Facul ade de Filoloxía
Depa amen o de Filoloxía Inglesa e Alemá
T aballo de Fin de G ao
Spa ial Liminali y in Elizabe h
Bowen’s Sho Fic ion
Au o : And és Mi anda Acuña
Di ec o : Jo ge Sacido Rome o
San iago de Compos ela
Cu so Académico 2016-2017
Con en s
In oduc ion ...................................................................................................................... 5
Chap e 1: Elizabe h Bowen‟s Wa ime Houses .............................................................. 7
1.1. U ban Go hic o he Second Wo ld Wa : The Sub e sion o he “Home F on ”
in Elizabe h Bowen‟s Uncanny Houses ........................................................................ 7
1.2. “The Demon Lo e ” ........................................................................................ 13
Chap e 2: Illumina ion ................................................................................................... 31
2.1. Unde he Ligh o Wa .................................................................................... 31
2.2. “Mys e ious Kô ” ............................................................................................. 34
Chap e 3: Wilde ness In ading he U ban Landscape .................................................. 45
3.1. A Go hic Na u e ............................................................................................... 45
3.1. “I y G ipped he S eps” ................................................................................... 47
Conclusions .................................................................................................................... 55
Wo ks Ci ed .................................................................................................................... 59
5
In oduc ion
This essay is de o ed o he analysis o liminal spaces in Elizabe h Bowen‟s
wa ime sho ic ion. I pays special a en ion o h ee pieces collec ed in The Demon
Lo e and O he S o ies (1945) in which liminal spa iali y clea ly de e mines cha ac e s
and hei ac ions, namely: “The Demon Lo e ”, “Mys e ious Kô ” and “I y G ipped he
S eps”. The concep o “liminali y” was i s coined in he ield o an h opology o e e
o people going h ough a ansi ion om one s a e o ano he wi hin he social s uc u e
— which is sys ema ically a anged acco ding o laws, cus oms, con en ions and
ce emonials — and exp ess hei ambiguous and inde ini e a ibu es h ough a wide
ange o symbols in any gi en socie y whe e social and cul u al ansac ions a e
i ualised.
1
Ne e heless, he concep soon anscended he ealm o an h opology and
s a ed o be used in li e a y c i icism, among o he hings, o he “explo a ion o bo h
empo al and spa ial dimensions”, since “liminal zones app op ia e hei own
ch onological, sys ema ic, o spa ial ex ension and d ama ize he con adic o y
in e ela ion be ween he e ogeneous sys ems” (Achilles and Be gman, 2005: 6). This
allows o “a spa ial and empo al in e connec edness” which Bowen explo ed in he
wa ime ic ion (Achilles and Be gman, 2005: 7).
Elizabe h Bowen was well-awa e o he ac ha w i ing sho s o y commi s he
a is o he “poe ic au ness” cha ac e is ic o he gen e, a “condensed no el” in o igins
ha “needed a complex subjec and depended o me i on he skill wi h which
condensa ion had been e ec ed” (Bowen, 1994: 256-257). As Achilles and Be gman
obse ed, “on accoun o i s e y b e i y and o en episodic s uc u e, he gene ic
liminali y o he sho s o y p i ileges he depic ion o ansi ional si ua ions and
lee ing momen s o c isis o decision” (2005: 22). Space hus becomes a liminal
concep in sho ic ion, used o he subsequen aspec s o he na a i e a he han
de ached om hem. This is pa icula ly ele an in Bowen‟s wa ime ic ion, he
subjec o which is he agmen ed eali y o he Bli z, whe e physical and empo al
limi s dissol e and space in pa icula is adically ans o med by sys ema ic bombings.
1
Tu ne , 1991: 95.
6
London, whe e Bowen had ixed he esidency yea s be o e he wa , bo e he
b un o he Bli z, which his o ians di ide in o wo pe iods: he in ense Bli z (Sep embe
1940 — May 1941), and i s ligh e coda (June 1944 — Ma ch 1945), popula ly known
as he “Li le Bli z”, du ing which ime he Ge man V1 and V2 ocke s spo adically hi
he B i ish coun yside (Co co an, 2003: 785). De as a ion u ned he u ban landscape
in o a shapeless mass o uins and blu ed physical limi s, which allowed Bowen o he
explo a ion o he in e s ices o li e in wa ime London as a ho ible expe ience o he
liminal.
The s o ies unde sc u iny he e bea p o ound his o ical connec ions o which
con ex ual in o ma ion mus be p o ided. The choice o co pus was made on accoun o
he limi ed space o his essay o explo e h ee s o ies ha a e pa icula ly ich in e ms
o liminali y and his o ical e e ences w i en by an au ho whose p ose is s ylis ically
dense and equi ed analy ical elabo a ion. This essay is di ided in o h ee chap e s and a
inal sec ion wi h he conclusions. The i s chap e , which is also he longes , deals wi h
he s udy o liminal domes ic spaces as he de ining elemen o Bowen‟s concep ion o
wa ime houses. In he second chap e , u ban liminal spaces a e analysed om he poin
o iew o illumina ion. The hi d chap e gi es accoun o liminal spaces ha a e
p oduc o wildli e in ading and modi ying he u ban landscape. As a esul , he
ex ension de o ed o bo h u ban and domes ic sphe es is well-balanced. Fu he mo e,
close a en ion will be paid o he way in which u ban and domes ic spaces in e ela e.
This s udy concludes wi h an ou line o my conclusions whe e lines o u he esea ch
a e ske ched.
7
Chap e 1: Elizabe h Bowen’s Wa ime Houses
This chap e is de o ed o he s udy o liminal spaces ha illus a e Elizabe h
Bowen‟s concep ion o wa ime houses, paying special a en ion o he way in which
such concep ion is a ached o he aes he ics o he U ban Go hic o he Second Wo ld
Wa . Mo e speci ically, I will ocus on he “uncanny” as one o i s majo de ining
ea u es. I will likewise be dealing wi h Bowen‟s sub e sion o he idea o he “home
on ”, assumed as pa o he o icial he o ic o wa du ing he Bli z in he UK. Then, I
will p oceed o examine how all hese elemen s in e ac in a selec ion o liminal spaces
om he s o y “The Demon Lo e ”. Special a en ion will be de o ed o e e yday
objec s, u ni u e and o he domes ic acili ies. Finally, he chap e will close wi h an
ou line o my conclusions.
1.1. U ban Go hic o he Second Wo ld Wa : The Sub e sion o he “Home
F on ” in Elizabe h Bowen’s Uncanny Houses
The in ol emen o he UK in Wo ld Wa I, he i s con lic in he his o y o
mode n wa a e, demanded an exhaus ing and unp eceden ed amoun o ci il sac i ice
ha wen beyond a i anic mili a y e o . Al hough he coun y emained e i o ially
o he on line, ci ilians su e ed he consequences o wa o such an ex en ha he
con lic wen down in his o y as “The People‟s Wa ” (Neibe g, 2004: 42). In spi e o he
ac ha “i was s ill he a med o ces which did mos o he igh ing and mos o he
dying” (Bond, 1998: 168), he B i ish go e nmen was o ced o each “ he win goals
o keeping a massi e mili a y machine in he ield and […] eed, clo he, and sus ain he
mo ale o a home on ha had been u ned in o an a mo y” (Cimen , ed., 2007: 3).
Only hose na ions ha managed o o ganise hei home on s success ully — meaning
hose ci il ac i i ies ha con ibu ed o he wa e o — “could wi hs and he s ains o
wa ” (Neibe g, 2004: 42). A well-o ganised economy o wa equi ed d as ic
es uc u ing ha en ailed es ic ions o all kinds as well as p ices and wage eezes.
T ade and labou associa ions began o exe a hea ie in luence upon poli ics, and he
inco po a ion o women o ac o y wo k was needed o compensa e o he demog aphic
8
disas e ha le a whole gene a ion o young men se iously deple ed,
2
a ac ha ga e
wings o he su agis mo emen . Besides, he aise o Bolshe ism in Russia, he all o
he G ea Empi es — Aus o-Hunga ian, Ge man and O oman — along wi h he
weakening o he F ench and B i ish empi es, eshaped ci il na ional conscience in he
wa ‟s a e ma h, pa ing he way o a pos -impe ial e a in he his o y o he UK.
3
On he con a y, he Ge man ai aids made u ban ba le ields ou o many
indus ial ci ies in England and No he n I eland h oughou he i s s ages o Wo ld
Wa II, hence he “home on ” became e en mo e liminal a concep , no easily
dis inguishable om he “mili a y on ”: “„home on s‟ we e as di ec ly in ol ed in
he wa as he „mili a y on s‟ and indeed o en su e ed mo e” (Bond, 1998: 168).
Consequen ly, a he oic depic ion o he B i ish home on was assumed as pa o he
o icial wa ime p opaganda, especially du ing he London Bli z. In he 2010 s udy,
U ban Go hic o he Second Wo ld Wa (Da k London), Sa a Wasson e lec s upon how
he amilia home became a space o he me apho ical ep esen a ion o na ion and
na ional iden i y:
While na ions‟ s o ies o hei pas a e o en s aged in public spaces
— ba le ields, places o go e nmen — hei s o ies o he p esen a e o en
imagina i ely s aged in p i a e domes ic in e io s, a na u al consequence o he
co ne s one o na ional iden i y being he sense o o dina y people li ing
alongside each o he . One o he mos powe ul me apho s o a na ion is ha o
he amilia home, he s uc u es o public au ho i y mapped on o home‟s
(usually pa ia chal) igu e o au ho i y. (Wasson, 2010: 106)
Sa a Wasson speaks abou a “„Go hic o he Second Wo ld Wa ‟ which sub e s
my hologies o na ion” and whose “ opes and o ms ma k momen s o ac u e in he
na ional my hologies o wa ime home, ci y and ellowship” (2010: 1). This speci ic
mani es a ion o he Go hic in he wen ie h cen u y is a ew i ing o nine ie h-cen u y
Go hic li e a u e by au ho s om a na ion which, o he second ime in he li e o
many, expe imen ed he ho o s o a wo ldwide con lic , his ime wi hin i s own
2
Measu es we e aken o encou age enlis men in he UK, such as he c ea ion o “Pals Ba alions”, which
gua an eed men who enlis ed oge he ha hey would no be sepa a ed du ing he cou se o he wa . As a
esul , en i e owns we e i ually depopula ed (Neibe g, 2004: 44).
3
The Eas e Rising (1916), o ins ance, sp ead he seed o he Anglo-I ish wa , which would e en ually
led o he cons i u ion o he I ish F ee S a e in 1922, one o he bigges challenges o he colonial-based
supe io i y o he B i ish Empi e in he wen ie h cen u y.
