Progress through Spatial Conflicts. An Application of Henri Lefebvre's "The Production of Space" to Paul Auster's "Moon Palace"

Seminar paper from the year 2015 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Other, grade: 1,0, Ruhr-University of Bochum (American Studies), language: English, abstract: As a theoretical framework for the analysis of the politics of space in Auster's novel "Moon Palace", Henri Lefebvre's concept of the production of space, which is outlined in his revolutionary and highly influential eponymous work "The Production fo Space", appears to be adequate. According to the French philosopher and sociologist, spaces are socially produced. His conceptual triad of perceived, conceived, and lived space outlines the different mechanisms that come into operation during the production of (social) spaces. These mechanisms are taken up, multiplied and more often than not naturalized in representations of spaces in different media. What is especially interesting in Auster's and other postmodernist representations of space is how familiar American spaces are reproduced while denaturalizing the production of them at the same time. I will argue that Auster's literary production of space in "Moon Palace" highlights just like Lefebvre "that space needs to be understood not in two ways - as conceived, abstract thought of space, or perceived, concrete reality of space - but in three ways, with the additional of space as lived" (Elden, Understanding 187, emphasis original). To put it into Lefebvre's own terms, in Moon Palace Auster examines "the coming-into-being and disappearance of codings/decodings" (Lefebvre Production 18) of American space. The first part of this essay outlines the basic theoretical framework of Lefebvre's "The Production of Space" and draws special attention to his spatial triad. Against this theoretical backdrop, the next part focuses on Auster's literary construction of three different spaces in Manhattan: the streets, Central Park and Chinatown. Similar to Lefebvre's own approach, this chapter is less concerned with an investigation of these spaces as such, but rather focuses on how they reflect the inherent modes of their production and how these modes affect the protagonist's feelings and actions throughout the novel. The question how Fogg actively participates in the production of space will lead to a more differentiated understanding of Moon Palace and will reveal the complex socio-political criticism that is implied in Auster's representation of American spaces. At the end of this paper, I will sum up my findings and evaluate the applicability and benefit of Lefebvre's theory for literary criticism.