michel de certeau, the practice of everyday life

8/11/2019 Michel de Certeau, The Practice of Everyday Life

1/12

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Berkele.t'LosAngeles Lotulott

THE

PRACTICE

OF'

E,VERYDAY

IFE

Michel

de Certeau

Tianslated

y

StevenRendall

I

t _ l


2/12

rarrer

s

arready

t

work.

Thus

t

is

exemprary

hat

D6tienne

nd

vernant

hould

have

made

hemselves

he

storyt l l lers

f

this

, labyrinthine

intel-

igence"

"inrelligen('e

en

elddales"),

s

Frangoise

rontisi

so

well

erms

lr.J?:discursive

practice

f

the

story

l,histoire)

is

both

ts

arr

and

ts

At

bottom,

his

s

ai l

a

very

ord

story.

when

he grew

ord,

Aristotre,

who

s

not

generai ly

onsiaerea

xactly

t ightrope

ancer,

iked

o

rose

imsel f

n

the

most

abyr in th ine

nd

subt le

f

d iscourses.

e

had

he n

rr ived

at

the

age

of

nt?t is:

Th.,.more

ol i tary

nd

solated

become,

the

more

conre

o

l ike

stor ies. , , r5

e

h; ; ; ;p1^ined

he

eason

dmir_

ably:

as n theorderFreud, t wasa connoisseur,sdmirat ion

or

he

ac t

hat

composed

armonies

nd

for

i ts

ar t

of

do ing

t

by

surpr ise:

.The

f] | :Jr:

Tyth

is

n

a

sense

lover

of

wisdom,

or

myth

s

composed

f

Part

II

Spatial

Practices

Chapter

VII

Walkirg

in

the

City

EEING

Manhat tan

f rom

the

l lO th

f loor

o f

the

wor ld

- l - rade

center.

Beneath

he

haz-e

t i rred

up

by

the

winds,

the

urban

'\ - ,

is land,

a sea

n the

middle

of

the

sea,

i f ts

up

the

skyscrapers

ve r

wa l l St reet , i nksdown at Greenwich ,hen r i sesaga in o the crests f

Midtown,

qu ie t l y

passes

ver

Cent ra l

Park

and

f inal ly

undu la tes

f f

into

the

d is tance

beyond

Harlem.

A

wave

of

ver t i ca ls .

t s

agi tat ion

is

momentari ly

rrested

y

vision.

The

gigant ic

mass

s

mmobi l ized

before

the

eyes.

t

is

t ransformed

nto

a

texturology

in

which

ext remes

co inc ide-ext remes

f

ambi t ion

and

degradat ion ,

ru ta r

oppos i t i ons

f

races

nd

styles,

ont rasts

etween

esterday's

ui ld ings,

al ready

rans_

formed

nto

t rash

cans,

and

today 's

urban

r rup t ions

hat

b lock

out

i ts

space.

n l i ke

Rome,

New

york

has

never

earned

he

ar t

o f

g rowing

o ld

by

playing

on

al l i ts pasts.

ts present

nvents

tsel f ,

rom

hour

to

hour,

in

the

act

of

throwing

away

ts

previous

ccompl ishmehts

nd

chal lenging

the

uture'A ci ty composed f paroxysmal laces n monumental el iefs.

The

specta tor

an

ead

n

i t

a un iverse

hat

s

constan t l y

xp lod ing .

n

it

are

inscribed

the

architectural

f igures

of

the

coinc, iclario

pltr, t .sirsrunr

fo rmer l y

drawn

in

min ia tu res

nd

myst i car

extures.

n

th is

s tage

of

concre te ,

tee l

nd g lass,

ut

ou t

between

wo

oceans

the

A t lan t i c

an d

the

American)

by

a f r ig id

body

of

water,

he

tal lest

et ters

n

the

world

compose

a

g igant i c

hetor i c

of

excess

n

both

expend i tu re

and

pro_

duct ion . r

9 l


3/12

92

WA

LKING IN

THE CITY

IvA

LKING IN

TH

E CITI,

9 3

V

ct.yt

11

.v

o

w

a

k

e

'

To

what

ero t i cs o f

knowledge

does

the

ecstasy

f read ing

such a

cosmos

be long?Having

aken

a vo lup tuous

leasure

n

i t , I wonderwhat

i s

the

sourceof th is

p leasure

f

"see ing

he

whole , "

o f l ook ingdown on,

to ta l i z - ing

he

most mmoderate

f

human

exts .

