THE MONOSPACE OF THE GLASS FAMILY: SACRED SPACE, AND A TYPOLOGY OF WITNESSING IN J. D. SALINGER

Abstract

The article introduces and theoretically substantiates the concept of the ‘monospace’ – a specific type of artistic space in J. D. Salinger's narrative cycle about the Glass family. The ‘monospace’ establishes a spatial-value structure with four defining features: a sacred centre, impermeable boundaries, a hierarchy of witnesses, and the rejection of the alien word as ontologically inauthentic. Using the contrasting prose of J. Updike, it is demonstrated that the Glass family functions as a sacred space (M. Eliade), whereas for Updike the family appears as a space of non-coinciding ‘horizons’. The article further introduces a distinction between three types of witnessing within the ‘monospace’: ontological (Seymour, manifested in the very existence of the hero), kerygmatic (Zooey, the direct proclamation of truth in speech), and anamnetic (Buddy, the preservation of memory). The proposed model opens up a perspective for analysing a wider range of texts sharing similar features (a sacred centre, a hierarchy of witnesses, impermeable boundaries).