This thesis explores social relations in Ottessa Moshfegh’s My Year of Rest and Relaxation (2018) through Doreen Massey’s conceptualisation of space. With the assumption that social relations are formed through and by space, the thesis analyses the protagonist’s interactions with space in the novel. It is explored how the protagonist navigates space through unconscious actions, blurring imagined public/private distinctions, as well as how occupying space may be an alienating experience, pointedly sensed as a growing distance between body and mind. Continuing, the thesis examines the protagonist’s attempts to negotiate space and problematises the effectiveness of these attempts against the ubiquity of space. Following this is a reflection on the limitations of Massey’s theory, along with concluding remarks concerning potential shortcomings and opportunities for further research.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:mau-67597 |
| Date | January 2024 |
| Creators | Holm, Mette Marit Tjelle |
| Publisher | Malmö universitet, Institutionen för konst, kultur och kommunikation (K3) |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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