To be l i f ted to the summit of the World Trade Center s to be l i f ted

out

of the ci ty 's

grasp.

One's

body is no longer

clasped

by the st reets

th; i

iu i l 'and return

it

according

ro an

anonymous arv;

nor is i t

pos-

sessed, hether

as

player

or played,

by the rumble

of so many

di f ferences

and

by

the

nervousness

f New

York t raf f ic. When

one

goes

up

there,he

leaves

ehind he

mass

hat

carr iesoff

and mixesup

in i tsel fany dent i ty

of authors

or spectators.

An lcarus

f ly ing above hesewaters,

he can

ignore

the

dev ices

of Daeda lus n

mobi le and end less

abyr in ths ar

below. His

elevat ion ransf igures

him into

a

voyeur.

lt

puts

him at a

distance. t

t ransforms

the bewitching

world by which

one

was

"pos-

seised" nto

a text

that l ies

before one's

eyes.

t a l lows

one o read t, to

be a solar Eye, ooking down l i ke a god. The exa l ta t ion f a scop ic nd

gnost ic

dr ive: the f ict ion o[ knowledge

s related o this

lust to be a

v iewpo in t

and no in ing

more .

Must

one f inal ly

fal l back into the

dark

space

where crowds

move

back and forth, crowds hat ,

though

visible

rom

on

high, are hemselves

unable o

seedown be low?An l car ian

al l . On

the

l tOth f loor,a

poster ,

sph inx- l i ke , ddresses

n en igmat i c

messageo

the

pedest r ian

ho s o r

an instant t ransformed into

a visionarv:

I t 's

hard to be dow,n

when

.l,ou're

up .

The

desire o see

he

ci ty

preceded

he

meansof sat isfying

t. Medieval

or

Renaissance

ainters

epresented

he ci ty as seen n a

perspect ive

ha t

no eye had yet enjoyed.2 his f ict ion al readymade he medieval pec-

tator

into a

celest ia leye. l t created

gods.

Have things

changed ince

technical

procedures

aveorganiz-ed

n

"al l -seeing ower"?l

The

total iz-

ing eye magined

by the

painters

of

ear l ier

imes ives

on in

our

achieve-

ments. The

same scopicdr ive haunts usersof archi tectural

roduct ions

by mater ia l iz ing oday

the utopia that

yesterday

was only

painted.

Th e

1370 oot

high tower that

serves s

a

prow

for Marfhat tan

cont inues

o

const ruct

the f ict ion that creates

eaders,makes he

complexi ty

of the

ci ty

readable,nd immobi l iz-es

ts opaquemobi l i ty

n a t ransparent

ext .

I s t he

immense

exturo logy

spread

out beforeone 's

eyesanyth ing

more than a representa t ion ,

n

opt i ca l

a r t i f ac t?

t is

the ana logue f

' t .he

a loo f ,

by the

space

lanner

rban is t , i t y p lanner

or

car tographer .

he

panorama-c i t y

s a

" theore t i ca l "

that

s ,

v i sua l )

s imu lacrum, n

sho i t a

p ic tu re ,

whose

cond i t i on

of

poss ib i l i t y

s

an ob l i v ion

and

a misunder-

t ""dl t r_9{_prag i9es.

The

voyeur-god

created

by

this

f ict ion,

who,

l ike

Schreber 's

God, knows only

cadavers.u ust disentangle imsel f rom

the

murky n ter tw in ing

a i l y

behav iors nd

make

himsel f l i en o them.

