Zoran TowardsTheorySpace 1984

Towards a Theory of Space in Narrative
Author(s): Gabriel Zoran

Source: Poetics Today , 1984, Vol. 5, No. 2, The Construction of Reality in Fiction (1984),
pp. 309-335
Published by: Duke University Press
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TOWARDS A THEORY
OF SPACE IN NARRATIVE*
GABRIEL ZORAN
Hebrew and Comparative Literature, Haif
The purpose of this study is to present a general mo

structuring of space within the narrative text. The term spa
here to mean specifically the spatial aspects of the recon
world. This seems natural and rather obvious, but the ter
applied to the literary text in various ways and is, itself,
unambiguous. It is.necessary, then, to examine the whol
problems arising from the use of the term with regard to th
text. If this task as a whole lies outside the scope of the
study, we can at least clarify one essential aspect of it: th
ship between space and time in the narrative text.
1. THE ASYMMETRY OF TIME AND SPACE IN THE NARRATIVE
In the extra-literary field, there are good reasons to combine

and time: they are the two complementary aspects that toge
cover all the dimensions of empirical existence. According
makes no difference whether one holds to a separative theory
considers the aspects of space and time to be parallel yet ind
dent - e.g., the theories of Euclid, Newton, Kant, and Leibnit
or whether one supports a theory which regards these aspect
interdependent, composing together a single, four-dimens
complex (chronotopos, spacetime) - as does Einstein. Independ
or interdependent, space and time are perceived as complemen
aspects of equal status, belonging to a common field of debate.
* This is a somewhat revised version of a paper presented at Synopsis II, "Narrative

and Poetics of Fiction," an international symposium held at the Porter Institute for
and Semiotics, Tel Aviv University, and the Van Leer Jerusalem Foundation, June
1979.
It is based on parts of a thesis for the doctoral degree prepared under the supervision of
Professor Benjamin Hrushovski.
Poetics Today, Vol. 5:2 (1984) 309-335

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310 GABRIEL ZORAN
This conception of the relations between s

occasionally applied to the narrative text, and
several viewpoints. From others, however, it
relationship between space and time in the nar
the clarity and the symmetry it possesses whe
of reality. Literature is basically an art of tim
today would state this as baldly as Lessing (19
dominance of the time factor in the structuring
remains an indisputable fact.
The existence of space is pushed into a corn
not altogether discarded, but neither does it
clear-cut status within the text. It can be underst
but none is as clear and unambiguous as the te
symmetry in the relationship between space an
only in their status in the text, but also in the e
of research on these concepts. Although the s
been dealt with more than once, research in g
is quite diffuse, and there are few assumptio
generally accepted.
The difficulty apparently lies in one basic d
space and time in narrative. One may speak of
correlation between the structuring of the text a
whereas it is impossible to speak about space
ever specific terms are used in discussing time
dominated by the basic opposition between
and that of the world (narrated time and time
zeit-erza'hlte Zeit, time of presentation and pr
a large extent also fabula and sujet [see esp
Liment 1955; Tomashevsky 1965; Even-Zoha
possible relationships within these pairs of co
a wide range of categories, based on the m
(whether it is a negative or a positive correla
19611), and on specific types of deviation from
turing of time (such as contraction, reversal of
In principle, one may also distinguish betwee
the term space to the reconstructed world an
dimension of the verbal text itself. The conc
text as an exclusively temporal structure (as, f
conception), is not acceptable today, and one
connection Frank (1963) and Segre (1975). N
the possibility of distinguishing between the
that of the world, one cannot point to any
between them.
1.1. The spatial dimension of the text may be conceived of as its

graphic existence. There are texts, particularly those of concrete

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TOWARDS A THEORY OF SPACE IN NARRATIVE 311
poetry, in which graphic space is exploited and activ

inseparable part of the general structuring of the text. Still
not alter the fact that language is a system of arbitrary sign
words, the connection between the signifier and the sign
based on any real structural similarity between them, but
convention. The fact that a certain poem may attempt
structural similarity between the described object and i
organization (for example, Lewis Carroll's poem arran
shape of a mouse's tail) does not signify any fundamental
or constant correlation between the verbal text and the world, but
rather the opposite - the correlation here is an unexpected thing,
a curiosity. It is completely different from the correlation which
exists between the two orders of time in the narrative. The latter is
a permanent phenomenon based on the temporal structure of
language, existing even when there is a contradiction between the
two orders of time (a negative correlation is not the same as a lack of
correlation altogether).
1.2. It is a more complicated matter when the dimension of space is

attributed to the structure of signifieds in a text. Here the reference
is to the structuring of meanings into a pattern not identical to the
temporal order in which they appear in the text. A spatial pattern is
any pattern perceived solely on the basis of the connection between
discontinuous units in a text, demanding therefore a perception of
the whole text or part of it as given simultaneously in space (which
is, for example, the case of analogies).1
Two problems arise when the term space is used to describe such
patterns: (a) the problem of whether the term has the same meaning
here as it has had thus far, and (b) the problem of whether we can
find a kind of correlation between spatial structure in this sense
and the space of the world.
As far as the first problem is concerned, I believe that we have
here a completely different usage of the concept of space. The
justification for the use of the word here is that we are speaking of
intemporality and coexistence.2 These may, of course, be regarded
as important aspects of space; however, if we consider the term as
it is generally used, and as we have used it thus far, it becomes clear
1. This common use of the adjective "spatial" is inspired mainly by the theory of Frank
(1963) about the spatial form in modern literature. Frank, however, used the concept
mainly to describe a property of an historical corpus of texts, while today it is used to
describe general textual properties. See, for example, Sternberg's (1973:228-230) dis-
cussion of analogy, as well as some later articles of Frank himself (e.g., 1978:275-290).
2. A definition based on such a conception is the classic Leibnitzian definition of space
as "the order of possible coexistences" ("ordre des coexistences possibles"), but it is not
mere chance that Leibnitz conceives of space as a subjective relative system, while Newton
conceives of it as something absolute and objective, a kind of "reservoir" of reality.

