الفهرس | Only 14 pages are availabe for public view |
Abstract This study is a comparative study of the aesthetics of space in C. Dickens’ Oliver Twist (1839) and Great Expectations (1861); and N. Mahfouz’s Palace Walk (1956), making use of G. Bachelard’s The Poetics of Space (1958) and Bakhtin’s concept ofthe chronotope. Chapter I is a presentation of the aesthetics of space in literature with a close reading ofBachelard’s The Poetics of Space (1958). In his Poetics, Bachelard examines spaces of I - intimacy and immensity. He believes that the poetic image has an entity and a dynamism of its own. Bachelard explores the philosophical significance of the various kinds of space that attract and concentrate the attention. Chapter II is a critical representation of how space is depicted in the novels of Dickens and Mahfouz. The two realist novelists introduce space as a presence and an influence that contribute to the moral and ideological meaning of every text. Chapter III shows the impact of space on character. It shows how a character like Oliver, Pip, or Fahmy cannot be fully understood without a complete understanding of mid-nineteenth century England or early twentieth century Cairo. Chapter IV expounds M. Bakhtin’s concept of the chronotope, showing how space and time, in a work of art are the primary categories of perception as forms of immediate reality. The conclusion offers to present the role of space as· an important element in the fiction of Dickens and Mahfouz. It reveals the affinities and differences between the two novelists in an attempt to have an insight into the use of space as an influential aesthetic value in fiction. |