The ordinary pract i t ioners f the ci ty l ive "down below," below the

thresholds

t which visibi l i ty

begins.They walk-an elementary

orm

of

this

experience

f the ci ty:

they

are walkers. l l /andersrni inner, hose

bod ies o l low

he

h icks

and

h ins

of an urban

text"

they wr i t e rv i t hout

beingable o

rtudl t -

f i tese

pract i t ioners

make

useof spaces

hat

cannot

be

seen; he i r knowledge

f

them

is

as

b l ind

as tha t

of

lovers n each

other 's

arms.The

paths

hat

cor respond n th i s i n te r tw in ing . n recog-

nized poems

n

which each

body

is

an element

signedby

many others.

elud_g

egib_i l i ty.t

is as though

the

pract ices

rganizing

a

bust l ing

ci ty

were

character ized

y thei r b l indness. 'The networks of thesemoving,

r1te11gct ing

r i t ings

compose

a

manifold

story

that

has

nei ther author

nor spectator, hapedout of f ragments f t ra jector ies nd al terat ions f

spaces:

n relat ion

o representat ions.t remainsdai ly and

indef in i te ly

other.

Escapinghe maginary otal izat ions

roduced

by

the eye. he everyday

hai

a iertalnTtrari-fe-ni:sitrat

does not surface,or whose surface

s

only

its

upper

imit,

out l in ing

tselfagainst

he visible.

Within

this

ensemble,

sha l l

ry t o loca te

he

pract i ces

hat

are ore ign

o the

"geomet r i ca l "

r

"geograph ica l "

paceof

v i sua l ,

panopt i c ,

o r

theore t i ca l

onst ruc t ions.

These

practicbs-6f

pace efer o

a

specif ic orm

of

operariorrs

"ways

of

opera t ing" ) , o

"another

spat ia l i t y "u

un "an thropo log ica l. " oe t i c

an d

mythic experience f space), nd to an opaqueand

bl ind nrobi l i ty

char-

acter ist ic f the bust l ing,ci ty,A nr igrat ional , r metaphorical . i ty thus

sl ips

nto

the

clear ext of the

planned

and

readable

i ty.

l . Front the concept

of

the cit t ' o urban

pra(t ircs

The

World

Trade

Center

s only the

most

monumental igure

of

Western

urban

development . he

atopiq-utopia

of

opt ical

knowledge

has

long

had

the ambit ion of

surmount ing and

art iculat ing he cont radict ions

arising rom urban

agglomerat ion,

t is

a

quest ion

of managing

a

growth

of human

agglomerat ion

r

accumulat ion.

The

ci ty is a

huge monas-

te r , . "

a idErasmus. e rspect i ve

is ion

and

prospect i ve

is ion

const i t u te


4/12


5/12

96

W'A

KING

IN

TH

E CITY

was

threatened

by

the very

changes

hat

af fected

heir ideologies

nd

the i r

pos i t i ons.

They

t ransmute

he

mis for tuneof

the i r t heor ies

nt o

theories

of

misfortune.

When

they t ransform

their bewi lderment

nt o

"ca tast rophes, "

hen. they

seek o enc lose

he

peop le

n the

"pan ic"

of

thei r

discourses,

re hey

once more

necessari ly

ight?

Rather

than

remainingwi thin the

f ie ld of a discourse

hat

upholds ts

pr ivi lege

by invert ing

ts

content

(speaking

f

catast rophe

nd

no longer

of progress) , ne can t ry another pa th : one can t ry anotherpath: on e

can

analyze

the

microbe-l ike,

singular and

plural pract ices

which

an

urban is t i c

system

was supposed

o administer

or suppress, ut wh ich

have

out l ived i ts decay;

one can

fol low

the

swarming act iv i ty of these

procedures

hat , far f rom being

regulated or

el iminated

by

panopt ic

administ rat ion,

have

einforced hemselvesn a

prol i ferat ing

l legi t imacy,

developed

and insinuated

hemselves

nto the networks of survei l lance,

and combined n

accord

wi th

unreadab le

u t s tab le

act i cs o the

po in t

of const i tut ing

everyday regulat ions

and

surrept i t ious reat iv i t ies hat

are

merely concealed

by the

f rant ic mechanisms nd discourses f the

observat ional

rganizat ion.

This pathway could be inscr ibedas a consequence, ut also as the

reciprocal ,

of

.Foucaul t 's

analysisof

the

st ructures f

power.

