CHAPTER ONE THE ALIENATION WITHIN PHYSICAL SPACE
1.1 Alienation in the Landscape of The Unnamed City
According to Oxford dictionary, “landscape” refers to all the visible features of an area of land, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.4 However, from the perspectives of critics, the definition of landscape is not limited to the objective elements but involves social or cultural meanings. In Cultural Geography, Mike Crang states that landscape not only reflects a social or cultural belief, practice and technology but also embodies the concentration of all the elements as same as culture (19). Physical spaces, as products of social space, have significant social meanings. Crang proposes that we cannot easily regard landscape as materials but as a scriptable or understandable “text” which can express stories, faiths and characteristics of a nation to readers and habitants (51). Therefore, it is significant that we realize how landscape is constructed in terms of the portrayal of the physical elements within the novel. In The Unconsoled, Kazuo Ishiguro describes physical spaces such as streets, walls, apartments, gardens, and the old town in the unnamed city. We will find in the following that the alienated city reflects and affects people’s alienated lives.
Firstly, Ishiguro portrays the streets in this unnamed city in pointing out that if people can “compare city to a human body, then the streets are veins of a city”.5 In The Unconsoled, Ishiguro portrays the streets in different districts, such as the downtown area, the suburbs and the old town.
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1.2 Alienation in Living Space
1.2.1 Artificialization of Living Space
In The Cement Garden, Ian McEwan portrays an alienated family life in an enclosed space. In this novel, Jack’s father uses cement to cover all the grasses and flowers in their garden and builds high walls to envelope their house and garden. However, their morbid family relationship is signified by the cement garden. Garden becomes a metaphor to symbolize human spiritual bailment and the home of soul, while the cement garden signifies the alienation of family ethics in the novel (Liu 67). Similarly, in The Unconsoled, the living space is also highly artificialized. The deserted and artificialized estate spoils aesthetic feelings of the whole living space. The countless identical apartment rooms repress people’s emotions. Sophie, Boris and Fiona all suffer from the loneliness and estrangement. Their alienated personal life can be foiled by the artificial living surroundings.
When Ryder and Boris arrived at Sophie’s apartment to get back Boris’ toy, Ryder was shocked by the artificiality of the entire surroundings. They were “standing on the outer rim of a vast concrete basin” (TU 210). An artificial lake was in the center of the basin. There was no grass anywhere. The only thin trees “had been encased in steel pots and cut precisely into the paving” (TU 210). Ryder was overwhelmed by “the way the lake – indeed the whole estate – proudly announced its artificiality” (TU 210). At the same time, Ryder noticed that the tall apartment buildings with countless windows encircling them show a seamless circular effect. Although the apartment rooms surrounded them, “there was clearly something about the atmosphere that kept people indoors” (TU 210). Therefore, the mystical atmosphere, grassless concrete ground and the ugly artificial lake make the living space eerie. Firstly, the artificial lake has no aesthetic features and even becomes the grave in the center of the circular apartment buildings. The driver who took Ryder and Boris to the place told them that the lake was “nothing but a nuisance and every year several people drown in it” (TU 210). This atmosphere confronts readers with an eerie feeling.
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CHAPTER TWO THE ALIENATION WITHIN SOCIAL SPACE
2.1 The Alienation of the Social Milieu
Social milieu or social environment “encompass the immediate physical surroundings, social relationships, and cultural milieus within which defined groups of people function and interact” (Barnett and Casper 465). As for the social culture in the unnamed city, people believe deeply that arts can rescue the city and themselves. On the one hand, they think that the city is dead if it is without artists or musicians. They might become panic and depressed about life under this situation. On the other hand, after experiencing the depression, they have no emotional connection with these artists and they even show distrust to these celebrities. Indeed, art, as a form of culture, is an important way for people to know the world and realize their own existence. Liberty is the essence of art. True art not only reflects human spirit of freedom but also promotes self-improvement.6 However, in The Unconsoled, artistic forms can hardly console the citizens anymore. The root cause is the alienation of art while all forms of alienation boils down to the alienation of human.