15
In he once amilia s ee , as in any unused channel, an un amilia quee ness
had sil ed up; a ca wo e himsel in and ou o ailings, bu no human eye
wa ched M s D o e ‟s e u n. Shi ing some pa cels unde he a m, she slowly
o ced ound he la chkey in an unwilling lock, hen ga e he doo , which has
wa ped, a push wi h he knee. Dead ai came ou o mee he as she wen in.
(1999: 743)
M s D o e eels like a s ange “in he once amilia s ee ”. The scene o he
o me daily li e emana es an “un amilia quee ness” which also pe mea es he home.
A his poin , he eade explici ly wi nesses he oxymo onic combina ion ha de ines
he uncanny — „ amilia ‟/„un amilia ‟ — a play in di ec con on a ion as pa o he
na a i e. The use o wo ds bea ing he p e ix “un-” s ikes he eye in his passage
— “unused”, “un amilia ”, “unwilling”. The p e ix ansla es he oxymo onic meaning
o he e m “uncanny” o he desc ip ion o he na a i e space, which inspi es M s
D o e a eeling o es angemen a ising om a amilia sou ce.
Sho ly a e wa ds, M s D o e eaches he doo , li e ally a h eshold in he
La in sense o limen,
15
he liminal passage pa excellence. She c osses he h eshold no
in o one o hose onei ic spaces Bachela d spoke abou , bu in o one o Bowen‟s
wa ime uncanny houses, dispossessed o i s s a us o home. M s D o e inds he doo
ha d o unlock, as i he lock — synecdoche o he house — we e “unwilling” o le he
in. The use o he e m “unwilling” sugges s he pe soni ica ion o he house as an
au onomous en i y endowed wi h i s own exis ence, as men ioned in he in oduc ion o
his chap e (c . 9). The cha ac e iza ion o he house as a li ing being ein o ces i s
uncanny na u e, u ning i in o an alien en i y whose s onge sel -exis ence subjuga es
M s D o e ‟s: i is he house ha decides whe he o le i s owne in o no . Mo eo e ,
he ac ha M s D o e has los he ouch o he lock symbolises he disconnec ion
om he space ha used o be he home, hus highligh ing he uncanny and un amilia
na u e o he house. This iny bu signi ican ges u e goes agains Bachela d‟s de ini ion
o he home: “Bu o e and beyond ou memo ies, he house we we e bo n in is
physically insc ibed in us. I is a g oup o o ganic habi s. A e wen y yea s, […] he
eel o he inies la ch has emained in ou hands” (1994:15). We assume, ollowing
15
“Limen: a h eshold; he head piece o oo piece o a doo way, he lin el o he sill (limen supe um e
in e um)” (Lewis, 1988: 1066).
16
Bachela d, ha M s D o e ‟s inabili y o unlock he doo symbolises a mo e signi ican
loss: ha o he home, as i ceased o be he space on which o p ojec he pas habi s.
When M s D o e opens he doo , he deg ee o “deadness” aises, o i is
highe in he house han i was in he s ee : “dead ai came ou o mee he ”
(Bowen, 1999: 743). Bowen expands he pa he ic allacy by means o ex ending he
dead and dehumanised u ban a mosphe e — “no human eye wa ched M s D o e ‟s
e u n” (1999: 743) — in o he domes ic sphe e. Fu he mo e, he ai coming ou o he
house as an exhala ion migh be ei e a ing he Go hic pe soni ica ion o he house as a
b ea hing being.
As M s D o e makes he way in, mo e liminal elemen s a e un eiled: “The
s ai case window ha ing been boa ded up, no ligh came down in o he hall. Bu one
doo , she could jus see, s ood aja , so she wen quickly h ough in o he oom and
unshu e ed he big window in he e” (Bowen, 1999: 743). Among he many elemen s
making up he domes ic space, he s ai case is one o he mos powe ully liminal, o i
connec s he house e ically om cella o ga e , allowing o a eading o he house‟s
ana omy in e ms o e ical pola i y o opposi ion be ween uppe and lowe spaces.
Bachela d belie ed cella s o be less a ional spaces, ela ed o da kness, ea s,
sub e anean o ces and obscu e en i ies, while uppe spaces a e easily a ionalised, o
hey a e associa ed wi h he idea o shel e and p o ec ion p o ided by he oo .
16
Ac ually, when M s D o e uns in o he le e , whose p esence on he hall able she is
unable o explain by a ional means, she ushes ups ai s be o e e en ying o open he
en elope o aking a look a he w i ing: “She ook he le e apidly ups ai s wi h he ,
wi hou a s op o look a he w i ing ill she eached wha had been he bed oom, whe e
she le in ligh ” (Bowen, 1999: 744). I is pe haps he mys e ious ci cums ances ha
su ound he le e wha u ges he o look o a s able, well-ligh ed and mo e a ional
space o ead i , as i she needed he house o assu e he ha he le e is eal and no a
p oduc o he imagina ion.
Likewise, he liminal na u e o windows is also signi ican . The iew o a house
whose windows ha e been boa ded up is powe ully Go hic, a me apho ical co in ha
con ains and keeps dead ai , dead memo ies and a dead pas inside.
17
Ins ead o
16
Bachela d, 1994: 17-29.
17
See he quo a ion in sec ion 1.1 (9), in which Maud Ellmann e e s o he Anglo-I ish as “co ined in
hei Big Houses”.
17
p o iding he house wi h en ila ion and illumina ion, hey dep i e i om ecei ing
any li ing in luence om ou doo s, as memb anes hickened o he poin o being
impene able. The lack o en ila ion adds o, e en mo e, c ea es he dead a mosphe e o
he house. Being dep i ed o hei liminal na u e, windows assume he unc ion o
bounda ies sepa a ing, a he han connec ing, inne om ou e spaces. In addi ion, he
ac ha he owne s had aken he ouble o nailing up he windows deno es a u ile
— hough ie cely humane — a emp o igh he uns oppable o ces o change, in
some way connec ed o hei need o s abili y and p ese a ion o hei pas . Poin less
as i migh be, he ac o boa ding up he windows o a house ha will p obably be
des oyed in he ai aids answe s o he dwelle s‟ deepe ins inc o conse a ion. They
y o keep he space in which hei memo ies a e con ained om being spoiled o
loo ed, which would mean he all and co up ion o hei pas and he cu o he
ma e ial h ead ha keeps hem connec ed o hei o me li es.
M s D o e a emp s in he ollowing passage o e ie e he pas om he aces
le by he objec s ha ha e been emo ed om he oom:
Now he p osaic woman, looking abou he , was mo e pe plexed han she knew
by e e y hing ha she saw, by aces o he long o me habi o li e — he
yellow smoke-s ained up, he whi e ma ble man elpiece, he ing made by a ase
on he op o he esc i oi e; he b uise in he wallpape whe e, on he doo being
h own open widely, he china handle had always hi he wall. The piano, ha ing
gone away o be s o ed, had le wha looked like claw-ma ks on i s pa o he
pa que . Though no much dus had seeped in, each objec wo e a ilm o ano he
kind; and, he only en ila ion being he chimney, he whole d awing- oom
smelled o he cold hea h. (Bowen, 1999: 743. I alics a e mine)
M s D o e eels pe plexed as she wi nesses he decayed emnan s o a li es yle
she does no enjoy any longe . The objec s ha had been emo ed om he oom a e
dis inc i ely liminal, o hey a e s ill p esen as i i we e in absen ia. Being hose
objec s nei he p esen no absen , he ma ks hey le as well as he memo ies hey
e oked a e loa ing on a so o spec al dimension h ough which M s D o e ‟s mind
ansi s. The oxymo onic seman ic componen o he e m “uncanny” is a play again,
implied in he an i he ical allusion o a se ies o absen p esences. Mo eo e , he wo ds
highligh ed in i alics endow he objec s e oked wi h a ising deg ee o ac i i y
18
— “smoke-s ained up”, “made”, “hi ”, “le ” — which bo de s on iolence, as
sugges ed by he “claw-ma ks” on he pa que . In addi ion, a connec ion is made
be ween he e ms “hea h” and “ea h” in spelling — he o me con ains he la e —
and because o he alli e a ion o he /θ/ sound [hɑːθ]-[ɜːθ], and also be ween “hea h”
and “hea ” [hɑːθ]-[hɑː ], almos iden ical in spelling and p onuncia ion. Such
associa ion ein o ces he pa he ic allacy, o “cold hea h” is a he close o “cold
hea ” and “cold ea h”, bo h bea ing dea h and bu ial conno a ions. Elizabe h Bowen
hus concei es he wa ime house as a space ma kedly liminal, a so o middle passage
whe e pas and p esen , physical absence and physical p esence in e mingle. I is his
empo al o e lapping wha engende s he whole s o yline in “The Demon Lo e ”.
I is impo an o ake in o accoun ha he s o y is na a ed by an ex adiege ic
— hi d-pe son — omniscien na a o , hough ocalised h ough M s D o e ‟s mind so,
as eade s, we ead he g ound she eads and see wha she sees.
18
The p o agonis is
able o ecall he missing objec s by he ma ks hey le , bu no memo ies can be e oked
om hem, o hey a e no connec ed o an “ac ual” pas ied o he objec s‟ ma e iali y.
The e o e, he s o y unde sco es he p o agonis ‟s es angemen a he own house by
going h ough a ho ough enume a ion o he ma ks on walls and loo s le by he
objec s ha ha e been emo ed om he house. The amilia i y o hese objec s, which
inca na ed M s D o e ‟s o me habi s o li e, would ha e been unques ionable be o e
he wa , bu once hey a e gone, hei emnan s hin a he uncanny side o o dina y li e.
The objec s ha emain in he oom ha e unde gone a simila p ocess o
es angemen om he amilia i y hey used o con ey. Fo M s D o e , hey wea “a
ilm o ano he kind” (Bowen, 1999: 743) due o he dus ha has sipped in he oom,
no a g ea amoun bu enough o al e he su ace o he objec s in compa ison wi h
how hey used o look when clean. Sligh physical changes ha e led o deepe changes
a ec ing he emo ional backg ound o he objec s. Consequen ly, he physical sphe e o
eali y canno be dissocia ed om he psychic as a sou ce o uncanniness.
In ligh o he p o agonis ‟s i s eac ions, i is clea ha he pas does no dwell
he house any longe , which edounds in he loss o i s amilia i y. This is made e iden
18
F om now on, when alluding o echnical no ions conce ning na a ology, we will ollow he
nomencla u e sugges ed in The Li ing Handbook o Na a ology, edi ed by Hühn, Pe e , e al.,
hup.sub.uni-hambu g.de/lhn.
