| Abstract [eng] |
The subject of this master’s thesis is Paul Auster’s novel “The New York Trilogy”, most widely known for its philosophical reflection on the themes of language, identity and authorship within antidetective fiction. This paper explores the trilogy through the multifaceted concept of solitude, arguing, that it does not only refer to the emotional or psychological experience (usually understood as “loneliness”) represented in the narrative(s) of the trilogy, but also can be conceived as a structural principle, that shapes the means and form of representation. Thus, the paper calls for a conceptualization of the poetics of solitude. The paper employs a double approach, mainly through analyzing the acts of reading and writing as reflected within the trilogy. Reading is analyzed in relation to the classical detective genre, that Auster parodies in various aspects throughout the trilogy; writing is analyzed in light of Maurice Blanchot’s philosophy of literature as found in the work “The Space of Literature”. Both of these approaches highlight different epistemological and ontological concerns with important implications to Auster’s reflection of the conditions of postmodern life. This thesis rises the problem – how can solitude be not just a narrative theme or motif, but an integral part of the text’s means of articulation? The main goal of this thesis is to conceptualize solitude as a thematic and structural strategy of organizing the trilogy on an existential and metafictional level. The objectives of the paper are: 1. Define the concepts of loneliness and solitude in the framework of the classic detective genre and the literary philosophy of Maurice Blanchot. 2. To examine the expression and interplay of loneliness and solitude at narrative, epistemological and ontological levels in “The New York Trilogy”. 3. Based on the outlined concept of epistemic solitude as a premise of the detective genre, to investigate its operation in the trilogy and the act of reading. 4. Based on Maurice Blanchot’s notion of essential solitude, explore how the act of writing reveals itself as a profound paradigm of the trilogy, shaping its modes of expression. 5. To explore how subjects articulate the ontological processes of the trilogy as a work through the metanarrative development. After conducting the research, it became clear that the distinction between loneliness and solitude is crucial to understanding “The New York Trilogy”. Loneliness functions as a social and psychological category, that refers to an individual’s alienated relationship with himself and others, and drives Auster’s characters to seek meaning and self-definition through the detective process. In contrast, solitude functions in two distinct forms: first, as the epistemic condition of reading and interpreting the world, inherent in realist ideology of detective fiction; and second, as the ontological condition of the trilogy conceived as the Blanchotian space of literature, within which the writer is depersonalized. Ultimately, the trilogy’s metanarrative structure reveals itself as a means to articulate the ambiguous poetics of solitude that expresses the existential anxiety of the postmodern subject and the constant yet unattainable desire to overcome interpretive uncertainty. This thesis contributes to the field of Auster studies and extends the scant academic literature applying Maurice Blanchot’s philosophy of literature to readings of the trilogy, and highlights the organic artistic and theoretical interaction between the two authors’ texts. The thesis distinguishes itself by exploring the concept of solitude, which has not yet received sufficient attention from scholars, and lays down the conditions to further develop the poetics of solitude and to reflect on new ways of reading the trilogy. |
