Hidden Topographies: Traces of Urban Reality in Dystopian Fiction

290 Pages·2017·1.91 MB·English

by  Raphael Zähringer

Raphael Zähringer
Hidden Topographies
Buchreihe der ANGLIA/
ANGLIA Book Series
Edited by
Lucia Kornexl, Ursula Lenker, Martin Middeke,
Gabriele Rippl, Hubert Zapf
Advisory Board
Laurel Brinton, Philip Durkin, Olga Fischer, Susan Irvine,
Andrew James Johnston, Christopher A. Jones, Terttu Nevalainen,
Derek Attridge, Elisabeth Bronfen, Ursula K. Heise, Verena Lobsien,
Laura Marcus, J. Hillis Miller, Martin Puchner
Volume 57
Raphael Zähringer
Hidden
Topographies
Traces of Urban Reality in Dystopian Fiction
For an overview of all books published in this series, please see
http://www.degruyter.com/view/serial/36292
ISBN 978-3-11-053391-0
e-ISBN (PDF) 978-3-11-053585-3
e-ISBN (EPUB) 978-3-11-053396-5
ISSN 0340-5435
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A CIP catalog record for this book has been applied for at the Library of Congress.
Bibliografische Information der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek
Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek verzeichnet diese Publikation in der Deutschen
Nationalbibliografie; detaillierte bibliografische Daten sind im Internet über
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Dedicated to my father, a lion

Acknowledgments
This book was accepted as a dissertation at the Faculty of Humanities of the
Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen in the winter term 2015/2016. More than
four years have passed since I started this book, this project – and I would
have been unable to complete it without the support of numerous persons
and institutions. My sincere thanks go to all the people who gave me feedback
on my chapters: Rebecca Hahn, Eike Hinner, Jutta Kling, Prachi More, Amrei
Nensel,AmirTaha,andmoreunsungheroinesandheroesofmydoctoralcollo-
quium.IwouldalsoliketothankCarolineEdwardsandTonyVenezia,whohost-
edthefirstinternationalconferenceonChinaMiéville’swork(andwhogaveme
theopportunitytopresentafewofmyideasthere).Gratitudealsotoallthepeo-
pleatGylphi(especiallyAnthonyLevings)forpublishingacondensedversionof
what later became chapters III.1 and III.2.1 of this study. I am also seriously in-
debted to the Professor Dr. Friedrich Schubel-Stiftung (in particular to Gerhard
Stilz and Christoph Reinfandt for valuable advice on the initial draft), and the
LandesgraduiertenförderungBaden-Württemberg–boththoughtmyprojectab-
solutely worth their money and helped me to get it going. I would also like to
thank Brigitte Breitel, Heike Winhart, and Stefan Zauner, on whom I could al-
ways rely with regard to administrative questions. My deepest gratitude goes
toIngridHotz-DaviesandRussellWest-Pavlovfortheirthoroughandenthusias-
ticassessmentofmyworkand,ofcourse,toChristophReinfandt:sinceIdonot
evenknowwheretobegin(maybeinthesummerterm2007whenIattendedmy
firstcourse taughtbyhim?), Iwill simplystate that Iwould not have even con-
sidered doing my PhD and going through with this project without him (not to
mention its funding, fine-tuning, and the overall direction it took). I am also
deeply indebted to all the people who helped to turn the manuscript into this
book: Martin Middeke along with the other editors of the Anglia series, and
KatjaLehmingatDeGruyter,foransweringanalmostneverendingfloodofques-
tions on my part. Last but not least, I would like to thank my family: my wife
Janinaand little Ben,whomakemydaysbrighterthan anyone else; my mother
Angela and my sister Judith for their general support and continuous inquiries
(“When do you think you will hand in this thing?”) – and my father, Berthold
Zähringer,who died two days after the defence of my doctor’s thesis, and who
was proud of what Iwas doing.
Thank you.

Contents
List of Figures XI
List of Tables XI
List of Abbreviations XI
I Introduction 1
Project Outline 3
Strategy of Inquiry 4
The Novels 5
II From More to Miéville: the Dystopian Tradition 7
II. The Literary History of Utopia, Anti-Utopia, and Dystopia 7
II. Brave New Worlds: Key Coordinates of Five Dystopian Novels 14
II.. Perdido Street Station (2000) 15
II.. The City & The City (2009) 19
II.. City of Bohane (2011) 22
II.. Lilac and Flag: An Old Wives’ Tale of a City (1990) 26
II.. Divided Kingdom (2005) 29
III Literature and Maps, Maps and Literature 35
III. Maps and Literature: Cartography and Literary Studies 35
III. Places to Get Lost: Literature and Maps 49
II.. “Strange Tricks of Cartography”: The Map(s) of Perdido Street
Station 49
III.. X Marks the Spot – Not: Divided Kingdom 65
III.. The Metafictional Square: City of Bohane 71
IV Urban Spaces: Taking a Stroll 79
IV. From Lefebvre to the City asa Body: A Model for Topographic
Analysis 79
IV. Walking the Urban Dystopias 86
IV.. Perdido Street Station: The City asa Body, the Body asa City 86
IV.. The City & The City: Perceived Space and the Force of Unseeing 109
IV.. City of Bohane: The Back Trace of Memory 116
IV.. Lilac and Flag: Opening Urban Oysters 132
IV.. Divided Kingdom: Conceived Space, Ideology, and Identity 151
X Contents
V Against the Grain: Borders and Transgressions 169
V. Interdisciplinary Approaches towards Transgression 169
V. Transgressive Performances 176
V.. Perdido Street Station and the Hybrid Zone 177
V.. The City & The City: Once More onto the Breach 194
V.. Divided Kingdom: Withour Colour, without Place 209
VI Systems Theory and the Fiction of Probable Reality 222
VI. Systems Theory, Dystopian Literature, and Complexity 222
VI. Final Readings 235
VI.. Perdido Street Station: The Dynamics of Transition and
Hybridity 235
VI.. The City & The City: Caught in Borderlessness 244
VI.. City of Bohane: Bittersweet Memories 249
VI.. Lilac and Flag: The Only Way Out 253
VI.. Divided Kingdom: Eukrasis Is White 255
VII Conclusion 261
Works Cited 267
Primary Sources 267
Secondary Sources 267
Dictionaries 272
Name Index 273
Subject Index 275