English teachers did the same with Hemingway. Hemingway thought they were crazy. “I never meant that, etc.”
Not likely possible to get an academic to let go of a pet theory...Even when confronted by empirical evidence or the author himself...
“I know better” just seems to go with the territory...
I have a couple of “Piled Higher and Deepers” in my immediate family and there’s never any arguing with ‘em about anything...They suffer from the illusion (too common in academe) their expertise in one narrow area of study automatically carries over to any/all others they care to expound about...