Liminal Space

Liminal space – a transitional space on the boundary between one thing and another – is one of the central motifs of the novel: different liminal spaces are used to reflect Arthur’s psychological state and to echo his feeling that he does not fit in or belong. The opening image of the novel focuses on one such liminal state, underscoring the extent to which this motif is central to the novel. In the opening chapter, an unnamed man awakens from a state of dreaming to the state of being awake and realizes he is at a party. The novel begins at the moment that the dreamer becomes aware of the fact that he is dreaming which inevitably leads to him waking up: the transitional, liminal space between sleeping and waking. To begin with the dreamer had “a more positive awareness…inside him, a kind of gratitude...