The Pleasure of the Text

Name: The Pleasure of the Text
ISBN: 9787208139039

罗兰·巴特 / 屠友祥Shanghai People's Publishing House · ChinaJul 2019

3.9

Word count: 100K words
Chapters: 54
ISBN: 9787208139039

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Summary

A work of aphorisms in a meditative style, The Pleasure of the Text consists of forty-six fragments arranged alphabetically. Barthes discusses desire, scrutinizes the body, sees the mixing of languages as an opportunity to reach bliss, and judges discontinuity capable of provoking pleasure—hence the short-fragment form. The relation between language and ideology is another major theme. This edition also includes the two pieces "Supplement" and "Textual Analysis," adding Barthes's essays and fragments on writing and the image.

Editor's review

The Pleasure of the Text is a landmark work from Roland Barthes's turn toward post-structuralism; its importance lies not in offering a fixed method of reading but in being a philosophical exploration of the reading experience itself. Barthes creatively distinguishes the "readable text" from the "writable text": the former offers comfortable, consumable meaning, while the latter invites the reader to participate in the production of meaning and to become a co-author amid the fissures of language and the pleasure of the play. The book is composed of a series of taut fragments, a form that itself subverts traditional continuous argument and asks the reader to abandon the pursuit of ultimate meaning in favor of immersing in the sensory and intellectual "pleasure" of the text's surface. This "pleasure" is not easy diversion but a complex experience involving rupture, loss, and even slight vertigo. For understanding postmodern literary theory, deconstructionist thought, and the key turn in contemporary critical practice, the book offers an indispensable entry point. With his characteristic delicacy and sharpness, Barthes turns theoretical writing itself into a captivating stylistic practice, so that reading The Pleasure of the Text becomes the best possible demonstration of the very "pleasure" it discusses.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Researchers and students interested in the evolution of structuralist and post-structuralist theory
Literature students and readers who wish to understand contemporary textual criticism more deeply
Thinkers who love speculation and enjoy being challenged in reading and actively constructing meaning
Writers and creators seeking inspiration and liberation from the "writability" of the text

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting a systematic, step-by-step guide to literary analysis or writing technique
Readers drawn to traditional linear narrative and seeking clear conclusions and central ideas

Reading tips

Let go of the fixation on a "central idea" and try to enjoy the leaps and associations that fragmentary writing brings.
Read the book alongside Barthes's earlier work, such as Writing Degree Zero, to appreciate the shift in his thought.
When you encounter an obscure passage, don't insist on "getting it" immediately; allow yourself to stay on the surface of the language and feel its rhythm and texture.

About the publisher

Shanghai People's Publishing House China · Founded in 1951

Shanghai People's Publishing House is a comprehensive publisher whose list focuses on academic monographs and general-interest titles in philosophy, social sciences, politics and law, economics and management, and history. Among its books are Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties History in the Chinese Dynastic History series; The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy in foreign literature; the Wenjing Classical Translation Illustrated Edition of The Complete Greek Tragedies of Euripides; and works of social theory such as Max Weber's Economy and Society and Dialectic of Enlightenment: Philosophical Fragments. Its authors include Wang Zhongluo, J.R.R. Tolkien, Luo Niansheng, and Zhou Zuoren.

版权信息
中译本弁言
一、肯定（Affirmation）
二、巴别（Babel）
三、絮咿（Babil）
四、边线（Bords）
五、活泼（Brio）
六、撕裂（Clivage）
七、群落（Communaut ）
八、身体（Corps）
九、评论（Commentaire）
十、漂移（Dérive）
十一、表述（Dire）
十二、右派（Droite）
十三、交换（Échange）
十四、倾听（Écoute）
十五、激情（Émotion）
十六、厌烦（Ennui）
十七、翻转（Envers）
十八、贴切性（Exactitude）
十九、恋物（Fétiche）
二十、战争（Guerre）
二十一、想象体（Imaginaires）
二十二、文际关系（Inter-texte）
二十三、均质（Isotrope）
二十四、整体语言（Langue）
二十五、阅读（Lecture）
二十六、权势（Mandarinat）
二十七、新物（Moderne）
二十八、虚无主义（Nihilisme）
二十九、命名（Nomination）
三十、蒙昧主义（Obscurantisme）
三十一、俄狄浦斯（OEdipus）
三十二、恐惧（Peur）
三十三、句子（Phrase）
三十四、悦（Plaisir）
三十五、政治（Politique）
三十六、日常（Quotidienne）
三十七、复原（Récupération）
三十八、表现（Représentation）
三十九、阻力（Résistances）
四十、梦（Rêve）
四十一、科学（Science）
四十二、意指过程（Signifiance）
四十三、主体（Sujet）
四十四、文论（Théorie）
四十五、价值（Valeur）
四十六、声音（Voix）
增补
文论
罗兰·巴特论书写和影像五篇
中译本概念索引
中译本人名索引
学术的进展和译名的重定

FAQ

Why is the book's writing style so fragmented?

The fragmentary writing is deliberate on Barthes's part; its form and content are highly unified. It aims to break the linear logic and authoritative argument of traditional theoretical works, imitating the open, productive state of the "writable text" and inviting the reader to enter anywhere and make their own connections.

What is the difference between "pleasure" and "bliss" as mentioned in the book?

Barthes distinguishes "pleasure" as a cultural, communicable comfort arising from a sense of identification; "bliss" is stronger and more subversive, arising from the rupture of culture and the dissipation of meaning, bringing loss and ecstasy. The book is mainly concerned with the more complex and productive "pleasure."

Can I understand this book without a background in philosophy or literary theory?

It will be challenging but not impossible to enter. Rather than trying to grasp every theoretical reference at once, you might first treat it as a collection of brilliant essays, focusing on Barthes's exquisite responses to specific texts (such as novels and paintings); his discussion itself offers a path to understanding.

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About the author

罗兰·巴特 Author

Roland Barthes is a prominent French literary theorist and critic, though details of his life are limited in the materials available on this site. Judging from the five works collected here—Mythologies (new complete translation), A Lover's Discourse, The Pleasure of the Text, S/Z, and Criticism and Truth—his writing spans literary appreciation and Western philosophy. Barthes often begins with everyday cultural phenomena, linguistic structures, and reading experiences, dismantling seemingly natural sign systems in a style that combines theoretical sharpness with essayistic sensitivity. He focuses on the multiplicity of the text, the reader's position, and the limits of criticism itself—themes that have influenced literary studies and broader humanistic thought. His arguments frequently unfold in fragments, entries, or discursive notes, breaking away from the framework of systematic treatises and making his work both approachable and challenging.

屠友祥 Author

Tu Youxiang is a Chinese book author about whom limited public information is available. Two of his works are currently included in the library, with The Pleasure of the Text (Wen zhi Yue) and S.Z as his representative titles. Judging from how these works are classified, his writing is often placed under Western philosophy, suggesting an interest in Western thought and the interpretation of texts. Based on the available information, Tu's work tends toward exposition and translation-oriented writing centered on classic texts, with prose that values conceptual accuracy and concision rather than the recounting of personal experience. Because no reliable records of his biography, education, or positions have been found, no inferences are made here. The two titles, The Pleasure of the Text and S.Z, are the main entry points for readers to understand his writing, and they give his work continued readership and citation within the category of Western philosophy. For researchers, Tu's significance lies chiefly in his Chinese presentation and interpretation of Western texts, and his influence is mainly visible through these two works among the relevant readership.