What do you mean by ‘Space' in literature?

Photo by Lesley Lanir
Moonrise - Photo by Lesley Lanir
Have you ever thought about ‘space’ in literature, in particular fiction, and I don’t mean interplanetary space. The concept of space in literature has not been dealt with as critically as the concept of time and is not as obvious. Yet, fiction takes place in time and space; the act of writing requires time which allows space to be delineated.

Time and space interplay in reality and, therefore, in fiction. How does fiction translate the attitudes of human beings towards their environment - the space in which they move, feel and interact?

The act of writing creates space


At the beginning, before pen touches paper, there is nothing; something must be created.
Photo by Lesley Lanir
A break in the clouds - Photo by Lesley Lanir
The writer delineates the setting in which fictional characters move.  By doing so the writer evokes a distinct atmosphere. Every single sentence that is composed forms the creation of one more element of space and in the end, fictional worlds take shape through spatial language, for example, up and down, big and small, far and near, open and closed.

Find the spatial elements in writing

Take a page or two or a chapter of a book and consider the literary devices that confine or create movement. Maybe consider the mechanics, the structure and style. Does the story lack structure? If so, why? What was the author's intention? Take notice of the choice of vocabulary and descriptive spatial markers that affect the characters psychologically and physically.

Compare spatial values allocated

Study whether the narrator gives more space to the protagonist or to the environment or to the minor characters. Compare their spatial values and what they add to the story. Start simply.  If some of the characters have more freedom of movement than others – how do you know? Which words are used to get these ideas across to you?When reading with the idea of spatial limitations or freedoms, reflect on, for example, spaciousness and crowding: space and spaciousness is relative and vast empty spaces have both positive and negative qualities depending on the experience the reader brings to the book. 

Social Mapping

When thinking of spatial boundaries, consider social mapping and the limitations that this concept defines, for instance, the invisible social fences imposed by society and its institutions. You can do this just by examining which jobs or roles are permissible for women or ethnic groups in the book you are reading.You may notice that a particular social map becomes a way to control personal, social or cultural experience. These types of maps, instead of encouraging freedom and travel, serve to confine women and minority groups.

Evolution of time

Sometimes, the evolution in time in some characters is more important than their movement in space. However, even a character who is described throughout various points in her life (tempio) but is always depicted indoors (or perhaps even more explicitly, relegated to life in the kitchen, living room and bedroom) says a lot about that character’s perspective and its acquired limitations. Read with space in mind and pay attention to the allocation of spatial language and techniques and the philosophical /sociological/ psychological transparency  of the author’s fictional purpose will surface.To get a feel of space in literature, read novels such as:
  • Manette  Ansay’s Vinegar Hill
  • Eva Hoffman’s Lost in Translation
  • Anita Brookner's Hotel Du Lac

  • Joan Barfoot's Dancing in the Dark













Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Peirce’s Triadic Model – Interpreting Signs

Image
A sign or  a symbol? Image by Lesley Lanir  When Ferdinand de Saussure was formulating his two part ‘dyadic’ model of the sign, consisting of a ‘signifier, or  the form that a sign takes, and the ‘signified,’ or concept  it represents, American, Charles Sanders Peirce (1839–1914) was theorizing his own model of semiotics and signs. In contrast to Saussure’s model, Peirce formulated a three-part triadic model consisting of an interpretant,  representamen, and an object. Symbols according to Peirce. Diagram Lesley Lanir By examining the relationship between objects, interpretants, and representamens and, in particular, the way the referent determines the sign, Peirce also distinguished three main ‘modes’  into which signs can be assigned: symbol, icon and index. Example of  an iconic sign. Image by Lesley Lanir Iconic signs according to Peirce. Diagram Lesley Lanir Example of an indexical sign. Image by Lesley Lanir Indexical signs according to Peirce
Read more

Slang, Swearing and Death in The Catcher in the Rye

Image
Salinger's protagonist,  Holden Caulfield reveals his innermost thoughts through a stream of consciousness awash with slang, swearing, and references to death. Societal pressures intensely disturb the anti-hero of   The Catcher in the Rye , causing him to reject and pervert expected social conventions. Although Holden constantly engages himself in conversation, he equally explicitly demonstrates his dislike of dialogue and instead prefers to express himself through the medium of writing, a form of communication that creates a distance between himself and the reader but brings him closer to his older brother D.B., who is a writer. Holden Caulfield’s use of slang Through his writing, Holden discovers a vehicle for self-expression; however, the surface structure of his narration projects simple language, “lousy vocabulary” (8), and consistent vulgarities. Yet, with repeated occurrences of key words or groups of key words, a technique of this kind serves to symbolise a
Read more

Interpreting signs – Charles Sanders Peirce

Image
We are surrounded by numerous types of signs and sign systems that we may not be fully aware of. How we interpret these signs and react to our understanding of them gives them meaning. Charles Sanders Peirce (1839–1914) formulated the innovative triadic model of the sign, emphasizing in his theory that the way we interpret a ‘sign’ is what allows it to be signified – what gives it its meaning. Therefore, when creating a sign system the main attributes of any sign need to be clear enough to relay their intended meaning, or else they will be valueless. What are signs? Peirce’s theory does not focus on just material or concrete signs, but any kind of sign. For example, if a bus driver announces that the next stop is Central Station and a passenger rings the bell, lighting up the ‘stop’ sign  – then the sign system here has been understood. The message contained  in the driver’s announcement is the sign that he will drive straight past that terminal if no one responds. His announ
Read more