Roland Barthes, Essais critiques and L'aventure semiologique

While I was waiting for the oil to be changed on my car, I finished reading Aventure semiologique and read the Essais critiques. My estimation for Roland Barthes has gone up from reading these two collections of essays, even though I am still quite frustrated by his lack of long forms. Certain, for a literary and cultural critic, he went far beyond the norm. I was interested to see, for example, that he considers all literature and poetry Aristotlelian until Brecht's work -- a high value given to Brecht, that is certain. He also is far more Marxist than I realized: he considers literature to be the result of the clash of the classes, their ideas, their habits, their symbolism, their money, their property. I don't agree with that last statement, but with my prejudice against Aristotle solidifying all the time, I found the notion intriguing that all literature is that. I can't agree, either, I think there are lots of Platonic writers in the canon. But I had simply never thought of any of them as being either Platonic or Aristotlelian. I enjoy the novelty. I also enjoyed the novelty of the analysis of certain texts from the New Testament, particularly Acts. I had never thought of the structure of the text itself as being difficult for people to accept, in addition to some pretty revolutionary suggestions about living in common and judging oneself by the hidden intentions of the heart, not just by the actions. I also enjoyed a short piece on Voltaire as a happy writer, and what actually constitutes failures, historic and immediate, of a work of literature. Historic means, I suppose, failure to move humanity forward, whereas immediate failure means only failing to find an audience.