Construction And Deconstruction Of Subjectivity In Paul Auster's City Of Glass

Paul Auster is best known as an American postmodernist fiction author whose writing blends the deceptively simple fictional form and thought-provoking themes.His works are often set against an urban background.City of Glass is the first volume of The New York Trilogy,Auster's most discussed work.This thesis looks at subjectivity represented in City of Glass.By drawing on Derrida's and Lacan's theory about subjectivity,the present study offers a deconstructive analysis of the novel.This thesis probes into how the characters try to construct modernist subjectivity and how the subjectivity is deconstructed during their interaction with the city they inhabit.Since modern era,human subject has been understood as a construct instead of an autonomous,rational being.For postmodern thinkers,the existence of human subjectivity is only a myth from former logic.Subjectivity has been related to language since Lacan and Derrida.Logocentrism holds that there is always one transcendental signified and meaning is produced through the close relation between signifier and signified,and so is a complete subjectivity.But Derrida insists that meaning comes from difference instead of centre,which is transcendental signified.Therefore,subjectivity is deconstructed when the fixed relation of signification between signifier and signified is broken.As embodiments of logocentrism,a former ideology,the characters in City of Glass are convinced that a complete subjectivity can be achieved by attaching signifiers to signifieds.They are pursing this fixed relation of signification that is ensured by the presence of a centre while they are carrying out their urban activities.But this pursuit turns out to be a failure and their subjectivity is thus deconstructed.The present thesis consists of five parts.The first part provides an overview of contemporary Austerian studies at home and abroad and an introduction into the conception of subjectivity and Derrida's theory about the deconstruction of subjectivity.The following part is a chapter of detailed analysis about how the protagonists are identified as representatives of logocentrism.Quinn pursues “centre” by looking for the authoritative “father”,his own “creator” and a stable “home”,while Stillman does it by basing his linguistic research and prophecy on God and the Bible.Chapter two explores the ways the characters are trying to construct a complete modernist subjectivity.The first part analyses that Quinn tries to construct his subjectivity by looking for his stable and coherent identity which is the transcendental signified.The second part deals with Stillman and Quinn's attempts to connect the language directly to the world.The third part talks about Quinn's effort to search for the transcendental meaning during his investigation of the case as well as his comprehension of the world.In chapter three,the deconstruction of the protagonists' s subjectivity is analysed.Quinn failed to locate his coherent identity and his subjectivity is deconstructed as there is only a constantly sliding signifying chain of identity.The second part analyses that both Quinn and Stillman fall into linguistic predicament without being able to connect signifier and signified.The third part mainly talks about Quinn's failure of finding the transcendental meaning for the postmodern city he lives in as well as the case he investigates.The last part is the conclusion of the whole study.