Mobility, Memory and the Lifecourse in Twentieth-Century Literature and Culture (Studies in Mobilities, Literature, and Culture)

This book explores the formative role of mobilities in the production of our close relationships, proposing that the tracks--both literal and figurative-- we lay down in the process play a crucial role in generating and sustaining intimacy. Working with diaries, journals, and literary texts from the mid- to late-twentieth century, the book pursues this thesis through three phases of the lifecourse: courtship (broadly defined), the middle years of long-term relationships, and bereavement. Building upon the author's recent research on automobility, the text's case studies reveal the crucial role played by many different types of transport--including walking--in defining our most enduring relationships. Conceptually, the book draws upon the writings of the philosopher, Henri Bergson, the anthropologist, Tim Ingold, and the geographer, David Seamon, engaging with topical debates in cultural and emotional geography (especially work on landscape, memory, and mourning), mobilities studies, and critical love studies Front Matter ....Pages i-xiii Introduction (Lynne Pearce)....Pages 1-26 Theorising Mobility, Movement, Memory—And Love (Lynne Pearce)....Pages 27-81 “Walking Out”: The Mobilities of Courtship (Lynne Pearce)....Pages 83-145 Staying With/in: The Mobilities of Long-Term Relationships (Lynne Pearce)....Pages 147-209 Pilgrimage: The Mobilities of Mourning (Lynne Pearce)....Pages 211-270 Afterword: Twenty-First-Century Perspectives (Lynne Pearce)....Pages 271-275 Back Matter ....Pages 227-294