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How the Fantastic Spaces in Memoirs of a Survivor and Neverwhere Destabilise the Notion of a Uniform, Homogeneous Urban Identity

Landegren, Amanda LU (2020) In Fafnir – Nordic Journal of Science Fiction and Fantasy Research 7(2). p.78-89
Abstract
This article discusses how Doris Lessing’s Memoirs of a Survivor and Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere question notions of self and identity through engagement with the fantastic urban space. Through the examination of the cityscape, maturity, and reconciliation the fantastic space is seen to have a disruptive and destabilising effect on the narrative and on the characters, which ultimately encourages a recontextualisation of identity. Hence the fantastic functions as a catalyst of transformation. Defamiliarisation of language and known codes of conduct signify a breakdown of the familiar, and the inability to regain ignorance ultimately prompts reconciliation with a new, diverse reality. Ultimately, the fantastic renders the city a heterogeneous,... (More)
This article discusses how Doris Lessing’s Memoirs of a Survivor and Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere question notions of self and identity through engagement with the fantastic urban space. Through the examination of the cityscape, maturity, and reconciliation the fantastic space is seen to have a disruptive and destabilising effect on the narrative and on the characters, which ultimately encourages a recontextualisation of identity. Hence the fantastic functions as a catalyst of transformation. Defamiliarisation of language and known codes of conduct signify a breakdown of the familiar, and the inability to regain ignorance ultimately prompts reconciliation with a new, diverse reality. Ultimately, the fantastic renders the city a heterogeneous, impossible space that leads to a corresponding, if gradual, change in identity from passive to active, from homogeneous to heterogeneous. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
urban fantasy, cityscapes, space, transformation, identity
in
Fafnir – Nordic Journal of Science Fiction and Fantasy Research
volume
7
issue
2
pages
12 pages
ISSN
2342-2009
language
English
LU publication?
no
id
d0e54ca7-23d2-451a-91b5-146d5ed11ffe
alternative location
http://journal.finfar.org/articles/fantastic-spaces-in-memoirs-of-a-survivor-and-neverwhere/
date added to LUP
2021-10-14 10:02:21
date last changed
2021-10-14 11:57:37
@article{d0e54ca7-23d2-451a-91b5-146d5ed11ffe,
  abstract     = {{This article discusses how Doris Lessing’s Memoirs of a Survivor and Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere question notions of self and identity through engagement with the fantastic urban space. Through the examination of the cityscape, maturity, and reconciliation the fantastic space is seen to have a disruptive and destabilising effect on the narrative and on the characters, which ultimately encourages a recontextualisation of identity. Hence the fantastic functions as a catalyst of transformation. Defamiliarisation of language and known codes of conduct signify a breakdown of the familiar, and the inability to regain ignorance ultimately prompts reconciliation with a new, diverse reality. Ultimately, the fantastic renders the city a heterogeneous, impossible space that leads to a corresponding, if gradual, change in identity from passive to active, from homogeneous to heterogeneous.}},
  author       = {{Landegren, Amanda}},
  issn         = {{2342-2009}},
  keywords     = {{urban fantasy; cityscapes; space; transformation; identity}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{2}},
  pages        = {{78--89}},
  series       = {{Fafnir – Nordic Journal of Science Fiction and Fantasy Research}},
  title        = {{How the Fantastic Spaces in Memoirs of a Survivor and Neverwhere Destabilise the Notion of a Uniform, Homogeneous Urban Identity}},
  url          = {{http://journal.finfar.org/articles/fantastic-spaces-in-memoirs-of-a-survivor-and-neverwhere/}},
  volume       = {{7}},
  year         = {{2020}},
}