How important is the author’s narrative in understanding text?

What is the relationship between the author and the context?

In a sense, the author’s narrative is what shapes the whole text itself. They try to convey messages and ideas because of their life experiences, which ultimately, is the purpose of the whole text and will definitely impact the understanding of it. However, the context of reception isn’t usually affected by the author’s personal context.

Are there limits to this relationship?

There are limits to this relationship – as there are with every relationship. The author’s context will make a text more biased and perhaps less accurate – which does show insight but also does provide limitations to what the text can teach us.