“I'm not really out to prove anything. In fact, it‟s all done tongue-in-cheek. An imaginative reading, I guess you could say.”
This is what Paul Auster (the character) says to Daniel Quinn in Auster's novel City of Glass about his essay on Don Quixote. The following paper on Auster's novel City of Glass is not written tongue-in-cheek but it is adventurous nonetheless. Based on Linda Hentschel's theory of pornotopical techniques of looking, I will concentrate my reading of Auster's text on aspects orientated towards gender, space, self and subjectivity.
I am going to take up Hentschel's ideas of space, especially in regard to urban space, the city, and also her ideas of how subjectivity is constructed along gendered lines. I will try to show that although Auster's text challenges and destabilizes ideas and concepts like rationality, language and body, it keeps to a common gender model. Women as characters are visibly absent from the text. If they appear at all they do it marginally and only to trigger off some action, staying passive themselves. The text tells about different kinds of manhood. All main characters are male and I think exactly this setting can only be made (perhaps even unconsciously) in contrast to its constructed female Other. So femininity becomes visible not primarily in the form of characters but in form of particular concepts.
I suggest that the city in City of Glass, which is New York, serves as metonomy for different concepts of "woman", for example the mother, the (dead) wife and the lover. Daniel Quinn, the main character of the novel incessantly walks the city but instead of reinforcing or even establishing a subjective position in the vast metropolis he fails completely and dissolves within the urban space. As such he is not only the absolute anti-subject but he is also an example for what may happen to a man when he changes his position from having room/space to being room/space.
The first part of this essay will concentrate on Quinn's relation to New York, how it changes from „oceanic‟ feeling to utter desire and how it always depends on his relation to women. The second chapter focuses on ideas of identity, subjectivity and self in the novel.
Table of Contents
Introduction
The Female City – Mother, Wife & Lover
Identity, Subjectivity and Self in City of Glass
Résumé
Objectives and Topics
This paper examines Paul Auster's novel City of Glass through the lens of gender, space, and subjectivity, specifically applying Linda Hentschel’s theories on gendered perceptions of urban and artistic space. The research investigates how the protagonist’s identity dissolves within the urban environment of New York and how traditional concepts of masculinity and femininity are constructed or deconstructed within the narrative.
- The intersection of urban space and gendered subjectivity.
- Analysis of the protagonist Daniel Quinn as a dissolving subject.
- The role of language and rationality in defining identity.
- The use of psychoanalytic perspectives, including Julia Kristeva's theory of the chora.
- The influence of postmodern perspectives on the construction of the self.
Excerpt from the Book
The Female City – Mother, Wife & Lover
Daniel Quinn, the main protagonist of City of Glass, is introduced to the reader as somebody who once did have a purposeful life, including being a happy husband and father and who once had an important job in writing poetry, critical essays and plays. This is all gone when the story starts, and the reader is left with a desinterested dummy, how Quinn describes himself (p. 6), with somebody, who has lost everything, his wife, his son and his purpose in life and who stays alive rather in spite of himself. He supports himself by writing mystery stories, whose mysteries are always brilliantly solved by Max Work, who has over the time become Quinn’s alter ego and idol.
His aversion against consciously thinking of himself and his miserable life is drowned during his endless walks through the city:
Nearly every day, rain or shine, hot or cold, he would leave his apartment to walk through the city – never really going anywhere, but simply going wherever his legs happened to take him. New York was an inexhaustible space, a labyrinth of endless steps, and no matter how far he walked, no matter how well he came to know its neighborhoods and streets, it always left him with a feeling of being lost. Lost, not only in the city, but within himself as well. Each time he took a walk, he felt as though he were leaving himself behind, and by giving himself up to the movement of the streets, by reducing himself to a seeing eye, he was able to escape the obligation to think, and this, more than anything else, brought him a measure of peace, a salutary emptiness within. […] Motion was of the essence, the act of putting one foot in front of the other and allowing himself to follow the drift of the body.” ( City of Glass, p. 4)
Summary of Chapters
Introduction: This chapter establishes the theoretical framework, focusing on the genderization of space and the spectator's position in light of Linda Hentschel's theories.
The Female City – Mother, Wife & Lover: This section explores how Daniel Quinn interacts with New York as a feminized space, reflecting his desire to escape his own identity through urban movement.
Identity, Subjectivity and Self in City of Glass: This chapter delves into the instability of the characters' identities and how the novel challenges the authority of the rational, autonomous subject.
Résumé: The final section synthesizes the analysis, arguing that the text reflects a post-structuralist perspective where traditional structures of identity and rationality are disrupted.
Keywords
Paul Auster, City of Glass, Gender, Subjectivity, Urban Space, Identity, Post-structuralism, Linda Hentschel, Julia Kristeva, Rationality, Language, Daniel Quinn, Peter Stillman, Masculinity, Femininity
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this academic paper?
The paper focuses on the interrelation between gender, space, and subjectivity in Paul Auster’s novel "City of Glass," utilizing cultural and psychoanalytic theories.
What are the central themes explored?
Key themes include the construction of the subject in urban environments, the genderization of space, the instability of identity, and the limitations of rational discourse.
What is the primary research goal?
The aim is to demonstrate how the novel subverts traditional categories like language, body, and rationality, while simultaneously adhering to certain gendered constructions.
Which scientific methods are employed?
The author employs a literary analysis grounded in cultural and psychoanalytic theory, specifically drawing upon Linda Hentschel’s concepts of "Raumsex" and Julia Kristeva’s theory of the "chora."
What does the main body of the paper cover?
The main body examines the protagonist's relationship with the city, the textual deconstruction of identity, and the role of the characters as embodiments of specific philosophical dilemmas.
How would you characterize this work in terms of its key topics?
The work is defined by its exploration of post-structuralist themes, urban literary theory, and a critical look at masculine identity and the role of the spectator.
How does the author interpret the city of New York in the novel?
The city is interpreted as a metonym for feminine concepts and as a space that physically and mentally absorbs the protagonist, ultimately causing his loss of self.
What role do the characters Peter Stillman and Daniel Quinn play?
They serve as examples of unstable subjects who disrupt conventional perceptions of identity, body control, and coherent speech within the narrative structure.
- Arbeit zitieren
- Antje Peukert (Autor:in), 2002, Space, Gender and Subjectivity in Paul Auster’s Novel "City of Glass", München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/158354