When Ryder came to the city at first, people feel depressed about future because the city had lost its artists for decades. This social environment and atmosphere can influence people’s life and shape their thoughts and behaviors. In cinema, Ryder met some citizens who told him the story about the city in a pessimistic mood. A drunken man said that “‘the soul of this town, it’s not sick, Mr. Ryder, it’s dead…Let’s just be a cold modern city and be done with it’” (TU 107). Looking backward to the past, citizens recollected that “this was a very happy community once” and people loved and respected each other (TU 97). Every first Sunday of each month, people gathered together in the concert hall to listen orchestra performance. “People treated one another with warmth and affection” (TU 98). However, nowadays, people cannot console their hearts anymore in this cold city. They even doubt whether the artists could save them and the city or not. Some artists, like Mr. Christof, were celebrated and flattered by the townspeople. But people would dislike or even abandon them for some certain reasons. For instance, Mr. Christof, a former musician, was a moderate person when he came to this city. However, he received much flattery and became more confident about his social position. He was thinking that “I’ve flowered since coming here” (TU 99). This idea stirred up angry among people about Christof. However, the fact is that people flatter and adulate Christof first. This is ridiculous that people become ruthless about him then. The essence of art has been changed. It seems that people worship celebrities for the sake of worship. They have no emotional connection with these artists.
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2.2 Alienation of Family Relationship
Every family is a unit of society. According to Henri Lefebvre’s spatial production theory, family space is one aspect of social spaces. Family space, as an important space where people can search for warmth and love, not only refers to the physical identity but also the relationships among families. Family relationship can reflect the social situation as well. Family writing is an important narrative tactic to the estrangement and alienation (Wu 176). In The Unconsoled, there are three families who experienced disintegration. The first one is Ryder and Sophie’s family. The members of this family lack good communication and company which leads to the feeling of loneliness. The second one is Hoffman and Christian’s family. Their family relationship lacks mutual trust. The last one is Mr. Brodsky and Miss Collin’s family. This family relationship also lacks mutual understanding and support. The relationships of the three family are estranged and alienated.
2.2.1 Lost Ideal Home
At the beginning of the novel, Ryder, as the outsider, came to the city. With the contact with other characters, he gradually realized that he once lived in the city with his wife and son, Sophie and Boris. Because of his busy work and frequent travel, his memory of past is covered. However, when he meets them again, the veil of memory is lifted. As Ishiguro said, “Ryder can remember the things that have happened before him, but things that have happened just before that have already started to merge into the darkness” (Krider and Ishiguro 153). The occurrence of events is like a torch that lights dark patch of his memory. His family life was revealed layer by layer with the development of the story.
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CHAPTER THREE ............................... 43
THE ALIENATION WITHIN MENTAL SPACE .......................... 43
3.1 SELF-DECEPTION .................................... 44
3.2 SELF-INFERIORITY ........................................ 48
3.3 SELF-DESTRUCTION ................................... 50
CONCLUSION ......................... 54
CHAPTER THREE THE ALIENATION WITHIN MENTAL SPACE
3.1 Self-deception
Although Ryder’s wife and son was in this city, he stayed in a hotel when he came. The hotel, as a social and consumptive space, signifies that Ryder is a rootless person. More importantly, according to Ryder’s moving track, the landscape of the city and the physical spaces are portrayed. Ryder’s identity, however, is related to the dialectical relationship between space and himself. During the three days, Ryder almost moved through all the parts of this city which reflected that he lost sense of survival, belonging and home. It is a paradox that he is both an insider and an outsider in this city. First, at the beginning of the novel, Ryder is an outsider who comes to the unnamed city. Owing to the failure to perform on stage, he is excluded from the society at last. Secondly, as an insider, he has social contact with some citizens and meets his wife, son, childhood mate and schoolmate. All the characters can prove that Ryder has a period of life in this city. Therefore, Ryder becomes a “liminal person (threshold person)” whose attributes are ambiguous (Turner 95). Ryder’s rootlessness can reflect his psychological alienation.
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CONCLUSION
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