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Topophilia and Topophobia in Stig Sæterbakken's Novel Gjennom Natten

Publication at Faculty of Arts |
2021

Abstract

This article focuses on the emotional perception of space in Stig Sæterbakken's novel Gjennom natten (2012). Topoanalysis is used to examine the various emotions that the protagonist Karl feels about specific spaces - be it a house, an apartment, a part of an apartment, or a city.

It turns out that space serves as a projection surface for Karl's feelings. Therefore, his descriptions of the respective spaces usually coincide with the narrator's mood, and in this sense, topoanalysis allows us to predict and better understand the motivations behind the protagonist's actions.

Based on Gaston Bachelard's space concept and Yi-Fu Thuan's terminology, Karl's feelings are classified as topophilia (love of place) and topophobia (fear of place). However, the analysis has shown that the binary opposition topophilia-topophobia is not sufficient for determining the emotions presented and, therefore, the terms "topoaversion" and "topoanimosity" are introduced.