A question for my writer friends . . .

Yeah, I'm still sick. Stayed home from work today. I'm hoping if I take it easy today I'll be able to resume my regularly scheduled programming tomorrow.


In the mean time, while I wait for the meds I took to kick in, I thought I'd ask this question of any writers who happen to read this--to what extent do you feel a reader should be allowed to interpret your work?


For example, take my story, "Warden," published on this blog if you are so inclined to look for it. The story is about duty, and about how jumping to a conclusion can lead to tragedy. Set in the distant future, light years away from earth. Yes, it was my attempt at a "hard" science fiction story, and let me tell you, it is hard. Anyway, I was pretty happy with how it turned out, and the one or two others who have read it have given me complements on it.


Which is well and good. But what if someone read it and told me it resonated profoundly with them, because it's about dealing with grief and adapting to a life without a loved one. To my mind, while there is a little bit of that, it's not what the story is about. However, who am I to scold a reader who found comfort and enjoyment in the story, even if he or she saw something in it that either isn't actually there or which was outside of my intent?


Once you make a story, poem, song, whatever, available to the general public, you are at the mercy of its sometimes bizarre and inexplicable interpretations of your work. I've known writers who get really angry when someone--to their minds--misinterprets their work, even if they loved it.


Now, I could see this in some circumstances. If someone took my little story as an embracing racial purity, for example (which it certainly does not do), or eugenics (ditto), or glorifying war, and he or she loves it for that reason, that would be a bummer. That might actually hurt my feelings, as those ideas are so outside of the intent of the story I'd feel like maybe I failed as a writer if people get that from it.


But what if someone just sees my story as in the example above, about grief and acceptance and toleration? While that was also outside of what I was trying to do, I don't think I'd get all that worked up about it.


So, how important is it, to you, that your audience interpret your work the way you want it interpreted? How would you feel if people enjoy your work, but don't seem to understand it? Once the work is made available for anyone to experience, are your responsibilities as an author now done and it's now the audience's job to define and interpret the work?


I'm looking forward to reading your thoughts.