Ah, sure, that does work differently. You’re not so likely to spot the seams of the author’s stitching-together of the plot in those. (Any readers who’ve wondered, unprofitably, what literature nerds mean when they separate out capital-L “Literature” as a distinct category: that right there is one factor that tends to push it into literature territory)
Though if one is not constantly asking “what might be intended here? What might this signify?” and similar questions while reading those kinds of works, I’m not sure what one is doing while reading them. That’s not identical to asking what the author was thinking, but I do believe that considering why the author chose one thing instead of another (why doesn’t the boat get to the lighthouse? What would change if it did?) is often worth doing, and I think sometimes one can arrive at something like the author’s reasons (even if it can’t be known for sure).
[edit] “But who cares if some reading of an episode or element of the story is the one intended by the author?” is the obvious question, then: I’d say if we can get at a plausible intended reading, with some reason and evidence behind it, that’s likely to present a more-useful lens or jumping-off point for unraveling and drawing meaning from other parts of the work, or even the author’s other works, than any given WAG one might think up. It’s not necessary to create and support a hypothesis of what the author had in mind at every turn, but if likely intent can be teased out, it helps direct profitable lines of inquiry elsewhere.
Though if one is not constantly asking “what might be intended here? What might this signify?” and similar questions while reading those kinds of works, I’m not sure what one is doing while reading them. That’s not identical to asking what the author was thinking, but I do believe that considering why the author chose one thing instead of another (why doesn’t the boat get to the lighthouse? What would change if it did?) is often worth doing, and I think sometimes one can arrive at something like the author’s reasons (even if it can’t be known for sure).
[edit] “But who cares if some reading of an episode or element of the story is the one intended by the author?” is the obvious question, then: I’d say if we can get at a plausible intended reading, with some reason and evidence behind it, that’s likely to present a more-useful lens or jumping-off point for unraveling and drawing meaning from other parts of the work, or even the author’s other works, than any given WAG one might think up. It’s not necessary to create and support a hypothesis of what the author had in mind at every turn, but if likely intent can be teased out, it helps direct profitable lines of inquiry elsewhere.