19
in he nex quo a ion, om he momen immedia ely succeeding he lashback which I
will discuss la e on:
As hings we e — dead o li ing he le e -w i e sen he only a h ea . Unable,
o some minu es, o go on kneeling wi h he back exposed o he emp y oom,
M s D o e ose om he ches o si on an up igh chai whose back was i mly
agains he wall. The desue ude o he o me bed oom, he ma ied London
home‟s whole ai o being a c acked cup om which memo y, wi h i s
eassu ing powe , had ei he e apo a ed o leaked away, made a c isis — and a
jus his c isis he le e -w i e had, knowledgeably, s uck. The hollowness o
he house his e ening cancelled yea s on yea s o oices, habi s and s eps.
(Bowen, 1999: 747)
The image o he c acked cup,
19
highligh ed by he alli e a ion o he /k/ sound
[k æk kʌp], is s ongly liminal in i s me apho ical ep esen a ion o memo y as a luid
leaking om i s c acked con aine , which is he w ecked house, o he s ee . Spa ial
liminali y is implied in he passage o he pas om a domes ic o a public domain, and
i s ele ance o he plo is essen ial, because his liquid connec ion es ablished be ween
inne and ou e spaces jus i ies he e-eme gence o he lo e om he s ee s as a axi-
d i e , ei he as a p oduc o M s D o e ‟s hallucina ion o no . In case he is so, hen
bo h he lo e and he le e mus be ead in an epis emological key as psychic
p ojec ions o M s D o e ‟s hallucina ion,
20
emphasised by he subjec i e poin o iew
he na a o adop s upon M s D o e . In ac , Bowen migh be sugges ing M s D o e ‟s
men al ins abili y in he ph ase “c acked cup”, almos homophonic wi h he ph asal e b
“c acked up”
21
in i s pas ense, due o he alli e a ion o he sounds /k/, /ʌ/ and /p/
[k æk kʌp]-[k æk ʌp]. On he con a y, i nei he o hose elemen s we e cons ued as
hallucina ions, hen one could a gue o an on ological clash o wo pa allel wo lds in
“The Demon Lo e ”, much in une wi h he dominan mode in Pos mode nism. This las
in e p e a ion migh be used in de ence o Elizabe h Bowen‟s liminal s a us as an
19
The e is ano he allusion o c acked houses in he s o y “In he Squa e” (Bowen, 1999: 699).
20
B yan McHale asc ibes hallucina ion o he epis emological dominan he mode nis s p ac iced in o de
o jus i y he in oduc ion o an as ic elemen s in hei na a i es. In he ollowing quo a ion, McHale
discusses hallucina ion in ela ion o Leona d Michael‟s “Mild ed”: “ he ou cha ac e s ha e jus dosed
hemsel es wi h ec ea ional d ugs, so his examina ion and consump ion o he womb could be a join
hallucina ion. (This eading, howe e , ins ead o accen ua ing ac ually neu alizes he on ological ension,
shi ing he p oblem in o an epis emological key, so o speak.)” (2004: 137).
21
“C ack up: su e an emo ional b eakdown unde p essu e” (Soanes and S e enson, eds., 2005: 1890).
20
in e s i ial w i e , as a gued by I ene Iglesias,
22
hal way in be ween mode nis and
pos mode nis aes he ics. I goes beyond he scope o his essay o del e in o
conside a ions o such magni ude, howe e , e en assuming hose elemen s as
hallucina ions i would be oo ca ego ical o u e ly deny he pos mode nis elemen in
Bowen‟s wa ime ic ion, o hallucina ions each peaks o exace ba ion in he
excep ional con ex o wa , especially he le e , which seems o acqui e physical
co po ei y.
In addi ion, he idea o luency implies ansi ion as well as loss, and so does he
sugges ion o a change o s a e — “e apo a ing” deno es dissipa ion and anishing, as i
memo y we e an e anescen en i y. Besides, i pe ec ly connec s physical damage wi h
i s emo ional ou come. Maud Ellmann highligh s he p esence o “images o leakage
and e lu ia” (2004: 153) in Bowen‟s no el The Hea o he Day, which a e used o
po ay a wa ime eali y ha is pe meable and luen . Ellmann goes as a as s a ing:
“This is a no el abou leaks, abou he po ousness o a chi ec u al and psychic space,
abou he ailu e o keep sec e s in, in ude s ou ” (2004: 153). Apa om he c acked
cup in he p e ious quo a ion, simila images can be seen in he s o y, as men ioned
abo e in his chap e : “i had been a s eamy showe y day: a he momen he ees down
he pa emen gli e ed in an escape o humid yellow a e noon sun” (Bowen, 1999: 743)
and hen: “ he pa emen s s eamily shone as M s D o e le he sel ou by inches om
he own on doo in o he emp y s ee ” (1999: 748). Bowen akes ad an age o such
images o cons uc a pa he ic allacy ha en iches he na a i e.
Elizabe h Bowen was ully awa e o he link exis ing be ween u ni u e and pas .
Maud Ellmann s a es, in connec ion o Bowen‟s no el The Dea h o he Hea , ha “ he
pu pose o u ni u e is o emembe ” (2004: 142). This idea is incessan ly bea ing
unde nea h he su ace o any o Bowen‟s wa ime s o ies, and i is made e iden in he
quo a ion abo e. Ellmann e e s o Bowen‟s u ni u e as a elic ha embodies he
ans o ma ion o ma e in o meaning. I bea s an emo ional baggage and has ma e ial
co po ei y, ope a ing “as a synecdoche, a he han a me apho , o ime gone by,
pa aking o he e y subs ance o he pas ” (2004: 142). Objec s a e endowed wi h
meaning o he poin o being essen ial o su i e bo h physically and spi i ually in he
22
I ene Iglesias a gues o a “shi in ocus om a mode nis poe ics […] o a pos mode nis one” in
Bowen‟s ic ion, in which “ he g ea e cohe ence and cohesi eness o high mode nism is weakened o he
poin o p e igu ing a pos mode n aes he ics” (2012: 56).
21
de as a ed wa ime London. Bowen wi nessed i s -hand how Londone s ied o
emo e li le pieces om he deb is o hei bombed houses, mo ed by a s ong desi e
o conse a ion and s abili y:
People whose homes had been blown up wen o in ini e leng hs o assemble bi s
o hemsel es — b oken o namen s, odd shoes, o n sc aps o he cu ains ha
had hung in a oom — om he w eckage. In he same way, hey assembled and
checked hemsel es om s o ies and poems, om hei memo ies, om one
ano he ‟s alk. […] E e y w i e du ing his ime was awa e o he pe sonal c y
o he indi idual. And he was awa e o he passiona e a achmen o men and
women o e e y objec o image o place o lo e o agmen o memo y wi h
which his o he des iny seemed o be iden i ied, and by which he des iny
seemed o be assu ed. (1986: 97)
The a achmen o mundane objec s explains why M s D o e eels h ea ened
by he emp iness o he bed oom, he mos in ima e pa o he house and o me cen e
o he conjugal li e. She delibe a ely goes he e in sea ch o emo ional suppo o ead
he le e , bu he oom ails o p o ide he wi h he eassu ing powe o memo y she
expec ed o ind, o i is emp y o u ni u e. The physical emp iness o he house
deno es, consequen ly, a deepe emo ional acuum.
Th ough a decisi e analepsis occu ing in M s D o e ‟s memo y, he s o y
mo es backwa ds o he ime when he a ewell encoun e wi h he lo e ook place,
back in 1916. The lashback b idges he wo majo con lic s o he wen ie h cen u y, by
means o which connec ion Elizabe h Bowen pu s M s D o e ace o ace wi h a
auma ic expe ience o he pas ha she did no ully o e come. I is he “ e u n o he
ep essed”, a heme o he highes ele ance in Elizabe h Bowen‟s wa ime ic ion, o
which “„The Demon Lo e ‟ s ands as he b illian ly economical pa adigm” (Co co an,
2004: 158). We will app oach his issue om he poin o iew o spa ial liminali y
h ough he explo a ion o he concep o he “in ec ed zone”, a spa ial ame whe e
bo h empo al and spa ial liminali y ope a e a hei highes le el, o he low o linea
ime is b oken and he p esen e ol es a ound he causes o old auma ic expe iences.
B ian McHale de ines he e m “zone” as a ype o he e o opia, ha is, a space
ha accommoda es many incommensu able and mu ually exclusi e wo lds, a s uc u e
c ea ed by jux aposing di e en wo lds o incompa ible a chi ec u e in which he law o
22
he excluded middle has been b oken. As a esul , a s uc u e eme ges ha canno be
conside ed a wo ld, o i b eaks he basic ules o wo ld-building.
23
Though conce ned
wi h pos mode nis ic ion, McHale‟s de ini ion is use ul as a s a ing poin o
unde s and he concep o he “in ec ed zone”, used by Sa a Wasson o e e o Bowen‟s
in e p e a ion o he domes ic space as a anishing poin whe e objec s cease o con ey
memo ies and elemen s om he pas and p esen me ge ho ibly:
The idea ha ime is linea and memo y is cumula i e is challenged by a
d ead ul p esen , an “in ec ed zone” whe e objec s no longe igge memo ies.
The zone sees linea ime challenged in wo ways: objec s a e leached o hei
his o y and pas me ges ho ibly wi h p esen . The onse o wa saw many
w i e s p oduce nos algic au obiog aphy depic ing he pas as idyllic e uge bu
Bowen sees he pas in mo e nega i e e ms, less c ea i ely p oduc i e han he
p esen : „ he e i s ands, he e i lies, moun ing, ex ending, ne e comple e‟. In
he „in ec ed zone‟ o he wa ime ic ion, he pas con amina es he p esen .
(2010: 122-123)
Pas and p esen me ge, indeed, a M s D o e ‟s house, and he e a e also
di e en spaces a play: ha o he amily house, whe e he episode na a ed in he
lashback akes place, and ha o he o he conjugal esidence, “ his quie , a bo eal pa
o Kensing on” om whe e she e okes he o me (Bowen, 1999: 746). Ne e heless,
his las idea needs cla i ica ion, because hese wo spaces do no me ge wi h each o he ,
as i is common in pos mode nis ic ion, bu a he he la e igge s he p o agonis ‟s
in oca ion o he o me , which eme ges as a men al landscape. M s D o e ‟s amily
house esides in he memo y as pa o he subjec i i y, making he di e ence be ween
Bowen‟s in ec ed zone and he pos mode nis zone, achie ed by applying some o he
ules o cons uc ion/decons uc ion o spaces de ined by McHale, which equi e an
explici o consumma ed spa ial o e lapping o some kind.
