Jacques Derrida has argued about the difference between literature and theory
that despite its institutional status, part of its 'institution' is the right of
literature to say anything. Literature cannot be defined as such, and as soon as
one seeks to produce a reading of the literary, complications arise.
Yet despite its institutional significance, 'theory' remains something many wish
would go away; and which, for others, is still not read, is misread, and remains
to be read. Like literature, it remains as an enigmatic identity, resistant to
definition, but subject to misperceptions and open to general statements that
are more or less inaccurate.
By examining how