S/Z: An Essay by Roland Barthes is a dizzying work of literary theory, demonstrating through its breakdown of “Sarrasine” how much can be drawn out of a text. 

Early on, Barthes seeks to distinguish his work from previous literary scholarship by arguing that he will go more in-depth than other structural analyses, which is a goal that he most certainly accomplishes. He also explains that a “work of the commentary, once it is separated from any ideology of totality, consists precisely in manhandling the text, interrupting it” (Barthes 15). As a result of this perspective, he both dwarfs and illuminates “Sarrasine,” showing himself and his ideas page upon page in a manner that I found frustrating and enlightening. 

Although there is a lot of emphasis on the five codes of the hermeneutic, semic, symbolic, proairetic, and cultural, the idea that really stuck with me the most after reading this work was the concept of the “writerly” and the “readerly.” They effectively highlight the dynamic between the reader and the text, creating a clear distinction for the kind of reading where the reader is not just a consumer, and I found it a very useful lens for thinking about how I engage with what I read. 

Ultimately, I would highly recommend S/Z: An Essay to anyone interested in a challenging yet rewarding work of literary theory.