24
The ou come o Bowen‟s use o he in ec ed zone as a echnique o na a i e
wo ld-building is, ce ainly, e i ying. Sa a Wasson no ices a clea connec ion be ween
his ecessi e low o ime and he au ho ‟s in en ion o sub e ing he idea o he
“home on ”:
23
McHale, 2004: 43-45.
24
Namely: jux aposi ion, in e pola ion, supe imposi ion, and misa ibu ion (McHale, 2004: 45-48).
23
Benedic Ande son a gues ha eeling pa o a na ion equi es ha ing a sense o
s o ies un olding simul aneously alongside one‟s own, a sense o ged by
newspape s and ealis no els which cons uc na a i es o simul aneous li ing.
The na ion is a uni ied collec i e mo ing h ough ime, “a solid communi y
mo ing s eadily down (o up) his o y”. Time is ozen, dis o ed o in e up ed
by he pas . These dis u bing in e io s con adic he dominan home on
he o ic which cons uc s he domes ic sphe e as a place o iumphan collec i e
labou . (2010: 122)
The e is a clea spa ial opposi ion be ween he lawn in he ou side and he
in e io o he amily house, emphasised by hei con as ing illumina ion. While he
o me is da k and gloomy, he la e is wa m and sa e, as well as com o ably well-
ligh ed. The lugub ious lawn seems o embody M s D o e ‟s ea o gi ing he sel o a
man who — she belie es — will soon be dead, as in e ed om he b ie dialogue he
wo lo e s main ain:
“You‟ e going away such a long way.”
“No so a as you hink.”
“I don‟ unde s and?”
“You don‟ ha e o,” he said. “You will. You know wha we said.”
“Bu ha was — suppose you — I mean, suppose.”
“I shall be wi h you,” he said, “soone o la e . You won‟ o ge ha . You need
no hing bu wai .”
Only a li le mo e han a minu e la e she was ee o un up he silen lawn.
Looking in h ough he window a he mo he and sis e , who did no o he
momen pe cei e he , she al eady el he unna u al p omise d i e down be ween
he and he es o all human kind. No o he way o ha ing gi en he sel could
ha e made he eel so apa , los and o swo n. She could no ha e pligh ed a
mo e sinis e o h. (Bowen, 1999: 746)
On he con a y, he d awing- oom s ands in he dis ance o he spa ial
p ojec ion o Ka hleen‟s ideal o sa e y. The e is oom o consola ion in he e, p o ided
by he mo he and sis e . To be a es again, she mus c oss he ga den, con enien ly
ans o med in o a liminal space, a so o no-man‟s-land whe e she is le unp o ec ed
a he me cy o o ces she canno con ol:
24
Tu ning away and looking back up he lawn she saw, h ough b anches o ees,
he d awing- oom window aligh : she caugh a b ea h o he momen when she
could go unning back he e in o he sa e a ms o he mo he and sis e , and c y:
“Wha shall I do, wha shall I do? He has gone.” (Bowen, 1999: 745-746)
M s D o e de ines he ow she ook as he mos “sinis e o h”
25
she could
ha e pligh ed as well as an “unna u al p omise”, o which she ag eed only o be ee o
un home, bu no hing is said abou he p omise i sel . Young Ka hleen could ha e
ag eed o ma y he soldie on his e u n om he wa .
26
Neil Co co an a gues ha
Ka hleen could ha e swo n ha ei he she would wai o he lo e o e u n e en i
epo ed missing, o ha she would ollow he ins uc ions speci ied in he le e and
mee him a he hou a anged wen y- i e yea s be o e in spi e o belie ing him dead.
27
Ac ually, M s D o e does no emembe hei ela ionship o ha e been
oman ic a all: “He was ne e kind o me, no eally. I don‟ emembe him kind a all.
[…] He was se on me, ha was wha i was — no lo e” (Bowen, 1999: 748). Neil
Co co an ega ds he ela ionship be ween he wo lo e s as sadis ic, as he nex
quo a ion con i ms:
The young gi l alking o he soldie in he ga den had no e e comple ely seen
his ace. I was da k; hey we e saying goodbye unde a ee. Now and hen
— o i el , om no seeing him a his in ense momen , as hough she had
ne e seen him a all — she e i ied his p esence o hese ew momen s longe
by pu ing ou a hand, which he each ime p essed, wi hou e y much kindness,
and pain ully, on o one o he b eas bu ons o his uni o m. (Bowen, 1999: 745)
His a i ude owa ds he is ce ainly unlo ing and iolen in a sadis ic way. He
hu s he hand and seems o emain in he dis ance on pu pose o coe ce he . Ac ually,
she ne e ge s o see his eyes, which is he same as no seen his soul — “as hough she
had ne e seen him a all”. M s D o e el obliged o ow o him o some eason,
25
F eud‟s “The Uncanny” is usually ansla ed in o Spanish as “Lo Sinies o". Ac ually, „sinis e ‟ is one
o he de ini ions o he e m “uncanny” ha F eud collec s in his essay om dic iona ies o a ious
languages, in his case, om a F ench dic iona y: “F ench: (Sacks-Villa e). Inquié an , sinis e, lugub e,
mal à son aise” (1955: 221).
26
“T o h 1: pledge (o pligh ) one’s o h: make a solemn pledge o commi men o loyal y, especially
in ma iage” (Soanes and S e enson, eds., 2005: 1890).
27
Co co an, 2004: 161.
31
Chap e 2: Illumina ion
This chap e explo es Bowen‟s use o ligh as a majo de ice o he c ea ion o
liminal spaces in he wa ime ic ion. I de o e he ollowing pages o obse e, in he
i s place, how he au ho achie es he dilu ion o physical limi s in London‟s u ban
landscape by aking ad an age o he peculia illumina ion o wa , a combina ion o
blackou s and moonligh . I will p o ide, o such pu pose, a sho p eamble ha ames
Bowen‟s na a i e use o illumina ion wi hin he gene al li e a y con ex o he U ban
Go hic o he Second Wo ld Wa in B i ish wa ime ic ion. This will also help o
cla i y how he u ban landscape, along wi h ci izens‟ iew upon i , we e ho ibly
eshaped unde he ligh o wa . I will also be dealing wi h he way in which his sudden
and d ama ic ans o ma ion igge s he passage om an empi ical o a an as ic wo ld
in he s o y “Mys e ious Kô ” as a means o compensa ion o a daily expe ience upon a
auma ising wa ime eali y. Secondly, I will pay a en ion o he e ec s o u ban
illumina ion pe mea ing he domes ic sphe e, also in ela ion o “Mys e ious Kô ”.
Finally, an ou line o my conclusions will close his chap e .
2.1. Unde he Ligh o Wa
As a w i e , Elizabe h Bowen had an eage in e es in he way in which ligh can
be a ec ed by nigh :
All day — speaking o hese islands — ou one o li ing is condi ioned o us:
ain-ligh , sunligh , pene a ing ogginess, o a me allic sunlessness ha le s
no hing h ough. Bu a e wiligh , we can c ea e ci cums ance. […] We can
a ange ou ligh ing. We wo k like sculp o s upon hese blocks o p egnan
da kness ooms ha e become. We can con ol shadow: place, check, and one
ligh . The esponse om a ligh -swi ch, he b inging in o a candle is acu e,
pe sonal as a pe cep ion. (2008: 26)
The wa hi London wi h a downpou o blackou s, i es, dense smoke cu ains
and eme gency ligh ning, which hwa ed such capaci y o “c ea e ci cums ance” in he
da k. As a ho ough obse e o wa ime eali y, Elizabe h Bowen was ully awa e o
he e ec ha se e e changes in illumina ion exe ed upon u ban and, ex ensi ely,
32
domes ic spaces. Fu he mo e, de as a ion no only a ec ed London‟s u ban planning a
an a chi ec u al le el, bu also changed he isual pe cep ion ha Londone s had upon
hei ci y.
Sa a Wasson s a es ha “ he blackou ans o med e en day ligh in e io s in o
da k, claus ophobic chambe s […]” (2010: 105) and he peculia illumina ion o wa
ha canopied he ci y by nigh , ans o med he u ban ba le ield in o a so o mo bid
isual spec acle:
Louis MacNeice admi s ha aking a s oll a e one pa icula des uc i e ai
aid, he “could no help — a momen s — ega ding i as a spec acle”, and he
admi es “ he shi ing pa e n o wa e and smoke and lame... as sub le as he
sub les o Imp essionis pain ings”. The blackou , oo, p oduced isual ma els.
Chiang Yee ecalls, “I ha e o en been ou du ing he black-ou s in o de o ind
pleasu e ou o he da kness. The slende ed, g een and yellow c osses o he
a ic ligh s ne e ail o h ill me” and pho og aphe Bill B and is simila ly
enchan ed by he blacked-ou ci y, a e ing ha “The da kened own, li only by
moonligh , looked mo e beau i ul han be o e o since”. (2010: 33)
As a esul , he illumina ion o wa o e ed new oppo uni ies and o iginal ways
o he lâneu o in e p e he ci y, who eadap ed o wa ime eali y. Cha les
Baudelai e modelled he igu e o he lâneu in his poe y, whose o igins a e o be
ound in Monnie ‟s physiologies and E. A. Poe‟s de ec i e ic ion. Wal e Benjamin
ypi ied Baudelai e‟s po ayal o he lâneu as ha o an u ban wande e who enjoys
obse ing he in ica e social ab ic. As a he o de ached o m he mass, he has
some hing o wa chman and de ec i e a he same ime, and his o iginal en i onmen is
he u ban jungle o Pa is, adap ed by Ba on Haussmann‟s planning o he necessi ies o
he amble : b oad sideways, boule a ds, gas and, e en ually, elec ic ligh ing, e c.,
e e y hing combined wi h he ise o depa men s o es and he consolida ion o he
consume socie y, which ook p i a e li e ou doo s. Ca es, news-s ands and e aces
we e some o he s ages om whe e he lâneu analysed and in e p e ed he ci y.
30
The emale p o agonis in “Mys e ious Kô ”, Pepi a, migh be aken as a
wa ime lâneu in he sense ha she wande s he s ee s o London p oducing he own
30
Benjamin, 2006: 66-96.
33
in e p e a ion upon he u ban landscape, hough no hing she sees pleases he . Moonligh
alls c udely on he uinous, un amilia s ee s o London, leading Pepi a‟s eyes s aigh
o he ou comes o de as a ion in a so o comme cial ashion, like elec ic bulbs
highligh ing he shape o he goods on display in a s o e window o ca ch he eye o he
lâneu .
