The multiple urban subject in Paul Auster's City of glass

Abstract

The urban subject has been a matter of frequent discussion among writers from different ages and origins. In the present, we cannot conceive an exploration of human subjectivity without taking into account the urban experience. The contemporary self is, in fact, an urban self. Under that vein, "the city and the urban subject" is the main object of study of the seminar that frames this thesis. The work that has been chosen for the exploration of the urban experience is Paul Auster´s novel, City of Glass written in 1985, and part of The New York Trilogy. The reason behind this choice is that the novel posits a search for identity in an urban context, specifically in New York City. This well known metropolis can be said to be an icon of the American tradition, it has inscribed their history in it, and it is, at the same time, a tissue of experiences and perceptions that continually interweave through time. Naturally, as time goes on, people change, perceptions change, and the urban environment also changes. But in spite of this obvious transformation that affects almost everything, New York included, some people prefer consistency, regularity and uniformity, like the main character of City of Glass.