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312 GABRIEL ZORAN
that the above usage is not the usual one. For one
necessarily an absence of time; the fact that thing
in chronological order, but rather in a simultane
not make them necessarily spatial, except in a pu
sense. Again, our perception of space has to do wit
volume, extension, and three-dimensionality, a
unrelated to the concept of the spatial pattern. T
particular location, no contours, no volume. It is
organization, but it has nothing to do with the re
thing it organizes.
As to the second problem - whether one m
connection between the spatial pattern and the sp
here the situation is more complex. It is impossi
the space of the world without structuring the in
into some kind of a "spatial" pattern, so there is a
between the two. But this characteristic is not nec
reconstructed space alone, since the reconstructio
of the world necessitates a "spatial" point of v
characters, norms, and even, strange as it may se
Still, there is no doubt that the reconstruction of
dependent on a "spatial" point of view.3 In any ca
to distinguish between the "spatial" point of vie
object viewed. Moreover, although the connec
components is a permanent one, this connection
be perceived as a correlation. The spatial pattern
not stand in any kind of correlation with the space
Finally, whatever the connection between the s
the world may be, it should be emphasized again
dimension of the text has no autonomous existence. The text exists,
and is structured first and foremost in time. The so-called "spatial
pattern" is actually nothing other than a superstructure of a sub-
stance whose basic structure is in time. It is thus impossible to
"bypass" the time factor in the narrative. The narrative, with all
its components, is arranged in time, so that in a certain sense one
may speak of a temporal arrangement of space. We must therefore
identify the various principles of transformation from a world
existing in space to a medium structured in time.
2. THE TRANSFORMATION FROM SPATIAL OBJECTS TO

THE MEDIUM OF TIME
2.1. The possibility of describing the relation between the ve
text and the world in terms of transformation is not a peculi
3. The importance of the "spatial" point of view for the reconstruction of fiction
will be discussed in more detail in the section dealing with the field of vision. (See
especially 4.1.4.)

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of the poetics of space. There are principles governing t

formation of every component of the world into the stru
information about this component in the text. Characte
for example, can be conceived of as transformation from th
ogical-psychological existence of characters in the world
textual existence, i.e., dialogues, descriptions, actions,
arranged in a temporal verbal continuum. Needless to
transformation is a two-way relationship from the text to t
and vice versa, and does not necessarily reflect real p
reading or of creating.
The peculiarity of the transformation of the time fact
narrative is thus characterized by the fact of its being a
from one type of temporal structure to another. For th
one can also speak of a correlative relationship between t
type of relationship is also possible for the dialogic com
the text, but for most aspects of the reconstructed worl
no sense to speak of a correlation. The transformation t
between completely different levels of organization whic
structural similarity between them. Space is unique in tha
transformation from an object to a system of signs invo
transformation from a spatial arrangement to a tempor
discussion of the problem of space in the narrative requir
all, a confrontation with these principles of transformation.
2.2. Space as it appears in the narrative is a very comple

and only a small part of its existence in the text is based
description. It is actually a combination of various kinds
of reconstruction. Before dealing with such a complex pr
us examine how, in general, language is activated to desc
object in space.
A spatial object is characterized by its being complete,
existing simultaneously. In the attempt to give verbal ex
the structure of such an object, the object must first
of its "completeness," since it is impossible to give an
expression to all its parts and aspects: some of them
described explicitly, some of them implicitly, and some
altogether. Language cannot give full expression to t
existence of any object. Second, when the simultaneous
expressed as units of information, they must receive som
temporal arrangement. One may begin from the overall p
pass to the individual units or vice versa; the various un
arranged in different ways: from up to down, front to
important to the subordinate, etc. In any case, the spatial
cut off, so to speak, from their spatial and simultaneou
and are arranged along a temporal line.
Thus far we have discussed descriptions of complet

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314 GABRIEL ZORAN
objects. However, space does not involve onl

relationships - things may also move and chan
of spacetime (chronotopos). Language can expl
arranging its items of information by linkage
movement can be a real route of an object or a
or the thought from one object to another. In
even a marked preference for the spatial-tempora
ment (i.e., along a line of movement) over
structure, as was shown by Linde (1974).4
2.3. When we transfer these considerations from the discussion of

the possibilities of language in general to the discussion of the
structures of narrative texts, we must take into account two essential
differences. First, as far as the usual verbal usage is concerned, the
objects of space and of the world in general constitute an external
factor not dependent on language, whereas within the narrative
text neither space nor the world have an independent existence but
rather an existence derived from the language itself. In terms of
Benjamin Hrushovski's text theory (1974, 1975), this is an internal
field of reference. Thus, the important question to be posed at this
point is not only how is a given space expressed in language? but also
what is the nature of this space? The decisions of the text bear not
only on the verbal material, but also on the world.
The second difference which must be taken into account is that
the movement discussed above, which can serve in daily speech as
a vehicle for a certain arrangement of information, can have in the
narrative text a most central and dominant status. In fact, the entire
plot can be regarded as such a movement. A plot can be "space
oriented," serving as a motivation for the inclusion of space units; an
extreme example of this is "Nils Holgersson's Wonderful Journey,"
by Selma Lagerl6f, whose plot serves to present, in several ways,
a complete geography of Sweden. Obviously, plot is not usually
subordinate, especially in relation to space, but whatever the status
or functions of plot in the text, it must be seen as more than simply
a structure in time. It includes routes, movement, directions, volume,
simultaneity, etc., and thus is an active partner in the structuring of
space in the text.
The transformation of space into the temporal-verbal text may be
sketched as shown in Figure 1.
The different points of the verbal continuum may refer directly to
points in space or to points in the continuum of events, relating to
space through spacetime (the chronotopos). The text can refer to
4. In a study she carried out on the ways English speakers from a given group describe
apartments, Linde discovered that most people organize their description as a "walk"
through the apartment and only a few do it like an aerial "map."

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space-tinme
verbal continuum of
continuum events in time
Figure 1
space and spacetime units which are large or small, complete or

partial, and can structure them in any order and manner it chooses.
3. THE THREE LEVELS OF STRUCTURING
From the above sketch, one may distinguish three diff

of the structuring of space in the text:
The topographical level: space as a static entity (expre
diagram by the bottom of the cube).
The chronotopic level: the structure imposed on space
and movements, i.e., by spacetime (in the diagram, the
of the inside of the cube on the lower square).
The textual level: the structure imposed on space by th
it is signified within the verbal text.
These levels all belong to the reconstructed world,
regarded as three levels of reconstruction. The most imm
of reconstruction is the textual one, in which the world st
several of the structuring patterns of the text. In the
level, the reconstructed world is already independent of
arrangement of the text, but is still dependent on the p
on the highest level of reconstruction, the topographi
world is perceived as existing for itself, with its ow
structure, cut off entirely from any structure imposed by
text and the plot.
As mentioned in the discussion of transformation (se
it must be remembered that no temporal order is impli
three levels of reconstruction do not represent differen
real act of reconstruction or of creation. The reader doe
at the textual level and then pass on to the others, or
rather, he is continually moving back and forth amon
levels and, moreover, he perceives them at once withou
to separate them.