H. moved

it in the direct ion of mechanismsand

technical

procedures,

minor

inst rumental i t ies"

apable,

merely

by thei r organizat ion

of

"detai ls, "of

t ransform ing

a

human mul t ip l ic i ty nto a

"d isc ip l i nary"

oc ie t y nd

of

managing,

dif ferentiat ing,

classifying, and hierarchizing

all deviances

concern ing

pprent i cesh ip ,

eal th,

us t i ce ,

he army,

or work . to

These

I

often

miniscule

ruses

of discipl ine, "

hese

minor

but

f lawless"mecha-

nisms,

draw

their

ef f icacy rom

a relat ionshipbetween

procedures

nd

the

space

hat t hey

red is t r i bu ten order o makean

"opera tor "ou t

of

i t.

But what spat ia l

prat ' t ices

correspond,

n the area where discipl ine

s

manipulated, o theseapparatuseshat producea discipl inary pace?n

the

present

onjuncture,

which is marked by

a

contradict ion etween

he

col lect ive mode of administ rat ion

and an

individual mode

of reappro-

pr iat ion,

this

quest ion

s

no

less

mportant , f one admits

that

spat ia l

pract ices

n

fact secret ly

st ructure

he determining

condi t ions

of social

l i fe.

I would l ike

to fol low out a few

of these

mult i form.

resistance.

t r icky and stubborn

procedures hat elude

discipl ine

wi thout

being

out-

side

the

f ie ld

in

which

it

is

exercised,

nd

which should

lead us

to

a

i

theory

o[

everyday

pract ices,

f l ived space,

f the disquiet ing

amil iarity

'

o f t he c i t v .

WALKING

IN

THE

CITI'

2.

The chorus

of

idle.footsteps

"The

goddess

an

be

recognized

y

her

step"

Virgi l ,

Aeneid, l ,

405

Their story

beginson

ground

evel ,

wi th

footsteps.

hey are myriad, but

do not compose

series.

hey cannot be countedbecause

achuni t

ha s

a

qual i tat ive

character:

style

of tact i le

apprehension

nd kinesthet ic

appropriat ion.

Their swarming

mass s an

innumerablecol lect ion

of

singular i t ies.

hei r intertwined

paths

give

thei r shape

o spaces.

he y

weave

places

ogether.

n that respect .

edest r ian

movements

orm

one'

of

these

real

systems

hoseexistencen

fact makes

up

the

ci ty. "" T l ' t .y

ai i

not toiai ized;

t

is rather they

that

spat ia l ize.

They

are no

more

inserted

within a container han those

Chinese

haracters

peakers

ketch

out on thei rhandswi th thei r inget t ips.

I t i s rue

hat

the

opera t ions f

wa lk ingon

can

be

racedon

c i t y maps

in

such a

way as

to t ranscr ibe

heir

paths here

wel l - t rodden,

here

very

faint ) and

thei r

rajector ies

going

his way and

not that ) . But

these hick

or

thin curves

only'refer,

ike words, o the absence

f

what

has'passed

by.

Surveys

of routes miss

what was: he act i tself

of

passing

by.

Th e

opera t ionof

wa lk ing , wander ing ,or

"w indow

shopp ing . "

hat

i s .

th e

act ivi ty of

passers-by,

s

t ransformed nto

points that draw a

total iz ing

and reversible

ine on the

map.

They al low

us to

grasp

only

a rel ic set

n

the

nowhen of

a

surface

f

project ion.

tsel f v isib le, t

has the

ef fect

of

making

invisible he operat ion

hat made

it

possible.These ixat ions

const i tute

rocedures

or forget t ing,The

trace ef t behind

s subst i tuted

for the

practice.

t exhibits he

(voracious) roperty

hat

the

geographical

sys tem

as

of

be ingab le

o t ransform

ct ion n to

eg ib i l i t y , u t

in do ing

so

t causes way of being n the

world

to

be

forgot ten.

Pedestrian peech

ct s

A

comparisonwi th the speech

ct wi l l

a l low us to

go

furtherr2

and

no t

l imi t ourselveso

the

cr i t ique

of

graphic

epresentat ions

lone,

ooking

f rom the shoresof legibi l i ty oward

an inaccessible

eyond.