Ano he wa -phenomenon o he highes ele ance is he blackou . Blackou s
we e o icially in oduced in he UK he day Hi le in aded Poland on Sep embe 1,
1939. Concei ed as a p ophylac ic measu e, he poin o he blackou was “ o make i
di icul o passing ai c a o iden i y hei loca ion by ci y ligh s” (Cimen , ed., 2007:
786). As ai aids in ensi ied om Sep embe 1940 onwa ds, blackou s became
inc easingly equen in London, in e up ing p e-wa li es yle and ha dening he
ci cums ances o e e yday li e in he ci y. Fo ins ance, anspo a ion was so di icul in
he da k ha basic consume goods, which had been a ioned al eady, we e e en ha de
o ind.
31
In he UK, especially in London, people‟s con idence upon he na ion‟s s eng h
also su e ed he consequences o he blackou : “The da kness, oo, unse led people‟s
ela ionship wi h hei ci y and capi al. P e-wa u ban illumina ion had become closely
ied o he o ics o na ionhood” (Wasson, 2010: 34). As a majo echnological
b eak h ough, u ban illumina ion was soon iden i ied wi h he collec i e e o o a
na ion walking u u ewa ds uni a ily and un lawed. Sa a Wasson p o ides some
examples on how his achie emen was soon ela ed o na ional consciousness om
ad e isemen s o he ime as, o ins ance, a bulb comme cial ha p ayed: “„Mazda:
The Na ion‟s Ligh ‟” (2010: 35). The w eck o he public ligh ening sys em hus
h ea ened na ional my hology a a public le el, he same as he ans o ma ion o he
home in o a ba le ield did a a p i a e, domes ic one. I mus ha e been, o Bowen and
he con empo a ies, a shock o see hei capi al d owned in da kness o he i s ime in
he his o y o public ligh ning, o hey belonged o he i s gene a ion ha assumed as
na u al he iew ha elec ic ligh o e ed upon he u ban landscape: “Ou cen u y is
ligh -conscious, as was no o he ” (Bowen, 2008: 42), o which “Mys e ious Kô ” gi es
good example.
31
Cimen , ed., 2007: 934.
34
2.2. “Mys e ious Kô ”
The s o y akes he lapse o a nigh in he li es o a couple, Pepi a and A hu ,
and he o me ‟s la ma e, Callie. I opens wi h he lo e s wande ing he s ee s o
London wi h “no des ina ion bu each o he ” (Bowen, 1999: 822). They a e bound o
spend he nigh a a na ow la Pepi a sha es wi h Callie, a p udish young gi l she
dislikes who e used o lea e he place o he nigh . Pepi a is unwilling o go he e
because she longs o p i acy o spend he nigh wi h he boy iend, a soldie on lea e.
As hey walk he de as a ed and dese ed s ee s, Pepi a lays down a b idge be ween
London and Kô , he my hical kingdom in H. Ride Hagga d‟s She: A His o y o
Ad en u e. The no ion o liminali y is al eady de ec able in he e y in e ex ual na u e
o he ale and c ys allises in he passage om one na a i e space o he o he . The
moon, only sou ce o illumina ion o bo h London and Kô , enables such passage.
Bowen‟s abili y o exploi he possibili ies o moonligh as a c ea o o liminal
spaces is al eady appa en in he s o y‟s opening pa ag aph:
Full moonligh d enched he ci y and sea ched i ; he e was no a niche le o
s and in. The e ec was emo seless: London looked like he moon‟s capi al
— shallow, c a e ed, ex inc . I was la e, bu no ye midnigh ; now he buses had
s opped he polished oads and s ee s in his egion sen o minu es oge he a
ghos ly unb oken e lec ion up. The soa ing new la s and he c ouching old
shops and houses looked equally b i le unde he moon, which blazed in
windows ha looked i s way. The u ili y o he black-ou became laughable:
om he sky, p esumably, you could see e e y sla e in he oo s, e e y whi ed
ke b, e e y con ou o he naked win e lowe beds in he pa k; and he lake,
wi h i s shining wis s and ee-da kened islands would be a landma k o miles,
yes, miles o e head. (Bowen, 1999: 821)
The i s wo ds in his s o y, “ ull moonligh ”, s a e i mly he impo ance o
moonligh in he desc ip ion o spaces. Sho ly a e ha , Pepi a quo es he ollowing
lines om And ew Lang‟s sonne “She”, dedica ed o his iend H. Ride Hagga d and
inspi ed by his no el, in which Kô is also desc ibed as a moonli ci y: “Mys e ious Kô
hy walls o saken s and, / Thy lonely owe s benea h a lonely moon —” (Bowen, 1999:
822). Moonligh is hus in oduced as a connec o ha enables he passage om one
spa ial ame o he o he . The ac ha Elizabe h Bowen decided o access Kô h ough
35
an indi ec quo a ion ins ead o going s aigh o he sou ce — Hagga d‟s She —
ein o ces he connec ion be ween bo h spaces, o i p o ides he iden i ica ion wi h a
necessa y nexus. In addi ion, he quo a ion u he s he liminal na u e o he ex , o i
adds ano he laye o in e ex uali y o i s li e a y amewo k.
Moonligh c ea es, om he opening passage onwa ds, a s ong connec ion
be ween bo h ci ies no only in e ms o space, bu also a a empo al le el. London, o
ins ance, is said o look like “ he moon‟s capi al” o i is a capi al looded in moonligh ,
bu also because i is a so o was eland esembling he luna su ace: “shallow,
c a e ed, ex inc ” (Bowen, 1999: 821). The omniscien hi d-pe son na a o desc ibes
London‟s u ban landscape as “ex inc ”, whe eas Pepi a hinks o Kô as a ci y wi hou a
pas : “„I hink o i all he ime — a comple ely o saken ci y, as high as cli s and as
whi e as bones wi h no his o y —‟” (Bowen, 1999: 822), which is “no eally
anywhe e” (1999: 823). Ac ually, Bowen e e s o Kô in he “Pos sc ip ” o he
Ame ican edi ion o The Demon Lo e and O he S o ies as “a pu e abs ac emp y
imeless ci y” (1986: 96). The iden i ica ion o London wi h Kô implies, consequen ly,
he suspension o he linea low o ime and e e sion o a s age in which wa cancels
his o y. No hing in London mo es ei he backwa ds o o wa ds, bu emains in an odd
s i ness, he same as in Kô , a ci y d enched in i s own imelessness. Then, Pepi a e e s
o Kô in he ollowing e ms: “„Mys e ious Kô — ghos ci y‟” (Bowen, 1999: 822),
alluding o he ee ie hues — ypically Go hic — ha also dye London‟s nigh , gi ing
hem bo h an ai o dehumaniza ion and a es ed ime: “now he buses had s opped he
polished oads and s ee s in his egion sen o minu es oge he a ghos ly unb oken
e lec ion up” (1999: 821).
As he passage un olds, he ligh ha shines om London‟s moon e eals i sel
as a o ce unkind and e en hos ile o he lo e s, unwan edly sea ching and su oca ing;
i d enches and sea ches he ci y and seems o plo sec e ly agains hem, lea ing no
p i a e nook o he couple o s and ou o i s omnip esen sigh : “you could see e e y
sla e in he oo s, e e y whi ed ke b, e e y con ou o he naked win e lowe beds in
he pa k” (Bowen, 1999: 821). I s impac upon London is desc ibed as “ emo seless”
(1999: 821). As a p ojec ile hi ing he g ound, i emphasises he ou comes o
des uc ion and p o es u ile human e o s o pallia e de as a ion: “The u ili y o he
black-ou became laughable” (1999: 821).
36
Then he passage unde sco es he liminal powe o illumina ion: “The soa ing
new la s and he c ouching old shops and houses looked equally b i le unde he moon,
which blazed in windows ha looked i s way” (Bowen, 1999: 821). The ci y looks
homogenously uinous and agile unde he moonligh . This ca as ophic le elling
exempli ies he ailu e o public ligh ning o ein o ce he my hology o he B i ish
na ion. The aes he ics o public ligh ning was concei ed o o e a magni icen iew
upon he ci y, exploded o p opagandis ic pu poses in o de o highligh he glo ies o
he pas and p aise mode ni y in he shape o monumen s and new buildings. Those
we e con enien ly silhoue ed by he ligh , hence indi idualised om one ano he .
The e is no such delimi a ion o spaces in “Mys e ious Kô ”.
London is po ayed as he de as a ed hea o an impe ial na ion on he e ge o
being de ea ed, educed o an undi e en ia ed mass o uins ha ails o p o ide i s
ci izens wi h symbols ha unde pin hei alling impe ial con idence. I is in his sense
ha he h ee li e a y wo ks — Bowen‟s, Haggad‟s and Lang‟s — a e connec ed
acco ding o Lau a Lojo Rod íguez, o Bowen sha ed Hagga d‟s conce ns abou
des uc ion and impe ial c isis,
32
which Lang had ac ualised in his sonne by inse ing
his own e alua ion o She:
Like Hagga d and Lang, Bowen p oduced “Mys e ious Kô ” in yea s ma ked by
a p o ound sense o c isis and disenchan men which, in Bowen‟s case, was
enhanced by he ho o s o he Bli z Wa in London. Hagga d, Lang, and Bowen
a icula e hei espec i e na a i es as a li e a y esponse o such
disenchan men , shaped as a ques -my h o „ e-enchan men ‟ which depa s om
a ci iliza ion on he e ge o collapse o a my hical des ina ion. (2014: 1)
“Mys e ious Kô ” hus b ings o me Vic o ian ea s o in asion and impe ial
disin eg a ion o a con empo a y con ex :
32
I was Ayehsa‟s plan — he emale so e eign in Hagga d‟s She — o ma y one o he cha ac e s and
a el o England in o de o usu p Queen Vic o ia‟s h one. Bowen ecalls he ollowing passage om he
no el in he e lec ions on She: “Ma iage o Leo, and e u n o England o ake o e he go e nmen o
ha coun y was he p og amme. Says Leo: „Bu we ha e a queen al eady.‟ „I is naugh , i is naugh . She
can be o e h own!‟” (Bowen, 1986: 249).