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316 GABRIEL ZORAN
The levels may be compared to three diapos

each other. There is a difference in clarity amon
all receptive to the same extent, nor do th
equally. From the observer's point of view, ho
perceived together, one through the other.5
3.1. The Level of Topographical Structure

As mentioned, this is space at its highest lev
perceived as self-existent and independent of t
of the world and sequential arrangement of
express topographical structure by means of dire
as in Balzac's well-known openings, but in fact ev
whether narrative, dialogic, or even essayisti
the reconstruction of the topographical structur
This structure may be conceived as a kind of map based on
elements from the entire text, including all its components. True,
a map such as this cannot be entirely exhaustive. Some of its areas
are blank, and in the real world it may not be of much use in finding
one's way. For the purpose of reading, however, it provides a
sufficiently clear picture of the world.
The map is based on a series of oppositions, some of which are
general and typical, others of which are more specific. It encom-
passes the horizontal structure of the world, relationships such as
inside and outside, far and near, center and periphery, city and
village, etc. It may also include contours signifying the vertical
organization of the world and representing the opposition up-down.
5. The distinction between the three levels of structuring owes a lot to two existing
distinctions: that of Petsch (1942:162-189) and that of Kristeva (1970:191-197), but it
differs from these in some principal points.
First of all, these distinctions are binary, not ternary, and both seem to be a result of the
tendency to describe space in terms entirely symmetrical with those used to describe time,
and in describing time the binary distinctions are actually clearcut.
Petsch discriminates between Raum and Lokal. The Lokal is space given in itself, and is
thus more or less parallel to the level of topographical structure. Raum is space connected
with other levels of the text. Among others, it is connected with the time factor, being a
space revealed step by step. But this important aspect is pointed out only as an aside;
actually the Raum is connected with many aspects and properties of the text that have no
real connection with each other: it is also space experienced by the characters, it is
symbolic, it bears meanings, and so forth. Petsch's distinction is somewhat imbalanced
"in favor" of the Raum. The Raum is, in the final analysis, anything of "interest" one may
say about space, while Lokal is nothing but a neutral material, lacking any significance in
itself. In contrast, the distinction between the three levels of structure proposed here has
nothing to do with meanings: every level can be equally meaningful and function within the
text as a whole.
Kristeva's distinction is closer to my proposal. She discriminates between espace textuel
and espace geographique. The geographic space in her analysis may parallel both the topo-
graphic and chronotopic levels, and the espace textuel, of course, parallels the textual level.
But the development of the distinction and the description of the levels are quite different.

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In addition, the map has patterns which refer not to the

things, but rather to their quality - patterns of colors, s
types of objects, etc.
Unlike topographical maps in reality, this map can struc
on the basis of ontological principles as well; that is, spa
divided up according to the modes of existence of its un
"modes of existence" sometimes overlap with the factor
graphical location: for example, the world of the god
world of man - down. Yet they may relate to one anoth
tionships in themselves completely unspatial, such as the rel
between the space of a dream and that of reality within the
Again, the ontological levels may be completely different
one another, or they may be mingled, appearing togeth
continuous space, such as in fantastic tales.
It is difficult to define beforehand all the different po
of patterns in the topographical world, for these are not
on the logic of the verbal text - on the contrary, as far a
is concerned, every structure is possible. The possibilities
writer are, instead, dependent on his personal outlook,
culture, individual qualities, etc.
Only one aspect of the structure of topographical
dependent on the logic of the narrative text: the spe
existence of the characters. The characters are generally
as belonging to a separate narrative level with its own p
problems. It should not be forgotten, however, that they als
physical bodies in space, but the fact that they have many im
functions in other areas of the text makes them, spatially, a
and exceptional entity. The formation of a character's
appearance constitutes a special problem, different
formation of an inanimate object - although every text
this difference in a different way. Imagine the grotesque ef
would be created if a character was handled as a phys
In principle, therefore, one may state that the differ
between subject and object determines a basic differentiat
space - between the external appearance of the character
environmental objects.6
6. Some remarkable studies dealing with space are actually concerned with qu
may be regarded as belonging to the topographical level of organization. An
example is Bachelard's (1974) poetics of space, which is a discussion of the to
space in the poetical imagination. However, Bachelard's conception of the lit
very problematic and quite remote from what is presupposed here. Other stu
topographical structure to a large extent as a structure of signs, and connect it
of meaning (e.g., Wilbur's study of the house in Poe's tales [Wilbur 1967]). T
for studies based on a mythical conception of space, whether they deal e
mythic or folkloric material, or whether they reveal the mythic level in writte
See, for example, Segal's (1974) discussion about Soviet Structuralism.

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318 GABRIEL ZORAN
3.2. The Level of Chronotopic Structure

As mentioned earlier, this plane has to do wi
structure and organization of space produced
the movement and the action of the narrativ
a clarification of the term chronotopos he
Einsteinian term was introduced into literary
(1978), who uses it to signify the entire comp
together, including physical objects, events, p
etc. I, however, have not used the term to sig
space and time, but rather to describe a speci
signify all things that may be found in space
what may be defined by an integration of
categories as movement and change. One m
effect of the chronotopos on the structure of sp
Within the overall chronotopos of the recon
should distinguish between synchronic and dia
which each have a different type of effect on th
3.2.1. Synchronic Relations: Motion and Res

the narrative, that is, at every synchronic si
may be found at rest and others in motion. Na
tion can vary from point to point. One may
that there are certain objects in space which
their capacity for movement and others which
is not the same as the relationship between su
between characters and environmental objects
between the states of motion and rest may b
"inanimate" objects and among characters alike
which have a capacity for movement and ther
so to speak, tied to their places (see Uspensky
It is important to remember that movement
terms; rest is the state of being bound to a g
while movement is the ability to cut oneself off
and to switch over to different contexts. As to the nature of the
spatial context itself, this is determined by the narrative. For
example, the Cyclops in the Odyssey can move about freely on hi
island, but the structure of the work - based on Odysseus's move
ment from place to place - determines the Cyclops's island as a
single context, and the Cyclops as a character at rest.
3.2.2. Diachronic Relations: Directions, Axes, Powers. The dia-

chronic structure of the chronotopos also imposes its own structure
on space. Space, in its topographical structure, is all potential - it is
neutral, with regard to any specific movement or direction, and on
may seemingly move within it, from and to any point. In contrast
the chronotopos determines defined directions in space: in the spac