The

act

of

walking s to

the

urban system

what the speech

ct

is to language

r

to

the statements t tered.13

t

the most

elementary

evel ,

t has

a

ff i iple

"enunciat ive" function: i t

is

a

process

of appropriat ion

of

the topo-

graphical

system

on

the

part

of the

pedest r ian

ust

as

the speaker

91


6/12

WA

LKING

IN

TH

E

CITY

appropriates

and takes

on the

language);

t

is a spat ia l

act ing-out

of

th e

place

fiust

as

the

speech

act

is an acousticiCiinfonTitT

iarigu@);

and it

impl ies relat ions

among

di f ferent iated

posi t ions,

hat

is,

among

prag-

matic

"cont racts"

in

the

form

of movements

ust

as verbal

enunciat ion

is an

"al locut ion,"

"posi ts another

opposi te"

he

speaker nd

puts

con-

t racts

between nter locutors

nto

act ion). ro t thus

seems

ossible

o

give

a prel iminarydef in i t ionof walkingas a space f enunciat ion.

We could

moreoverextend

this

problemat ic

o the

relat ions

etween

the

act

o f wr i t i ng and

the

wr i t t en tex t ,

and even ranspose

t to the

rel i t ionships

between

he

"hand';

l the

touch

and

the

tale of the

paint-

brush

lte

er la

ge.ste

A;"i;";raul)

and the

finished

paint ing (forms,

colors,

etc.).

At f irst

isolated

n the

area-of vGibil-comiirt iri ibat ion, he

speech

ct

turns

out

to f ind only

one of

i ts appl icat ionshere,

nd ts in-

guist ic

modal i ty is

merely he f i rst determinat ion

f a

much

more

general

, dist inct ion

between the

forms

used n a system and itre wayJ

of using

' I"

',

th is

system

(i .e. ,

rules),

hat

is,

between wo "di f ferent worlds, "

since

"the

same hings"

are considered

rom two opposi te ormal

viewpoints.

Considered rom this angle, he pedest r ian peech ct has hreechar-

acter ist ics

which dist inguish t

at the outset

rom the spat ia l

Eystem:

he

present ,

he

discrete, he

"phat ic. "

F i rst ,

if

it

is t rue

that a

spat ia l order organizes

n

ensemble

f

possi -

b i l i t i es

e.g. ,

by

a

p lace

n wh ich

one can move)and in te rd ic t ions

e.g . ,

by a

wall

that

prevents

one

from

going

further), then

the wii[er actual-

izessome

of these

possibi l i t ies.

n that way,

he makes hem

exist

as wel l

as

emerge. But he also moves hem about

and he invents

others,since

the

crossing,

dr i f t ing

away, or improvisat ionof walking

privi lege,

rans-

form

or abandon

spat ia l

elements.

hus Charl ie

Chapl in

mri t l ip i ies he

possibi l i t ies

f

his

cane:he doesother

things

wi th the same

hing

and he

goes

beyond the l imi ts that the determinantsof the object set on its

ut i l izat ion.

In the same

way, the

lvafkel

1g1s[orms

eachspat ia l igni f ier

into

somethingelse.And if

on the one

hand

he actual izes nly a

few

of

the possibi l i t ies

ixed

by the

const ructedorder

(he

goes

only here and

not there),

on

the

other he increases

he number of

possibi l i t ies

fo r

example,

by creat ing

shortcuts and detours)

and

prohibi t ions

for

ex -

ample,

he forbids

himself to

take

paths general ly

onsidered ccessible

I

or euen

obl igatory). He thus

makesa

select ion.

The

user

of a

ci ty

picks

i

out certain

fragments of the statement in order to actualize hem

in

i s e c r e t . " l 5

. .

,

. .

i .

He thus createsa discreteness,

hether by

making choices

mong he

WALKING

IN

THE

CITI'

signif iers

9f .t_h..

patial

language"

or

by displacing

hem

through the

us e

he makesof them. He

condemns ertain

places

o inert ia

or disappear-

anceand

composes i t t ' t othersspat ia l

turns

of

phrase" hat are

"rare, "

"accidental"

or i l legit imate.But

that al ready

leads nto a

rhetor ic

of

walking.

