A social interaction model of reading∗

An author and a reader are engaged in a social interaction which depends on their goals and their beliefs about the world and each other.One aspect of this interaction is the creation of another level of social interaction involving an "implied author" and an "implied reader".The newly created characters may, in their turn, create another level of social interaction involving, for example, a "narrator" and a "narratee".Each level so created permits the creation of an additional level.A model for the levels of social interaction in reading is discussed in the paper.