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of a given narrative, one may move from point a to poin

vice versa; in another narrative, the movement may be r
both cases, movement ceases to be potential; it is fully
is, so to speak, incarnated in space. Thus, for example,
graphical space of the Odyssey, Troy and Ithaca are two
there is a possibility of moving from one to the other. Bu
direction of movement is determined by the chronotop
thus, one place is defined as the point of departure, an
target, and others as stations on the way, deviations, et
of movement in space are determined; one may state t
on the chronotopic level, is structured as a network of
definite directions and a definite character.
Axes may or may not be determined by motions which actually
take place in the world of the text. An actual movement is a result of
several powers: will, obstructions, ideal, characters' intentions, and
so forth. These powers can also act in space when there is no real
movement. In Kafka's The Castle, for example, the line stretching
between the village and the castle is the central axis in the spatial
structure of the novel, focusing all the powers acting in the "world,"
despite the fact that it is never actively traversed by the main
character. Chronotopic structure of space does not mean an
occasional movement on a neutral scene, but rather a conception
of the entire space in terms of afield of powers.7
3.3. The Level of Textual Structure

To reiterate, this level encompasses the structure which is imposed
on space by the fact that it is formed within the verbal text. It
should be emphasized that the structure under discussion is not
that of the text itself as a verbal medium, nor that of its linguistic
materials, but rather an organization of the reconstructed world.
This structure, however, although applied to the "world," is not
derived from it. The objects structured belong to the reconstructed
world, but the structure itself is imposed on them by the linguistic
nature of the text.
7. The concept of the axis appears in Meyer's (1957) analysis of space in Goethe's Novelle,
where looking through a telescope creates an axis connecting between the two main
localities. However, Meyer's use of the word is rather local and metaphoric, and I believe
it can be made systematic and consequent. Brown (1967) tackles, though not in detail,
questions which seem to me to belong to the chronotopic level, when he tries to classify
spaces according to the directions of movements taking place within them. The conception
of space as a field of power is inspired mainly by the theory of Kurt Lewin, who tried to
apply the physical concept of field and the principles of topology to psychology and social
sciences (Lewin 1936, 1938, 1957). This method seems to me applicable for textual analysis
as well, but for the time being its poetic potentialities have not been developed to a large
extent. (For a few exceptions, see Lotman 1973, O'Toole 1980).

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320 GABRIEL ZORAN
One may compare this to the relationship bet

the sujet. Both belong to the reconstructed
regarded as levels of organization of elements
but the fabula retain their natural arrangeme
forces on the motives the verbal order of the t
itself is not identical to the verbal level. Here, too, at the level of
textual structure, there are patterns of organization imposed on the
reconstructed world which are not natural to it, neither as space
nor as spacetime, but are rather forced onto it because of its being
signified in a verbal text.
These patterns of organization have to do mainly with three
aspects of the verbal text: (1) the essential selectivity, or the in-
capacity of language to exhaust all the aspects of given objects;
(2) the temporal continuum, or the fact that language transmits
information only along a temporal line; (3) the point of view, and
the perspective structure of the reconstructed world due to it.
3.3.1. The Selectivity of Language, and its Effects. The fact that
language cannot express all aspects of space results in a certain
measure of selectivity. It may express some things in a concrete way,
others in a vague or general way, and may ignore still others al-
together. What selection actually takes place is of course up to
the specific text, but in any event there must be some selection.
Language is not able to give a complete and continuous report on
space and, moreover, the reader does not always demand such a
report. The reader is much more demanding about the filling in of
gaps on the narrative plane than he is about the filling in of gaps in
space.8 There are many gaps in the information about space, and it is
not essential to fill them all. They do not always attract attention
during the process of reading. Yet their very existence causes a
permanent distinction in space between absolute, clear, specific
elements and unclear, unspecific elements. This distinction has
nothing to do with the "real" existence of space in the reconstructed
world, but rather with its verbal existence in the text. Thus, entire
areas in space may be differentiated from one another by the type
of verbal selection carried out in them. In the Odyssey, for example,
the events taking place on earth are sketched in great detail, while
the scenes on Olympus do not materialize and lack detail. This
distinction is congruent with that between two ontological areas,
but the congruence is not an automatic one. In the Iliad, the nature
8. The concept of informational gap connected with the structure of plot has been
developed to a large extent by Perry and Sternberg (1968) and Sternberg (1973). But, as
will be shown in the following discussion, I tend to focus rather on what they call "gaps
the filling of which is automatic and unnecessary," i.e., my discussion makes more use of
Ingarden's (1965) broader and more neutral concept of spots of indeterminacy.

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of the verbal selection is identical in both areas: this, of course,

creates a completely different image of the relationships between
the world of gods and that of man (see also Hellwig 1964).
3.3.2. The Linearity of the Text. Recognition of the principle of

the temporal continuum of language, and the necessity of structuring
information about space in a temporal continuum, leads us to ask:
(1) what is the principle of segmentation of spatial information;
that is, how does the text pass from one unit of space to another;
and (2) what effects does the order of transmission of information
have on the image of space and the way it is reconstructed.
3.3.2.1. The principle of sequential structure, or the ordering of

spatial units in the text, may be borrowed from the spatial structure
discussed above. It may be based on the chronotopic level - on the
tracing of movement in space: the movement of a character, of an
object, of the eye, etc. It may be based on the topographical level,
proceeding from one object to the object nearby, from the sur-
rounding to the surrounded, from the upper to the lower, etc. But
it may also follow orders which are not spatial in themselves:
catalogues of items belonging to a similar category, functional
relationships, or scales of various kinds, etc. Naturally, all the above
principles may intermingle, overlap, dominate in various degrees,
and connect units of different scopes.
3.3.2.2. The Effects of the Order Chosen. In the same way that
different orders existing in space can motivate the arrangement of
the text continuum along a certain line, the same orders can be
especially stressed by means of the continuum structure. When, for
instance, the text passes from high objects to low ones, the vertical
dimension of space is stressed more than its other dimensions. The
text continuum can also impose kinds of direction upon space. This
process is similar to that of the axes previously discussed, but here
the directions are not determined by powers or motions in space,
but only by means of the verbal arrangement. One should also take
note of the different effects of the spatial image if the text chooses
to move from the internal to the external or vice versa, from the high
to the low or vice versa, and so forth.
Another effect worth noting concerns the order in which informa-
tion of various scopes is rendered. The text supplies information
about concrete local items which compose space as well as about the
wider global contexts within which these items are structured. When
the global information appears at an early stage in the description,
the concrete items join in later on, and the picture takes on a unified
character. On the other hand, it is possible to delay the appearance
of this global information, in which case the individual items appear

