A reading from the book Poetics of Space by Gaston Bachelard, Chapter 3, Drawers, Chests and Wardrobes.
Gaston Bachelard Biography
VOCAB LIST-
(in terms of Gaston Bachelard's writing)
-metaphor- give concrete substance to an impression that is difficult to express
-image-products of the imagination
-image-products of the imagination
-fabricated image-products of the imagination, lacking genuine roots
-ephemeral expression- a transitory expression
-concept-drawers in which knowledge can be classified
-hybrid objects- have quality of intimacry
-“poet of furniture”- a poet that uses pieces of furniture in writing to depict a metaphor or image
-intimate space- space that is not open to just anybody
-order- a center of order protects the entire house against
disorder
-exaggeration- always at the summit of any living image
-white: symbolic of purity
-“need for secrecy”:
an intuitive sense of hiding places
-lock: psychological threshold, invitation to thieves
-“complexualistic”:
type of cabinet work that feeds false secrets and can often mislead the viewer
-casket: memory of what is immemorial, dungeon for objects
-chest: objects that may be opened, differential in
discovery compared to a casket
-Jean-Pierre Richard: writer who analyzes literary works in
terms of their dominants images
Bachelard comments on the difference between image and metaphor, explaining that a metaphor presents a tangible object as an intangible notion that is otherwise difficult to express. A metaphor stands for the idea but has no phenomenological value itself.
III.
IV.
V.
VI.
VII.
I.
(a)Discussion on drawers, chests, & wardrobes
i.Hiding places for human beings, great dreamers of locks, keep or hide their secrets
ii.Introduction of the difference between images & metaphors: metaphors give concrete substance to an impression that is difficult to express, while images are products of the imagination
iii. Bergson's writings contain mostly metaphors about drawers
iiii. Fabricated image:product of the imagination with no real, genuine roots; ephemeral expression
II.
(a)Drawer Metaphor
i.Is used by Bergson to convey the inadequacy of philosophy of concept
ii.Concepts:drawers in which knowledge may be classified
(a)Deeper into the Metaphor
i.Metaphor is a false image, since it does not possess the direct virtue of an image formed in spoken revery
ii.Henri Bosco represents the reverse drawer metaphor: it is not the intelligence that is the filing cabinet, it is the filing cabinet that is the intelligence
iii.Bosco's reasoning cabinet presents the "philosophy of having"
(a)The Psychology of the drawer
i.Wardrobes and drawers all share a quality of intimacy
ii.The deep,inner space of a wardrobe is considered intimate space or in other words, space that is not available to just anybody
iii.To put just anything in any piece of furniture is the mark of unusual weakness in the function of inhabiting
iiii.In the wardrobe there exits a "centre of order" that keeps the entire house functioning
iv.A memory is a wardrobe
v.If we give objects the friendship they should have, we do not open the wardrobe without a slight start
vi.Beneath the wood is white almond; to open it, is to experience an event of whiteness which is symbolic of purity
(a)The Anthology devoted to small boxes
i.Chests are witnesses to the "need for secrecy":an intuitive place for hiding places
ii.All locks are a psychological threshold: an invitation to thieves
iii.Denise Paulme argues that the power that opens and shuts must possess the power of life
iiii.Idea of false secrets to grab curiosity
(a)Locks
i.Dreams and daydreams of locks & keys correlate directly to our confessions
ii.Symbolism of content the key opens is critical
iii.Every secret has its casket
VII.
(a)Exterior & Interior Space
i.When a casket is closed, it is returned to the general community of objects; exterior space
ii.When a casket is opened it is a discovery
iii.The dimension of intimacy is dissevered
iiii.Sometimes there is a whole house hidden in a small contained space
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