Self-Image and Intrasubjective Politeness in an Autobiographical Text

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to analyze self-image image and politeness in an autobiography of Roland Barthes ([1975] 1978). For this, a sample of eighteen intrasubjective-discourse texts were chosen. The theoretical framework is based on Pragmatics (Goff man, 1970; Brown & Levinson, 1987; Haverkate, 1994; Bravo, 1999, 2000, 2004; Álvarez, 2005; Bernal, 2007) and the Theory of Written Culture (Amelang, 2003, 2005; Dekker, 1999, 2005; Bardet & Ruggiu, 2005). The findings lead to the conclusion that autobiographers present a deteriorated image of themselves which as result of this self-inflicted damage reflects self-politeness.