187.191.11.0 on Fri, 25 Aug 2023 18:57:10 +00:00
322 GABRIEL ZORAN
- at least for a while - without a clear-cut con

the impression of a non-unified, disconnected sp
3.3.3. The Perspectival Structure. The point
forces upon the reconstructed space a perspe
structure differs from the perspective organ
drawing, although it may sometimes aspire t
principle, the spatial perspective of a drawin
based on a continuous line stretching from th
horizon along which the sizes of objects get
In contrast, the spatial perspective of langu
continuous line but on a binary opposition of her
Here-there relationships occur in two ways:
location of the act of narration and the "world" as a whole; and,
within the "world," between things perceived at a certain instant
as in the foreground and those perceived as in the background. These
two here-there relationships are parallel to two types of coordination
systems in language (Miller, Johnson-Laird 1976): the deictic system,
whose center ("hero") is the spatio-temporal location of the speech
act; and the intrinsic system, whose center is any point in the world
chosen for that purpose. These two centers exist side by side
throughout the text as a matter of principle. But the relationships
between them can change at any point: they may come closer
together, one may become prominent at the expense of the other,
the objects which are here and there may change, and the relation-
ships between here and there may be reversed.
4. THE "HORIZONTAL" STRUCTURE OF SPACE
4.0. So far we have discussed the three levels of space in t
The differentiation between these levels is to a large degr
tical." In order to proceed further with this analysis, it is
to take account of a "horizontal" viewpoint as well; that is, to
examine the parts of space, its boundaries, its scope. Up to now we
have not discriminated between units of different scopes, and have
considered the space of the narrative as a complete whole. We must
now examine the nature of this whole. It may be seen as a complex
entity comprised of parts or, alternatively, it may be regarded as
a single unit forming part of some spatial totality extending beyond
it. Thus, one may speak of three possible scopes of spatial units:
the total space which encompasses the world of the text; the spatial
complex which the text actually presents; and the spatial units which
compose this complex.
It should be evident, in the light of the distinction between the
three levels of structure, that the different scopes of spatial units
are not expressed identically at each level, nor do they necessarily
correspond from level to level. The discrimination between the
scopes is a logical one rather than a clear-cut boundary in space.

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the total space
the complex of space
the unit of space
--- 1 ---t level of textual

structure
- - ---- level of chronotopic

structure
---- I - - t - level of topographic structure
4.1. Units of Space: The Field of Vision

4.1.1. The Basic Units Composing Space. The largest units that c
be conceived as parts in relation to the entire spatial complex wo
be something in the scope of a scene, presuming that space is a serie
of such scenes, and that each such unit consists of many small
units. Within the three levels of spatial structure discussed abo
a scene on the topographical level is a place, on the chronotopic
level a zone of action, and on the textual level a field of vision.
4.1.1.1. Places may be houses, cities, streets, fields, mountain

forests, etc. A place is a certain point, plane, or volume, spatia
continuous and with fairly distinct boundaries, or else surround
by a spatial partition separating it from other spatial units.
4.1.1.2. A zone of action is not defined by spatial continuity or

clear topographical border, but rather by the proportions of t
event taking place within it.
The event itself has nothing to do with given spatial borders n
does it necessarily take place in a defined topographical unit; it
defined, rather, by its relationship to other events which occur
before or after it. Several simultaneous events may take place wit
one place, for example, in a room; or, a single event may take p
in a discontinuous space. A telephone conversation, for example
is one event which takes place in two nonadjacent, disconnec
places (ignoring for the time being the assertion that teleph
wires or radio waves are a part of space; they are a part of
physical space, but not of the human event defined as the teleph
conversation).9
9. This claim is based on the well-known distinction between mathematical-physical s

and experienced space, in which human life actually takes place (erlebter Raum, es
vicu). See Minkovski (1933, 1936); Binswanger (1955); Bollnow (1963); Bachelard (19

187.191.11.0 on Fri, 25 Aug 2023 18:57:10 +00:00
324 GABRIEL ZORAN
4.1.1.3. The concept field of vision may be und

examine for a moment the example of the telep
considering the different ways in which such an eve
in a text. The text may attach itself to one of the
room, leaving the reader to reconstruct the word
in this case, we would say that the field of vision
this section, is attached to a place (room) but not
opposite: The text may choose to describe the con
point of view of both conversers, seeing each on
own place: in this case, the field of vision attemp
to the disconnected zone of action. But a field of vision is not
necessarily limited to places or zones of action: it may ac
encompass any spatial unit.
In our discussion on the perspective structure of space, we
that every point in the text has certain elements perceived as
and other elements perceived as "there." One may define th
of vision as that part of the world perceived as being "here."
fields of vision which preceded it in the continuum, or whic
follow it, and spatial units indirectly formed or unrealized as
of vision - all these are perceived as "there."
Although we perceive the field of vision as being here, it
not be understood as a focalized, spatial unit given to clear lo
tion. We have already seen that from the topographical point of
it does not necessarily have to encompass a solid, continu
closed unit. The text refers to this spatial unit, however, a
were something continuous and defined, and it surveys it in
view, independent of real conditions of vision or of perc
existing in the world.
The field of vision of the text is thus different from the ord
optical field of vision. The text may refer to an entire city as a
of vision, to a split event (such as a telephone conversation)
complete battlefield, to a complete house (disregarding the
which divide its rooms), etc. Naturally, there is also the poss
of following optical rules of perception in a field of vision, b
is only one convention among others and it is no more "nat
for the field of vision than the convention of linear perspec
for a drawing.10
4.1.2. Two Examples of Field of Vision. To illustrate the F

Vision, let us pick two concrete examples - the opening sen
The importance of this distinction for the history of the concept of space in
criticism is highly important.
10. Examples of analyses of visual and sensual structures of fields of vision may
in Alewin (1957) and Iskra (1967), although their discussions are in terms of d
and of course not of field of vision.

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of two short stories: Wolfgang Borchert's "Die D

