Eloquent Spaces and Territories: of Annie Ernaux’ Cartography
Abstract
Annie Ernaux's work is considered as a current manifestation of autofictional writing. This study aims to show the extent to which, in the experience of the self, space plays a decisive role as a privileged witness to the feelings and sensations of the protagonists. Three dimensions of the space Ernaux recreates are identified: the sociological, which interprets place as a social phenomenon that harbours the interactions and processes of change inherent in each collective; the pragmatic, which identifies space as the origin of a cultural habitus; and the prospective, according to which certain places have a psychic and dreamlike habitability, the fruit of the author's aspirations and preoccupations. Whether intimate or collective, the spaces created by Ernaux are uncomfortable because they question the individual's sense of belonging, place and, ultimately, essence.
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