37
Bowen‟s “Mys e ious Kô ” also lays ba e he anxie y o o eign in asion and
e en ual annihila ion: he 1940s wi nessed o he e i al o olde Vic o ian ea s
in he ace o London‟s des uc ion, which unc ioned as a synecdoche o he
disin eg a ion o Impe ial B i ain. (Lojo, 2014: 7)
Bowen u ns he eyes o Kô unde such c i ical ci cums ances, and so does
Pepi a. Kô is one o hose “ an asies o pe ec wo lds”, as Maud Ellmann calls hem
(2004: 51), popula ing Bowen‟s wa ime ic ion. Kô ‟s na u e is an as ic and my hical,
expanding he scope o he s o y‟s liminal se ing. The e is no only a low o spaces,
bu also a ans-dimensional low be ween he empi ically-based London and he
my hical Kô , which is only accessible h ough an asy. Behind his an asy hides he
p o agonis ‟s a duous ques o compensa ion. I is he eeling o disenchan men , o
which Lau a Lojo e e s in he quo a ion abo e, wha Pepi a ies o compensa e o . In
ac , disenchan men is a key concep in his s o y as well as in he sonne “She”: “The
wo ld is disenchan ed”, quo es Pepi a om Lang‟s poem (Bowen, 1999: 823). I is no ,
howe e , escapism wha igge s an asies in Bowen‟s wa ime ic ion, bu a s onge
ins inc o su i al ha impels cha ac e s o p ese e hei sani y and egain con ol o e
eali y: “ o su i e, no only physically bu spi i ually, was essen ial”, asse s Bowen in
he “Pos sc ip ” o he Ame ican edi ion o The Demon Lo e and O he S o ies
(1986: 97), in which she discusses mo e ho oughly he idea o he “compensa o y
an asy”:
The hallucina ions in he s o ies a e no a pe il; no a e he s o ies s udies o
men al pe il. Hallucina ions a e an unconscious, ins inc i e, sa ing eso on he
pa o he cha ac e s: li e, mechanized by he con ols o wa ime, and
emo ionally o n and impo e ished by changes, had o comple e i sel in some
way. I is a ac ha in B i ain, and especially in London, in wa ime may people
had s ange deep in ense d eams […] d eams by nigh , and he an asies
— hese o en childishly innocen — wi h which o me ly ma e -o - ac people
consoled hemsel es by day we e compensa ions. (1986: 96)
The my hical kingdom o Kô ills he gap ha a dis u bing lack o ce ain ies
had le in Pepi a. I helps he o cope wi h he daily expe ience o wa by pu ing
oge he again he pieces o a agmen ed wa ime eali y, and wo ks as he own
indes uc ible landma k wi hin a des uc ible wo ld:
38
The sea ch o indes uc ible landma ks in a des uc ible wo ld led many down
s ange pa hs. The a achmen o hese when hey had been ound p oduced small
wo lds-wi hin-wo lds o hallucina ion — in mos cases, sa ing hallucina ion.
(1986: 96-97)
Kô is a ce ain y o Pepi a, so much so ha she imagines he s eng h o i s
walls in opposi ion o he weakness o London‟s uins: “„i ‟s e y s ong; he e is no a
c ack in i anywhe e o a weed o g ow in; he co ne s o s ones and he monumen s
migh ha e been cu yes e day, and he s ai s and a ches a e buil o suppo
hemsel es‟” (Bowen, 1999: 823). Sho ly a e wa ds, she e e s o Kô as “„ he one ci y
le : he abiding ci y‟” (1999: 823).
As a an asy, Kô also sa is ices Pepi a‟s need o p i acy o elie e he sexual
us a ion, which a ises om Callie‟s e usal o lea e he la . Dese ed as she imagines
i o be, Kô eme ges as a place o he lo e s alone:
“Bu o hink abou Kô is o hink abou you and me.”
“In ha dead place?”
“No, ou s — we‟d be alone he e.” (Bowen, 1999: 824)
The e Pepi a could expe imen sexuali y a i s ull and sa is y A hu ‟s p oposal
o popula ing Kô , ee om he ep essing mo al ha Callie embodies:
“I don‟ know abou „nex ‟, bu I do know wha we‟d do i s .”
“Wha , A hu ?”
“Popula e Kô .” (Bowen, 1999: 824)
A connec ion is made be ween Hagga d‟s o iginal depic ion o Kô and Bowen‟s
la e in e p e a ion o i , which wo ks as a men al landscape o compensa e o he
ep essing wes e n a i ude agains emale sexuali y.
33
In She, he explo a ion o Kô , an
unspoiled ealm los in he hea o A ica, bea s he nine een h-cen u y load o e o ic
ascina ion o explo ing and colonising, gi ing loose ein o he an asies o he
colonise in exo ic and exube an ly sexual places, ee om he me opolis‟ es ic i e
laws and mo al codes. Pepi a wan s o ge id o he es ic ions imposed upon sexuali y
she su e s in wa ime London and lee o he unknown, he mys e ious Kô she
33
Lojo, 2014: 13-16.
39
ancies. Sexual neu osis and wa a e, consequen ly, ela ed by means o li e a y
e e en iali y ha , acco ding o Neil Co co an, “complexly in ica es human sexuali y,
and mo e pa icula ly sexual neu osis, and wa ” (2004: 153). Tha implies he exis ence
o liminal spaces, because in e ex ual e e ences ma e ialise in he spa ial ansi ion
om London o Kô .
Pepi a‟s wo ds in he quo a ion abo e comple e he p ocess o iden i ica ion
be ween London and Kô : “„we‟d be alone he e‟” (Bowen, 1994: 824). Ne e heless, I
s ill p e e no o alk o a ac ual mix u e o wo lds as in pos mode nis ic ion, o such
iden i ica ion is, in “Mys e ious Kô ”, p oduc o Pepi a‟s an asy wi h which she —
and he s o y — in es s he ci y in uins wi h a laye o powe and cohe ence. Pepi a is
well awa e o he ac ha she is an asising, he e o e she delibe a ely u he s he
liminal na u e o London. He wo ds puzzle A hu , who blames he ime hey had spen
in he Unde g ound o he con usion, as i he en ance o he ube s a ion we e a so o
ans-dimensional ga e, a liminal passage connec ing wo di e en on ological planes.
To such connec ion con ibu es he ac ha hey had los ack o ime down he e:
“Wha , you mean we‟ e he e now, ha he e‟s he e, ha now‟s hen?” […]
“You ough o know he place, and o all I could ell you we migh be
anywhe e: I o en do ha e i , his unny eeling, he i s minu e o wo when
I‟ e come up ou o he Unde g ound.” (Bowen, 1999: 824)
Visual e ms also pe mea e he desc ip ion o he u ban acous ic a mosphe e,
c ea ing a so o in e -senso y liminali y o liminali y o he senses ha ex ends he
scope o spa ial liminali y om he isual o he acous ic dimension o space:
“Howe e , he sky, in whose glassiness loa ed no clouds bu only opaque balloons,
emained glassy-silen ” (Bowen, 1999: 822).
34
Bowen exploi s synaes hesia o achie e an e ec o acous ic co po ei y,
in ensi ied by he con as be ween he anspa ency o he sky and he opaci y o he
balloons. This is a silence o menace ha announces u u e ai aids a e a pe iod o
misleading anquilli y,
35
hus es ing he composu e o he Londone s in a way ha
34
Balloon ba ages we e used o p e en enemy bombe s om lying a a low heigh , so hey missed hei
a ge (Cimen , ed., 2007: 786, 1068). They uled London‟s sky du ing he Bli z, changing d as ically he
u ban landscape. In his passage hey con ibu e o in ensi y he ai o ho e ing menace.
35
Lojo, 2014: 9.
40
esembles he ime p eceding he aids, popula ly known as he “Phoney Wa ”, when
p e-wa anxie y sp ead con usion and hys e ia all o e .
36
In o de o pu his dense
a mosphe e in o wo ds, Bowen desc ibes a hick and hea y silence ha is almos
isible: “Some hing mo e imma e ial seemed o h ea en, and o be keeping people a
home. This day be ween days, his ex a ax, was pe haps mo e han senses and ne es
could bea ” (Bowen, 1999: 821).
Elizabe h Bowen li ed he in e s i ial pe iod o calm be ween he mos in ense
Bli z and he “Li le Bli z”. I is e en p obable ha she w o e “Mys e ious Kô ” a some
poin du ing ha pe iod.
37
In any case, he a den in e es in desc ibing he mechanisms
o wa ime li e would ha e led he o make isible he acous ic a mosphe e o gene al
hys e ia ha swamped London in hose days.
La e in he s o y, a u ning poin is eached ma ked by a change in ocalisa ion
and space. The lo e s ha e inally gi en up wande ing and he spa ial ame has shi ed
o he li le la Pepi a sha es wi h Callie, who he na a ion is ocalised h ough. The
space is ma kedly liminal a bo h isual and acous ic le els, wha inc eases Pepi a‟s
anxie y, o she is de ini ely compelled o gi e up he hopes o p i acy. Pepi a alls ou
o ouch almos comple ely wi h he wo ld ou doo s, being pushed away om Kô . The
la s ands o he physical and mo al inca ce a ion.
A a isual le el, moonligh keeps wo king as a connec ion be ween he wo ld
indoo s and he one ou doo s, a nexus be ween he domes ic wo ld o da kness and
mo al ep ession and Kô , he p omise o Pepi a‟s elie . In spi e o Callie‟s e o s o
keep he la in da kness, pie cing beams o o e lowing moonligh seep in he
bed oom: “blue-whi e beams o e lowed om i [ he ou side], sil ing, d opping ound
he edges o he mu ling black-ou cu ains” (Bowen, 1999: 827). Callie eels
uncom o able wi h he ligh coming in: “she did no like sleeping so close up unde he
glass” (1999: 827), and shows he p e e ence o da kness: “Wan ing o sa ou da kness
he sel , Callie eached ou and pu o he bedside lamp” (1999: 827).
In like manne , sha ing he bed wi h Pepi a is, o Callie, a sac i ice she a i ms
would ha e p e e ed no o make, o she needs o be p o ec ed om physical con ac :
36
B ayley, 2005: 26-27.
37
“Mys e ious Kô ” was published in 1945 and added o he Ame ican edi ion o The Demon Lo e and
O he S o ies. The s o ies we e w i en be ween he sp ing o 1941 and he la e au umn o 1944
(Bowen, 1986: 94).
47
3.1. “I y G ipped he S eps”
“I y G ipped he S eps” is con empo a ily se in Sep embe 1944, close o he
end o Wo ld Wa II, al hough he s o y is, in i s g ea e pa , a lashback ha goes back
o he ime p eceding he ou bu s o Wo ld Wa I. I s p o agonis , Ga in Dodding on,
akes a lea e o isi he coas al own o Sou hs one, igh a e he go e nmen li ed
he p ohibi ion o isi ing coas al a eas, which had been decla ed as wa zones o
manda o y e acua ion: “The decline da ed om he exodus o 1940, when Sou hs one
had been decla ed in he on line […] The li ing o he ban on he a ea had, so a ,
b ough ew isi o s in” (Bowen, 1999: 773).