K6nige" ("The Three Dark Kings") and Heinrich v
Erdbeben in Chili" ("The Earthquake in Chile").
Er tappte durch die dunkle Vorstadt. Die Hiuser standen ab
den Himmel. Der Mond fehlte und das Pflaster war erschro
spaten Schritt. Dann fand er eine alte Planke. Da trat er mit
bis eine Latte morsch aufseufzte und losbrach. Das Holz roch miirbe und
siiss. Durch die dunkle Vorstadt tappte er zuriick. Sterne waren nicht da
(Borchert 1949)
(He groped his way through the dark suburb. The houses stood in a br
line against the sky. The moon was absent and the pavement was fright
by the late step. Then he found an old plank. He kicked against it with h
foot until a lath gave a rotten sigh and broke loose. The wood smelled ro
and sweet. Through the dark suburb he groped his way back. There wer
stars.)
In St. Jago, der Haupstadt des K6nigreichs Chili, stand gerade in dem Augen-
blicke der grossen Erdeschiitterung vom Jahre 1647, bei welcher viele tausend
Menschen ihren Untergang fanden, ein junger auf ein Verbrechen angeklagter
Spanier, Namens Jeronimo Rugera, an einem Pfeiler des Gefangnisses, in
welches man ihn eingespert hatte, und wolte sich erhenken. (Kleist 1923)
(In Santiago, the capital of the kingdom of Chile, at the very moment of the
great earthquake of 1647 in which many thousands of lives were lost, a young
Spaniard by the name of Jeronimo Rugera, who had been locked up on a
criminal charge, was standing against a prison pillar, about to hang himself.)
In the first example, the reader "sees" in one glance an area which
is about the size of a suburb, and which could be similarly surveyed
in reality. The scene includes a perceptible background (the houses)
and a foreground (the man kicking at the plank). The topographical
place (the suburb) is entirely overlapped by the zone of action
(defined by his walking) and by the field of vision. The second
excerpt presents a different kind of field of vision. Here, too, there is
a perceptible and rather concrete place (the cell), but its background,
in contrast to that of the Borchert excerpt, is not a series of objects
seen together with the character but an immense space which cannot
be shown as vividly as the prison. This is due not only to the interior-
exterior relation, but also to the fact that there are two different
kinds of perception here: a concrete and visual perception, and a
conceptual "sight" from a historical-geographic point of view. But
the condensed structure of the sentence forces these two domains -
although perceived in entirely different ways - to be surveyed in
one field of vision.
These two examples cannot, of course, exhaust the large range of

possible structures of fields of vision, nor do they represent all the
aspects of such structures. An extensive analysis is beyond the scope

187.191.11.0 on Fri, 25 Aug 2023 18:57:10 +00:00
326 GABRIEL ZORAN
of this paper, which proposes to analyze th

vision" rather than its concrete phenomena.
4.1.3. Field of Vision and Description. One sho

difference between a field of vision and a scenic
verbal units defined by their reference to the
scenic description is a particular instance of a
only one of its possible components. A field o
of a scenic description, an action, a dialogue,
etc. The concept of field of vision solves, i
ambiguity caused by the classical dichotomy b
and narration, and its automatic parallelism wi
action. This set of concepts is to a great extent
false identification of space in the narrative w
sections, and for excluding action as well as
components of the text from the phenomena
field of vision is not a phenomenon confin
sections in the text that contain direct informa
section in the text constitutes a field of vision fr
of its spatial reference, although this spatial
several kinds and degrees. Thus, fields of visi
amount of information about space they cont
portance of this information, but they do not
relevance to space.
4.1.4. The Problem of Identification and Delim

of Vision. If every unit of the text constitutes
question may then be posed: What is it that c
identify a particular spatial unit as a field of visi
from another unit and at the same time dem
within the reconstructed world? Here we must deal with the main
problem of the concept field of vision - the fact that it is a unit
the reconstructed world, determined not by properties of the
"world" as such but rather by the perception of the world throug
language.
At this point it is necessary to examine the function of the reader
in the course of his reading. It was stated earlier that a field of vision
is what the reader can perceive as being "here." Strictly speaking,
this means that at any one moment of reading, there is only one tiny
unit, or aspect, "in front of" the reader, and that during the reading
process he passes from one tiny unit to the next, so that the overall
image of space must be like a chain of tiny objects. This is what
Lessing (1974, Laokoon, Chap. 16) implied when he negated the
possibility of reconstructing the appearance of an object in one's
mind from a detailed description of its parts. He argues that by the
time the list of parts is finished, the first items will already have been

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forgotten. This, to a certain extent, is an atomistic conceptio

process of reading, reducing it to a row of points, each o
connected only to the point just before or after it. The f
the memory is reduced to that of merely connecting adja
In a conception such as Lessing's, there is no place for
vision: when he speaks of space, he is referring only
objects - Agammemnon's sceptre, Hera's chariot - ne
entire system of spatial relationships. When the act of recon
is identified with the verbal decoding, space cannot be p
other than as a series of small particles.
Space can be truly perceptible only in the framework
ception which assumes that the reconstruction of the wo
parallel to the verbal interpretation alone, but also has t
accumulation in the memory and with various acts of li
conception of this type was proposed by Segre (1975), fo
He describes the point at which the reader finds himself
moment of reading as being continually in a system of re
with synthesis in memory, which preserves all which has alr
read, including the possibilities that have been eliminated
the same time aspiring towards the open possibilities in
tinuation of the text. Only in the framework of such a mod
concept field of vision be explained. The field of vision i
bination of the present moment of reading with the synthe
memory. Here, however, backward synthesis refers not to
complex of passages read, but only to those passages wh
in some way to the spatial framework of the item about wh
presently reading. This is a combination of the element
at this moment of reading, together with other items an
tion, in such a way that they may be perceived as spati
tinuous and as forming one spatial wholeness, given t
survey. This synthesis of memory may encompass a scene
over many pages, or may be limited to a short descript
case, the backward synthesis needed for the field of visi
a consecutive textual unit: the overall synthesis can o
encompass information transmitted in earlier textual uni
to other parts of space, or even to the same part within a
context, but this information will not belong to the sam
vision. Its function may be that of an invisible backgroun
also an important element in the general complex of spa
longer belongs to what is perceived as "here." The field o
thus to a certain extent the point of intersection between
of space and the "now" of the text. It is a unit of recon
space which has a correlative in the verbal text: it may
and identified both within the text and within the world.

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328 GABRIEL ZORAN
4.2. The Complex of Space

We have observed in the foregoing that the textua
is like a series of fields of vision. We have defined and demarcated
a single field of vision, but it remains for us to understand how
different fields of vision combine to create the complex of space
as a whole. This process takes place in two dimensions: the dimen-
sion of the text continuum - how fields of vision change as the
reader progresses through the text; and the "world" dimension -
the arrangement of fields of vision within the reconstructed world
itself.
Fields of vision may shift from one to another in various ways.
Most obviously, there may be a break, such as a chapter or section
ending. However, this is not necessarily the most characteristic
method. Unlike scenes in a naturalistic theater, textual fields of
vision do not always occur in complete, closed units. They may be
much more fluid, they may widen or narrow in scope, as with a
movie camera, or move gradually from one place to another, making
their demarcation less clear-cut than our previous discussion might
indicate (see section 4.1.4). They may also shift by way of projection:
one field of vision may be constructed from pieces of information
supplied by another. A character in field A may relate something
that occurred in another place, thereby creating field B.
There are also various ways for fields of vision to combine within
the reconstructed world. The first possibility that comes to mind is
the perspectival one, in which one field is perceived as being "in
front" and another serves as background. This is the situation of
almost every field of vision in relation to the other fields in the text:
what is perceived at any given moment is foreground; the other
fields of vision form the "unseen" background. This foreground-
background relation is especially apparent in cases of projection.
Although projection usually results in a complete substitution of
one field of vision for another, the perspectival aspect can be
preserved, creating the effect of two simultaneous fields of vision.
This can happen when the projected area is not structured as an
autonomous field of vision - for example, in the case of discon-
tinuous mentioning of certain places by characters in a given field
of vision (i.e., not a continuous narration by one of the characters,
which would mean a complete displacement to the new field of
vision). Here the field of vision, rather than being autonomous,
becomes a kind of background existing outside the area of the
primary field.11 But two concrete and fully autonomous fields of
11. A similar effect, although much more rare, is sometimes gained when the projected
field of vision is dominant and autonomous but the text mentions insistently the primary
field of vision. For instance, take the description of Achilles's shield in the Iliad: there are,
of course, autonomous fields of vision encompassing the reality depicted on the shield,

