The speaker is merely the conduit. Person A says and means one thing. Person B hears and interprets another. Person A might as well not even be present. Person B is calling all the shots.
Perception is reality.
It is merely redolent of the evil influence of male dominated classical elitism. If the reader says that the passage means X, then it damn well means X. Screw the scholars and full steam ahead. I wonder how Mr. Mamet feels about that. Not, of course, that it matters. Oleanna , written by David Mamet, directed by Robyn Allers, with Roger Casey and Erin Underwood, opens April 27 at Birmingham Festival Theatre.