41
Ga in, de ined by Neil Co co an as “a
middle-aged, deeply isola ed, and, i is implied, oyeu is ic and alcoholic”
(2004: 151),
42
e u ns o behold he scene o he “Edwa dian episode ha has c ippled
his acul y o lo e” (Bowen, 1986: 97).
Such scene is he old majes ic house whe e he used o spend sho holiday spells
as a child. The house belonged o M s Nicholson, an old acquain ance o Ga in‟s
mo he and he objec o his ea lies passion, an episode ha Co co an de ines as “a
kind o seduc ion and a kind o be ayal by a middle-aged woman” (2004: 151). A ha
ime, M s Nicholson was a widow who main ained an a ai wi h M Concannon, an
admi al who despe a ely pu sued his las chance o acqui e mili a y glo y, which he
would e en ually ind a he expense o his own li e. Abandoned, uined and hal -
co e ed by a migh y i y-plan which is exube an ly in ui , he big house s ands o he
las emnan s o bo h an ex inc e a o splendou in he his o y o he UK and he
expe ience ha had auma ised Ga in, u ning him in o a “cynically manipula i e se ial
seduce ” (Co co an, 2004: 156) who “had no o en se o on a holiday
uncompanioned” (Bowen, 1999: 775).
41
Acco ding o B ayley (2005: 25-27), people om la ge indus ial ci ies and coas al owns in he eas o
England we e e acua ed in mass o he coun yside om he las mon hs o 1939 onwa ds as pa o he
p epa a ions o wa .
42
Ga in‟s alcoholism helps o a icula e he s o y‟s na a i e ame. The ex ensi e lashback which
cons i u es he ex ‟s main body, s a s when Ga in lea es a ba and ends wi h him in ending o go back o
one: “The idea o his as a pilg image e ol ed him: he emained in he ba ill he ba closed”
(Bowen, 1999: 775). “Should he go s aigh o he s a ion, s aigh back o London? No while he
imp ession emained so s ong. On he o he hand, i would be a long ime be o e he ba s opened”
(1999: 799). I is sugges ed ha Ga in u ns o alcohol o o ge abou his pas , as well as o deny he ue
easons o his comeback o Sou hs one. Also his oyeu is ic ace connec s him wi h he u ban lâneu ,
as a as his compa ison can be sus ained, being him in a small own a he han in a la ge, cosmopoli an
ci y.
48
We a e old in he opening pa ag aphs abou some p ope ies ha ha e been
“ equisi ioned” and some o he s ha “s ayed emp y” (Bowen, 1999: 773), bu all o
hem ha e been abandoned, hus le unp o ec ed agains he homogeniza ion o he
u ban landscape by a ush o wildli e ha blu s i s ea u es and dissipa es he ai o
social dis inc ion ha used o cha ac e ise Sou hs one as a eso o he uppe classes,
u ning i in o an un e ined, wild landscape. The on ga dens ha e become a mass o
“o e g ow h” c ashed by allen “po ions o po ches o balus ades” (Bowen, 1999:
773). Vege a ion e en s a ed o de ou he memo y o wa , going o e “ he angles o
us y ba bed wi e” ha dye he g ass and “ he conc e e py amids” sunk in o he soil and
co e ed-up by he lea es he ches nu s d opped, s anding e e y hing as he las
emnan s o he ea o an in asion ha ne e ook place (1999: 773).
The s o y begins wi h he desc ip ion o a liminal space ha epi omises he wild
ans o ma ion o he u ban landscape. I e ol es a ound he i y, i s wo d in his
opening passage, in a way ha eminds how moonligh was in oduced in “Mys e ious
Kô ” (c . 34):
I y g ipped and sucked a he ligh o s eps, down which wi h such a decep i e
wildness i seemed o be lowing like a cascade. I y ma e ed he doo a he op
and amassed in bushes abo e and below he po ch. Mo e, i had co e ed, o one
migh eel consumed, one en i e hal o he high, double- on ed house, om he
basemen up o a spiked gable: i had a ained abou hal -way up o he gi h and
mo e han he densi y o a ee, and was sagging ou wa d unde i s own weigh .
(Bowen, 1999: 772)
In spi e o he ac ha Sou hs one is no he la ge ci y o London, no is he
house uined by di ec e ec o he aids, i can be seen in he desc ip ion o he i y ha
Bowen was conce ned wi h he wild ans o ma ion o he u ban landscape. Unlike he
s o ies ha a e se in London, in which he e ec s o he aids ake p ecedence o e he
es , in “I y G ipped he S eps” he bombing emains in he backg ound: “ he e we e no
comple e uins; no bomb o shell had a i ed immedia ely he e, and e ec s o blas ,
hough common o all o Sou hs one, we e less e iden han desue ude and decay”
(Bowen, 1999: 773). I is implied ha he physical dese ion o he own as well as he
abandonmen o a whole li es yle caused he calami ous s a e o he house and a ou ed
he ush o wildli e ou o i s uins.
49
Wo ds like “sucked” and “consumed” highligh he o aci y o he plan , mo e
han a ee in densi y, which e en bends a i s own weigh . The e is some hing b u al
and abno mal in i s ecundi y, as i na u e we e pushing ou ie cely all aces o
humani y by eeding, h ough s e ile b icks and s ones, on he pas ha dwells he
house:
To c own all, he i y was now in ui , clus e ed o e wi h leshy pane g een
be ies. The e was some hing b u al abou i s ecundi y. I was ha d o c edi ha
such a ha es could ha e been nou ished only on b ick and s one. Had no
eason insis ed ha he los windows mus , like hei ellows, ha e been made
as , so ha he sucke s o all hei seeking o aci y could no en e , one could
ha e con inced onesel ha he i y mus be eeding on some hing inside he
house. (Bowen, 1999: 722)
Neil Co co an ega ds Ga in‟s e isi ing Sou hs one as a “„ e ou ‟ […] in which,
a om annihila ing his pas , which migh ha e been his expec a ion o his e u n, he
is himsel annihila ed by i ” (2004: 153). Ga in‟s ip o Sou hs one is, indeed, a “ ou
o annihila ion” (Bowen, 1999: 799), o i is also his pas , closely ied o he house,
wha he i y eeds on.
The i y migh be ead, on he one hand, as he ep esen a ion o Ga in‟s sexual
hwa ing, which he had been d agging om his ea ly childhood and inally lowed, in
his ma u i y, in o he sexual neu osis ha consumes him: “ he i y o he s o y‟s i le
g ips he s eps o he house in which Ga in came o pain ul knowledge o adul sexual
beha iou jus as he poisonous i y o ha knowledge has g ipped his own sexuali y
since” (Co co an, 2004: 156). Ga in‟s us a ion is also ela ed o he igh connec ion
exis ing in his s o y be ween he wo Wo ld Wa s, wha leads us back o he heme o
he “ e u n o he ep essed”. Co co an no iced ha “ he en apmen s o sexuali y, and
he obsessional e u n o i s sou ces, a e accompanied by eminde s o , o e u ns o, he
Fi s Wo ld Wa ” (2004: 156). Such connec ion keeps he i s con lic bea ing
unde nea h he su ace o he second, in he same way ha he o igins o Ga in‟s sexual
neu osis pe sis in his ma u i y, as sugges ing ha “ he cul u e i sel , as well as
indi idual psychologies, is apped in a epe i i e o se ial pa e n: he „a ai ‟ o wa is
made o hyme wi h he „a ai ‟ o sex” (Co co an, 2004: 157). The e u n o he
ep essed sha e s Ga in‟s capaci y o o e come aumas o his pas . Hence, pas and
50
p esen mee a he house, a liminal space in which cul u al his o y and Ga in‟s pe sonal
s o y en angle.
On he o he , he i y migh be ead in key o a b oade na ional con ex wi h
uni e sal epe cussions ha in ol e Ga in. Wo ld Wa II pu he UK on he e ge o
losing i s impe ial glo y, embodied in his almos -ex inc Edwa dian house ha he i y
— me apho ical ep esen a ion o wa — consumes: “The p ocess o s angula ion
could be el : one wonde ed how many mo e yea s o wa would be necessa y o his o
comple e i sel ” (Bowen, 1999: 722). Such si ua ion pa allels he one li ed in B i ain
du ing Wo ld Wa I, he e o e i is no only Ga in, bu he whole na ion ha is
con on ed wi h he e u n o long- ep essed ea s. Bowen alludes o he s o y o he
house as i i we e a piece o li e a y wo k, a na a ion ha en angles Ga in‟s own s o y
wi h he colonial his o y o he UK — he longes na a ion o all — by i ue o he
enume a ion o o me p op ie o s sca e ed all o e he B i ish Empi e, om i s hea
— London — o i s emo e con ine — Singapo e —, ac oss some unspeci ied spo in
England:
The la e owne ‟s dea h in some o he pa o England mus ha e gi en e ec o a
will no b ough up o da e, by which he p ope y passed o an hei who could
no be ound — o somebody no hea d o since Singapo e ell o no ye
epo ed any hing mo e han “missing” a e a aid on London o a ba le ab oad.
Legal hold-ups do ed he wo ld-wide mess […] Bu also he [Ga in] a ached
himsel o he s o y as o some hing no hing o do wi h him. (Bowen, 1999: 774-
775)
The liminal loca ion o he house, de ached om he es bu s ill pa o he
a chi ec u al ensemble o he a enue, jus in on o he hea e ha “c owned and
e mina ed” i majes ically (Bowen, 1999: 772), made o i he mos expensi e and
dis inguished. Sou hs one‟s i olous socie y is geog aphically a anged in a way ha
bu dens he houses wi h he load o i al y:
By i e o´clock, in Sep embe , M s Nicholson‟s house cas i s shadow ac oss he
a enue on o he houses opposi e, which should o he wise ha e ecei ed he
descending sun. In e enge, hey cas shadow back h ough he bow window.
(Bowen, 1999: 793)
51
Pa adoxically, i is he ac ha he house is de ached wha lea es i unp o ec ed,
bea ing he b un o abandonmen . Bu e en he Go hic a e o he house, hough
ad e se, seems o endow i wi h a ouch o dis inc ion: “I was hus pe haps jus , o no
un i ing, ha i [ he house] should ha e been singled ou o his go hic a e”
(Bowen, 1999: 773). Bowen seems o be sugges ing ha he only possible ou come o a
glo ious pas is a uinous u u e. The embodimen o a agged splendou endowed by
old- ashioned na ional alues, Sou hs one is condemned o disappea unde a hick mass
o ege a ion, and i is implied ha no e en he cu en change in he cou se o wa
could change ha : “I was now he Sep embe o 1944, and he accumula ion o he
In asion ic o ies, ga e Sou hsone i s inal ai o de ea ” (1999: 773). The a e o he
own along wi h he na ion‟s, a e ied o he house‟s Go hic a e, which bo h singula ises
and condemns i , and so is Ga in‟s own pe sonal a e by i ue o he emo ional bounds
ha a ach him o he house.