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vision cannot occur simultaneously because by definition

of vision encompasses all the items of space surveyed at
moment.
So we return to the question, what does join the field

to form a map of reality. I propose that it is the materials
themselves, in a further degree of reconstruction; tha
chronotopic and topographic levels. At these levels of recon
the materials are abstracted from their fields of vision and re-
organized in the topographic and chronotopic patterns of the
(the horizontal and vertical structures, the system of axes,
see sections 3.1, 3.2).
4.3. Total Space

Having constructed a scheme of the complex of space, based o
series of fields of vision, we still may discover that some spa
information exists which is not structured within any field of vis
that is, spatial elements that the text presupposes, or prov
indirectly, but does not "show." This information belongs to
total space - that spatial information which exists beyond
boundaries of the actually presented space.
The concept of total space in a text is necessary because of
way we generally think about space. It is impossible to imagine
as anything other than total. Of course, we do consider lim
sections of space, but at the same time we regard them as part
a larger space encompassing them.
This tendency is not necessarily connected with the Euclide
conception of empty space;12 it may also be connected with
semantic properties of words. Thus, for example, the meanin
the word room includes the possibilities for additional roo
house, a place of settlement, and so forth. Any spatial object
also be perceived as a synecdoche for a more comprehensive s
Total space, however, is not merely a vague duplication of s
actually shaped in a literary text: it is an essential component
its own functions and modes of existence, as can be shown wit
regard to the three levels of structuring.
4.3.1. Total Space from the Topographic Point of View. From

point of view of the topographic level, the concept "total spa
is needed because it enables us to locate the events, to answer t
but the text continues insistently - by means of naming materials and verbs of prod
to refer back to the primary field of vision, Hephaestus' workshop, which is in the
ground.
12. The irrelevance of the Euclidean conception of space to the literary work of art was
claimed by Ingarden (1965). Ingarden, however, concluded from it the finiteness of the
literary space, which seems to me a wrong conclusion.

187.191.11.0 on Fri, 25 Aug 2023 18:57:10 +00:00
330 GABRIEL ZORAN
question, "where does it happen?" All the in

taking place on the topographical level answe
"what does it look like?" or "how is it made?" - but in order to
reconstruct space, the answer to this question alone is not suffi
It is essential to locate the entire system within some larger space.
Texts may be differentiated from one another by the degre
importance which they attach to the question of localization, as
as by the degree of exactness with which they answer this que
Place of events may be located precisely by street and house numb
or in a very general way - by the name of the city or country
even less than this. Each of these cases implies a different wa
coordination within the total space.
Apart from the question of specific location, total space also
to do with the assumptions of the text about the nature of the wo
in general, and thus it is strongly connected with the external
of reference (see Hrushovski 1976). The text refers the reade
certain model of external reality by means of which he must
construct the world. As regards the spatial complex of the te
there is constant play between this model and the internal fie
reference, whereas in total space the external field of refere
becomes the prominent factor. The external field of reference
be of several types: historical, geographical, mythical, scie
fictional, fantastic, etc. Naturally, the clarity of the localizatio
reconstruction is dependent on the type of field of reference refe
to in the text. In any event, it should be emphasized that the
nection between total space and the external field of referen
no way signifies that we are dealing here with something wh
depends for its validity on something outside the text. The text it
determines the nature of its total world, and the model of ext
reality, although not necessarily created by the text, is ch
modified, and fully controlled by it.
4.3.2. Total Space from the Chronotopic Point of View. Her

must examine the possible connections in the domain of
between total space and the complex of space. One can imagin
absolute separation between them in the case where total spac
no significant relation to the plot, serving only as a static backgro
against which the plot unfolds. In this case, the narrative const
an entirely autonomous chronotopos. Examples of this possib
can be found in the stories of Edgar Allan Poe. Even if one co
locate his stories in some geographical-historical space, it wou
insignificant; one can conceive of his total space as empty spac
the other extreme, there is the possibility of active connection
total space, such as when general historical events determine
course of action. In this case, total space may be schematized
field of powers, the center of which is outside the actual com

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of space, but does, of course, affect it. The connection

sarily made by means of abstract power lines: one can
real axes of movement in the text that continue into
or emerge from it. The best example of chronotop
between total space and the complex of space occurs in
fact, the connection is so close that it almost annuls the
tion between them. The voyages of Odysseus encompas
of the world fixed in the conscience of its contempo
the early Greek, just as Paradise Lost covers the entir
system of the Renaissance. In these cases, the text tot
the world. These are spaces which can no longer be ima
of something larger. From the chronotopic aspect, t
space here is almost identical to total space.
4.3.3. Total Space from the Textual Point of View. Fr

of view of the textual level, the nature of total space and
to the space complex should be described by means of
tions: one between presentation and representation,
between determinacy and indeterminacy.'3 These two
of course, are applicable not only to the relation b
complex of space and total space, but also to other are
and the world. Within the complex of space and even w
field of vision, there are also spots of indeterminacy and
elements, but total space is the most complete and co
area which can be described by these two attributes.
It should be stressed, however, that these two distinc
overlapping and that these attributes are not applicabl
aspects or parts of total space.
The quality of representation belongs to all that can
said about total space. All these things differ from th
about the complex of space because they are rendered
they are not presented but represented. Actually, this is
at the beginning of our discussion (4.3) when we claim
space is not structured in the fields of vision. Fields
the modes of presenting space; the materials of to
not structured within them but scattered in various i
mentioning of places by characters and even by the narra
of metaphors and similes, synedochic items which ena
the world, and so forth.
But this information, apart from being indirect,
relation to the information about the complex of spac
prominent qualities of total space is the immense doma
13. The distinction between presentation and representation was

Hrushovski. The distinction between determinacy and indetermina
Ingarden's (1965).

