| This dissertation is an endeavor to present the complexities of Paul Auster's solitude and their exemplifications in his life writings and fictions. It argues that Auster's notion of solitude is, in essence, open and encompassing, with clear demonstration of intertextual and intersubjective traits. The project proposes, for Auster, solitude constitutes a multi-faceted, complex existence, through an examination of which he explores the seemingly incompatible notions of self and other, body and mind, inner-search and outward exploration, as well as contingency and continuity.;Chapter One aims to provide a comprehensive study of solitude in terms of its nature, elements, merits and perils, with an incorporation of examples and quotes from writers and artists who have offered their valuable opinions. Chapter Two shifts attention to a survey of Auster's life writings, arguing that by removing the myth of 'authenticity' and referentiality' from 'auto', Auster's autobiographical works map intertextually with Auster the man and his life. Chapter Three then puts forward two coined terms---'intertextual solitude' and 'intersubjective solitude'---for the sake of characterization and distinction. An analysis of Auster's texts together with Roland Barthes's concepts of 'writing' and 'intertextuality' as well as Maurice Merleau-Ponty's notions of 'intersubjectivity' and the 'embodied subject' yields productive meanings for the Austerian solitude. With Chapter Two and Chapter Three laying the theoretical groundwork, the next two chapters conduct detailed studies of Auster's fictions. Chapter Four inspects the spatially constructed solitude, proposing that the intertextual nature of Auster's solitude facilitates reciprocal conversions between solitary rooms that are narratively, architecturally and mentally defined. Following that, Chapter Five explores another dimension---time, in an investigation of how Auster's writer characters survive life catastrophes after they reestablish a sense of temporal continuity in face of prevalent contingencies. Lastly, Conclusion deepens the research via comparison and contrast between some of the common concerns among Auster, Barthes and Merleau-Ponty, testifying yet again Auster's invention of solitude is indeed intertextual and intersubjective. |