Finally, he mo i o he “ ailings” in “I y G iped he S eps” dese es some
commen . As seen in Chap e 1, Bowen was ond o building liminal domes ic spaces
by means o exploding he uncanny e ec ha ma ks and aces c ea e as a consequence
o he emo al o objec s and u ni u e. Some hing simila happens wi h ailings in
Bowen‟s u ban landscapes, o he au ho akes ad an age o he ac ha hey we e
equen ly emo ed om s ee s, pa ks and e en p i a e ya ds in Wo ld Wa II,
especially in la ge ci ies, in o de o ecycle he i on o mili a y pu poses. In “I y
G ipped he S eps” he p oli e a ion o wildli e joins he emo al o he ailings o
c ea e liminal spaces ha can be ead in na ional key.
43
The ac ha all he ailings in
he a enue we e sac i iced on behal o he collec i e wa e o is e e ed o ea ly in
he s o y:
Lines o ches nu ees had been plan ed along he pa emen s, along he ailed
s ip o lawn ha di ided he a enue down he middle — now, he ailings we e,
wi h all o he i onwo k, gone; and whe e he lawn was e y long us y g ass
g ew up in o he angles o us y ba bed wi e. On o his, as on he conc e e
py amids […] he ches nu s we e now d opping hei lea es. (Bowen, 1999: 773)
43
Bowen also u ilises he mo i o ailings in he s o y “In he Squa e”: “I say, I hough hey we e aking
he ailings away om squa es; I hough he i on was some good” (1999: 689). The ailing is a limen ha
a oids bo h p i a e and public domains om ge ing in o con ac lea ing, when emo ed, he houses
unp o ec ed om he h ea s o London‟s u ban ba le ield.
52
Al hough he di ision is s ill isible, i is conside ably blu ed by he emo al o
he ailings, he o e g ow h and he ches nu s d opping hei lea es on o e e y hing.
Na u e s a ed o bu y he a enue as i bu ied hal o M s Nicholson‟s house. Mo eo e ,
wi hou ailings, p ope ies a e le unp o ec ed a he me cy o na u e‟s all-consuming
powe . The Go hic na u e in “I y G ipped he S eps” h ea ens wi h e asing all aces o
human exis ence.
Among he p ope ies in he a enue, M s Nicholson‟s is he only one ha keeps
i s ailings, which exempli ies he ul ima e loss o i s ole wi hin he B i ish na ional
con ex , o i was no e en equi ed o con ibu e o he wa e o : “No , appa en ly,
had he e been nobody‟s business o au ho ise he pa io ic sac i ice o he ailings”
(Bowen, 1999: 774). The u e abandonmen o he house con i ms, o a ce ain ex en ,
he all o he B i ish impe ial splendou , lea ing no place o old glo ies in pos -wa
B i ain. Ga in belongs o such mass o agged glo ies, also unable o con ibu e o he
wa e o and ha dly expec ed o adap o he new o de o being oo old — as p o ed
by his ailu e in seducing a young gi l a he end o he s o y — bu , a he same ime,
oo young o be esponsible o he collapse o he o me es ablishmen .
O namen ed ailings a e also connec ed o he heme o he “ e u n o he
ep essed”. They wo k as a window h ough which Ga in can access his pas , co e ed
up bu no ye ully e ased by he i y, as bu ied ali e. Ga in manages o ouch he
pa e n o he i onwo k, accessing long- o go en memo ies. Consequen ly, he ailings
con ibu e o u he he connec ion be ween pas and p esen :
Ga in Dodding on, p odding be ween he s ands o i y, con i med his
imp ession ha ha i on lacewo k s ill opped he pa ape o he on ga den. He
could pu sue wi h his inge , hough no see, he pa e n ha wi h o he de ails o
he house, ou side and in, had long ago been b anded in o his memo y
(Bowen, 1999: 774)
I is hus ai o conclude ha he impac o Wo ld Wa II upon he B i ish u ban
landscape a ec ed people‟s ela ionship wi h bo h u ban and na u al wo lds. Wildli e,
ho ibly blooming ou o uins, c ea ed in e es ing liminal spaces ha we e soon
popula ed by an exube an and hos ile na u e, which wa ime w i e s like Elizabe h
Bowen ep esen ed h ough Go hic lenses. In “I y G ipped he S eps”, Bowen akes
53
ad an age o such na u e o build a liminal space whe e pas and p esen mee and low
h ough o one ano he , b inging he ep essed back o he con empo anei y o he s o y.
This passage con on s, on he one hand, he p o agonis wi h he auma ic expe ience
ha c ippled his acul y o lo e, lea ing him ad i in a sea o alcoholism, misogyny
and emo ional acuum. On he o he , i also aces he B i ish na ion wi h he o igins o
i s own down all, which go back o he mon hs p eceding he ou b eak o Wo ld Wa I,
by which ime i s social ab ic was al eady co up ed, and ended alongside Wo ld Wa
II, a “ ull s op” in he na a ion o he B i ish his o y a e a “las gal anized momen
o wa d” (Bowen, 1999: 799).
55
Conclusions
In ligh o he p e ious a gumen , i is ai o conclude ha liminal spaces play
an impo an pa in Elizabe h Bowen‟s po ayal o he mechanisms o li e in a
agmen ed eali y o wa . The analysis o “The Demon Lo e ”, “Mys e ious Kô ” and
“I y G ipped he S eps” e eals Bowen‟s abili y o ie bo h ac ion and cha ac e s o
liminal spaces. Those allow o he explo a ion o wa ime eali y as a hick ab ic o
s o ies, li es, spaces and imes ha incessan ly me ge wi h each o he in bo h de as a ed
domes ic and u ban landscapes whe e limi s a e blu ed and e e y hing seems o
con e ge a an in e s i ial physical and psychic space. Liminali y is a de ining ea u e o
he way in which Elizabe h Bowen, he ci ilian, expe ienced he Bli z, and wha she
success ully con eyed as a w i e . He s a emen s in he ”Pos sc ip ” o he Ame ican
edi ion o The Demon Lo e and O he S o ies a e unequi ocal:
I el one wi h, and jus like, e e yone else. Some imes I ha dly knew whe e I
s opped and somebody else began. The iolen des uc ion o solid hings, he
explosion o he illusion ha p es ige, powe and pe manence a ach o bulk and
weigh , le all o us, equally, heady and disembodied. (Bowen, 1986: 95)
Liminal spaces we e also app oached in his essay acco ding o hei capaci y o
igge mechanisms o dayd eaming, hallucina ions and compensa o y an asies o
pe ec wo lds such as Kô , which al oge he shape Bowen‟s heo y o he “sa ing
hallucina ion”, concei ed as an ac o “ esis ance o he annihila ion ha was
h ea ening” (Bowen, 1986: 97). By i ue o he connec ion exis ing be ween Bowen‟s
sa ing hallucina ion and spa ial liminali y in he wa ime ic ion, liminal spaces i in
he unde s anding o he ac o w i ing ic ion in imes o wa as one o esis ance: “I
wonde whe he in a sense all wa ime w i ing is no esis ance w i ing?” (Bowen, 1986:
97). Bu no only do Bowen‟s liminal spaces e lec he hallucina o y p ocesses o
wa ime li e, bu also allow o he explo a ion o emale sexual desi e and us a ion,
as seen in “Mys e ious Kô ” and “The Demon Lo e ”, o male sexual discom i u e in
“I y G ipped he S eps”.
56
Fu he mo e, i was also analysed in his essay he way in which liminal spaces
con ibu e o he cul u al and his o ical dimensions o he ales collec ed in The Demon
Lo e and O he S o ies, which al oge he compound Bowen‟s his o y o he Bli z.
44
As
a ma e o ac , he au ho e lec ed on he his o ical dimension o he olume in he
“Pos sc ip ” o i s Ame ican edi ion, and she did so by compa ing he s o ies wi h lying
pa icles in a way ha me apho ically e okes he deb is a e he ai aids and
emphasises he liminal na u e o ci il li e in imes o wa : “They [ he s o ies] we e
lying pa icles o some hing eno mous and inchoa e ha had been going on. They we e
spa ks om expe ience — an expe ience no necessa ily my own” (Bowen, 1986: 95).
The e o e, spa ial liminali y endows Bowen‟s wa ime s o ies wi h uni y and cohesion.
Ne e heless, Bowen‟s explo a ion o liminal spaces goes u he han he
immedia e his o ical con ex in which he s o ies we e concei ed, since spa ial
liminali y channels he ex e naliza ion o he au ho ‟s conce ns abou he u u e o he
B i ish na ion, a ha ime pe ilously unce ain, by b idging di e en imes o c isis in
B i ain‟s his o y. This is made pa icula ly clea in “The Demon Lo e ” and “I y
G ipped he S eps”, in which s o ies liminal spaces wo k as empo al passages be ween
he Fi s and Second Wo ld Wa s. In “The Demon Lo e ”, Bowen‟s uncanny depic ion
o he home space — which is cha ac e is ically Go hic —, sub e s he idea o he
“home on ”, a co ne s one in he B i ish ic o y o e he Ge mans in Wo ld Wa I and
me apho ical embodimen o he na ion being in aded by a o eign enemy who, as he
Ge mans in Wo ld Wa II, e-eme ges om he pas like an unhealed wound. Whe eas
in “Mys e ious Kô ”, Bowen p o ides he own assessmen on Hagga d‟s and Lang‟s old
Vic o ian ea s conce ning he disin eg a ion o he B i ish Empi e, and so does she in
“I y G ipped he S eps” by ocusing on he us ed sc aps o he Edwa dian E a.
To conclude, I would like o sugges u u e lines o esea ch which migh u he
he s udy o spa ial liminali y in Elizabe h Bowen‟s sho ic ion. On he one hand, i is
he explo a ion o Elizabe h Bowen as an in e s i ial w i e be ween Mode nism and
Pos mode nism,
45
o i is my opinion ha liminal spaces migh e lec he change om
epis emological o on ological conce ns in Bowen‟s w i ing, as ad anced by I ene
Iglesias in he 2012 s udy. On he o he , i is he explo a ion o Bowen‟s wa ime
44
Co co an, 2004: 164-165.
45
See abo e sec ion 1.2. (19-20).