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332 GABRIEL ZORAN
information. All that can be said about it, both on the basis of
textual hints and on the basis of a general knowledge of the external
field of reference - all that does not abolish its indeterminacy. Total
space is an immense area of indeterminacy, and relative darkness,
in which the complex of space appears as an island of determinacy
and clarity.
Total space is also an essential assumption for determining the
perspectival structure of the world. To a certain extent it constitutes
the absolute there, because it is always conceived as being beyond
the horizon of the field of vision. But similarly, it is necessary when
locating the primary here - the act of narration. If the act of
narration is not actually concretized as a part of the narrated world,
its spatial existence and the coordinates connecting it with the world
are also one of the aspects of total space.
4.3.4. The Ontological Opacity of Total Space. Finally, an important

characteristic of total space, which concerns all the levels of struc-
turing, to a certain extent, is lack of ontological clarity. This is of
course related to the general property of indeterminacy which exists
in total space, but here it is not only the result of an absence of
information, but rather of certain contradictions or fundamental
lacks of clarity which are covered, so to speak, by the general in-
determinacy of this area: total space is a kind of no man's land
bridging different ontological areas. It is perceived not only as the
direct continuation of the reconstructed world in the text, but also
as a continuation of the real space of the reader, of the external
field of reference, the act of narration, and possibly more. All these
areas, which could be completely incompatible from the ontological
point of view, are somehow swallowed up in the total space, and are
perceived as existing on one continuous plane of being. This situation
is best typified by the frequent location of fairy tales in distant
lands: The ontological passage from the reader's world which is
dominated by realistic probability to a world of imagination is thus
expressed by a physical remoteness within an indeterminate space.14
14. One should point out three conceptions relevant in some way to the concept of total
space proposed here. Timpe (1971) distinguishes between actual space and the potential
one, but the description of potential space as the dimensions the actual space can achieve
is rather vague. Hrushovski, in his study on War and Peace (1976), raises the problem of
total space while discussing the possibility of locating the fictional salon of Anna within
the historical Petersburg. But, in this discussion, the concept of external field of reference
is used for what I call total space. I believe that these are different concepts, although they
have a close connection (see section 4.3.1). And, finally, Rokem's discussion about the
off-stage world in the theater (1979) may throw some light on the problem of total space
from a very interesting angle.

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5. CONCLUSION
In this paper I attempted to set forth a model which wou

the central aspects of space in the narrative and determ
mutual relationships. The aspects discussed have to do m
the inherent structure of space and its mode of existing a
the reconstructed world. This may clarify as well the issues
deal with in the framework of this study - the functionality
within the overall structure of the text. The discussion was limited
to the mode of existence of space and did not deal with its functions.
It goes without saying that space is not a neutral material just
existing in the world; it has various functions relating to other planes
of the text. Every element in space - actually every element in the
text - has to be regarded, to use the term of Hrushovski (1976), as
a juncture, in which patterns from all the textual planes may inter
sect: patterns of space together with patterns of characterization
ideas, mythology, and so forth.
The functions of space may appear clearly when dealing with
single texts and pointing out the system of relations within the
complex of its components. One could, perhaps, even describe and
analyze its possible functions within the framework of a theoretica
discussion; this, however, is a domain of questions entirely differen
from those dealt with here. The fact that space here is neutralized
for methodical purposes - from its specific functions does not mea
that space in itself is conceived here as a neutral factor. On the
contrary, the assumption that all the textual components have
functional relations with each other is rigorously maintained; what is
lacking here is an assumption about a hierarchy: I did not stipulate
in advance which element is the means and which is the end. Despit
any functional approach, one tends to regard space as subordinate
to characters rather than characters to space, and the same about
the relation of space to other aspects of the text: it is always
regarded as a means to certain ends. It was exactly this situation that
prompted many discussions devoted to space to deal with characters
ideas, or general interpretation, neglecting their specific issue.
I, however, tried to begin with space and end with it, without
turning aside even at junctions with roads that seem, from an
hierarchical point of view, more like highways. No discussion abou
the functions of space could be worthwhile without analyzing firs
its mode of existence and its several aspects. Furthermore, apart
from the way it may be exploited in specific texts and the meaning
which may be conveyed through it, it should not be forgotten tha
space is first and foremost a central aspect of the world, whether real
or fictional and in whatever medium it may be transmitted. The
purpose of the model suggested here was to throw light on some
problems raised by the status of space within a fictional world
conveyed through a verbal medium.

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334 GABRIEL ZORAN
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Towards a Theory of Space in Narrative

Author(s): Gabriel Zoran

Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/1771935

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The purpose of this study is to present a general mo

1. THE ASYMMETRY OF TIME AND SPACE IN THE NARRATIVE

In the extra-literary field, there are good reasons to combine

* This is a somewhat revised version of a paper presented at Synopsis II, "Narrative

Poetics Today, Vol. 5:2 (1984) 309-335

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This conception of the relations between s

1.1. The spatial dimension of the text may be conceived of as its

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poetry, in which graphic space is exploited and activ

1.2. It is a more complicated matter when the dimension of space is

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2. THE TRANSFORMATION FROM SPATIAL OBJECTS TO

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of the poetics of space. There are principles governing t

2.2. Space as it appears in the narrative is a very comple

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objects. However, space does not involve onl

2.3. When we transfer these considerations from the discussion of

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space and spacetime units which are large or small, complete or

3. THE THREE LEVELS OF STRUCTURING

From the above sketch, one may distinguish three diff

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The levels may be compared to three diapos

3.1. The Level of Topographical Structure

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In addition, the map has patterns which refer not to the

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3.2. The Level of Chronotopic Structure

3.2.1. Synchronic Relations: Motion and Res

3.2.2. Diachronic Relations: Directions, Axes, Powers. The dia-

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of a given narrative, one may move from point a to poin

3.3. The Level of Textual Structure

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One may compare this to the relationship bet

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of the verbal selection is identical in both areas: this, of course,

3.3.2. The Linearity of the Text. Recognition of the principle of

3.3.2.1. The principle of sequential structure, or the ordering of

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- at least for a while - without a clear-cut con

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the total space

the complex of space

the unit of space

--- 1 ---t level of textual

- - ---- level of chronotopic

---- I - - t - level of topographic structure

4.1. Units of Space: The Field of Vision

4.1.1.1. Places may be houses, cities, streets, fields, mountain

4.1.1.2. A zone of action is not defined by spatial continuity or

9. This claim is based on the well-known distinction between mathematical-physical s

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