Hidden Topographies: Traces of Urban Reality in Dystopian Fiction PDF
Preview Hidden Topographies: Traces of Urban Reality in Dystopian Fiction
Raphael Zähringer Hidden Topographies Buchreihe der ANGLIA/ ANGLIA Book Series Edited by Lucia Kornexl, Ursula Lenker, Martin Middeke, Gabriele Rippl, Hubert Zapf Advisory Board Laurel Brinton, Philip Durkin, Olga Fischer, Susan Irvine, Andrew James Johnston, Christopher A. Jones, Terttu Nevalainen, Derek Attridge, Elisabeth Bronfen, Ursula K. Heise, Verena Lobsien, Laura Marcus, J. Hillis Miller, Martin Puchner Volume 57 Raphael Zähringer Hidden Topographies Traces of Urban Reality in Dystopian Fiction For an overview of all books published in this series, please see http://www.degruyter.com/view/serial/36292 ISBN 978-3-11-053391-0 e-ISBN (PDF) 978-3-11-053585-3 e-ISBN (EPUB) 978-3-11-053396-5 ISSN 0340-5435 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A CIP catalog record for this book has been applied for at the Library of Congress. Bibliografische Information der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek verzeichnet diese Publikation in der Deutschen Nationalbibliografie; detaillierte bibliografische Daten sind im Internet über http://dnb.dnb.de abrufbar. © 2017 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston Druck und Bindung: CPI books GmbH, Leck ♾ Printed on acid-free paper Printed in Germany www.degruyter.com Dedicated to my father, a lion Acknowledgments This book was accepted as a dissertation at the Faculty of Humanities of the Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen in the winter term 2015/2016. More than four years have passed since I started this book, this project – and I would have been unable to complete it without the support of numerous persons and institutions. My sincere thanks go to all the people who gave me feedback on my chapters: Rebecca Hahn, Eike Hinner, Jutta Kling, Prachi More, Amrei Nensel,AmirTaha,andmoreunsungheroinesandheroesofmydoctoralcollo- quium.IwouldalsoliketothankCarolineEdwardsandTonyVenezia,whohost- edthefirstinternationalconferenceonChinaMiéville’swork(andwhogaveme theopportunitytopresentafewofmyideasthere).Gratitudealsotoallthepeo- pleatGylphi(especiallyAnthonyLevings)forpublishingacondensedversionof what later became chapters III.1 and III.2.1 of this study. I am also seriously in- debted to the Professor Dr. Friedrich Schubel-Stiftung (in particular to Gerhard Stilz and Christoph Reinfandt for valuable advice on the initial draft), and the LandesgraduiertenförderungBaden-Württemberg–boththoughtmyprojectab- solutely worth their money and helped me to get it going. I would also like to thank Brigitte Breitel, Heike Winhart, and Stefan Zauner, on whom I could al- ways rely with regard to administrative questions. My deepest gratitude goes toIngridHotz-DaviesandRussellWest-Pavlovfortheirthoroughandenthusias- ticassessmentofmyworkand,ofcourse,toChristophReinfandt:sinceIdonot evenknowwheretobegin(maybeinthesummerterm2007whenIattendedmy firstcourse taughtbyhim?), Iwill simplystate that Iwould not have even con- sidered doing my PhD and going through with this project without him (not to mention its funding, fine-tuning, and the overall direction it took). I am also deeply indebted to all the people who helped to turn the manuscript into this book: Martin Middeke along with the other editors of the Anglia series, and KatjaLehmingatDeGruyter,foransweringanalmostneverendingfloodofques- tions on my part. Last but not least, I would like to thank my family: my wife Janinaand little Ben,whomakemydaysbrighterthan anyone else; my mother Angela and my sister Judith for their general support and continuous inquiries (“When do you think you will hand in this thing?”) – and my father, Berthold Zähringer,who died two days after the defence of my doctor’s thesis, and who was proud of what Iwas doing. Thank you. Contents List of Figures XI List of Tables XI List of Abbreviations XI I Introduction 1 Project Outline 3 Strategy of Inquiry 4 The Novels 5 II From More to Miéville: the Dystopian Tradition 7 II. The Literary History of Utopia, Anti-Utopia, and Dystopia 7 II. Brave New Worlds: Key Coordinates of Five Dystopian Novels 14 II.. Perdido Street Station (2000) 15 II.. The City & The City (2009) 19 II.. City of Bohane (2011) 22 II.. Lilac and Flag: An Old Wives’ Tale of a City (1990) 26 II.. Divided Kingdom (2005) 29 III Literature and Maps, Maps and Literature 35 III. Maps and Literature: Cartography and Literary Studies 35 III. Places to Get Lost: Literature and Maps 49 II.. “Strange Tricks of Cartography”: The Map(s) of Perdido Street Station 49 III.. X Marks the Spot – Not: Divided Kingdom 65 III.. The Metafictional Square: City of Bohane 71 IV Urban Spaces: Taking a Stroll 79 IV. From Lefebvre to the City asa Body: A Model for Topographic Analysis 79 IV. Walking the Urban Dystopias 86 IV.. Perdido Street Station: The City asa Body, the Body asa City 86 IV.. The City & The City: Perceived Space and the Force of Unseeing 109 IV.. City of Bohane: The Back Trace of Memory 116 IV.. Lilac and Flag: Opening Urban Oysters 132 IV.. Divided Kingdom: Conceived Space, Ideology, and Identity 151 X Contents V Against the Grain: Borders and Transgressions 169 V. Interdisciplinary Approaches towards Transgression 169 V. Transgressive Performances 176 V.. Perdido Street Station and the Hybrid Zone 177 V.. The City & The City: Once More onto the Breach 194 V.. Divided Kingdom: Withour Colour, without Place 209 VI Systems Theory and the Fiction of Probable Reality 222 VI. Systems Theory, Dystopian Literature, and Complexity 222 VI. Final Readings 235 VI.. Perdido Street Station: The Dynamics of Transition and Hybridity 235 VI.. The City & The City: Caught in Borderlessness 244 VI.. City of Bohane: Bittersweet Memories 249 VI.. Lilac and Flag: The Only Way Out 253 VI.. Divided Kingdom: Eukrasis Is White 255 VII Conclusion 261 Works Cited 267 Primary Sources 267 Secondary Sources 267 Dictionaries 272 Name Index 273 Subject Index 275
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