions, never securing a full professorship at a major university.

5 Most Interesting Quotes from Roland Barthes

1. “The birth of the reader must be at the cost of the death of the Author.”

2. “Language is a skin: I rub my language against the other.”

3. “What the public wants is the image of passion, not passion itself.”

4. “To try to write love is to confront the muck of language: that region of hysteria where language is both too much and too little.”

5. “Every photograph is a certificate of presence.”

Highest Net Worth Achieved

Barthes did not accumulate significant wealth during his lifetime, and his highest net worth remains modest. His influence, however, is immeasurable in the fields of literary and cultural criticism.