- I i i

Th-e

ramework of

enunciat ion, he

walker const i tutes.

n relat ion

o

his posi t ion,both a near and a far, a here and a there.To the fact that

the

adverbs ere and here

are the

indicatorsof

the locut ionary

seat

n

verbal

communicat ion'u-a

coincidence

hat reinforces

he

paral le l ism

between

inguist ic

and

pedest r ian

nunciat ion-we

must add

that

this

locat ion

here-there)

(necessari ly

mpl ied by

walking

and indicat ive

of

a

present

ppropr ia t ion

of space

by an

" l " )

a l so

has the funct ion

of

in t roduc ing n o ther

n re la t ion

o

th is

"1"

and o f

thus

estab l i sh ing

conjunct ive nd

disjunct ive r t iculat ion

of

places.

would

st ress

art icu-

lar ly the

"phat ic-"aspect ,

by

which I mean

the

funct ion,

isolated

by

Mal inowski and Jakobson,

of

terms hat

init iate, maintain,

or

interrupt

contact , uch

as

"he l lo , "

wel l , wel l . "

e t c . l t

Walk ing .

wh ich

a l te rna te ly

foitows a path and has fol lowers,createsa mobi le organici ty n th e

env i ronment ,

sequencef

phat i c

oyso i .

nd i f i t

i s rue ha t

the

phat ic

function,

whichl i

an

ef fort

o ensure

ommunication.

s

al ready

charac-

ter ist icof the

language f ta lking

birds,

ust

as i t const i tutes

he

"f i rst

verbal

funct ion

acquired

by

chi ldren,"

t is not

surpr ising

hat

i t a lso

gambols ,

oes

on,

a l l f ours ,

dances.

nd wa lks

about ,

wi th

a l ight or

heavy

tep, ike

a ser ies

f

"he l los"

n

an echo ing

abyr in th ,

an ter io r

or

parallel

ouip{o.rmativepeech.

The moi ia l i t ies f

pedest r ian nunciat ion

which a

plane

epresentat iot t

on a

map br ings

out

cou ld be

ana lyzed.

They

inc lude

he

k inds

of

relat ionship

his enunciat ion

ntertains

wi th

part icular

paths

(or

"state-

ments") by according hem a t ruth value ("alethic" modal i t iesof

th e

necessary ,

he mposs ib le ,

he 'poss ib le ,

r t he

cont ingent ) ,

n

ep is temo-

logical

value

("epistemic"

modal i t ies

of the

certain,

he

excluded.

he

f lausible,

or the

quest ionable)

r

f inal ly

an

ethicalor

legal

value

("de-

ont ic"

modal i t ies

f the

obl igatory,

he

forbidden,

he

permitted,or

th e

opt ional) . ' t

Walking af f i rms,

suspects,

r ies

out ,

t ransgresses,

espects.

etc., the

trajdctci i ies

i

"speaks."

All

the

modalit ies

sing

a

part in

this

Ehri ius,

hanging

rom step

to

step,

stepping

n

through

proport ions.

sequences,,nd

intensi t ieswhich

vary according

o the t ime,

the

path

taken

and

the walker.

Theseenunciatory

perat ions

re of

an

unlimited

diversi ty. hey

herefore annot

be

reduced

o thei r

graphic

rai l .

98

99


7/12

r00

WA

LKING

IN

TH

E

CITY

Walk ing

rhetor i cs

F

The

walking

of

passers-by

ffers

a

seriesof turns

(tours)

and

detours

that can

be

compared

o

"turns

of

phrase"

or

"styl ist ic

igures."

There

s

a

rhetor ic

of walking.

The art

of

"turning"

phrases

inds

an equivalentn

an

art of composing

a

path

(tourner

un

parcours).

Like

ordinary an-

guage, 'e

his

art

impl ies

and combines tyles

and uses._t4-p.ci fies

"a

l inguist icst ructure that manifestson the symbol ic evel . . an individ-

ual 's

fundamental

way

of being n the world";zo

t connotes singular.

Use

def ines

the social

phenomenon

hrough which

a system

of

com-

fi i inicat ion

manifests

tself

in

actual

fact; i t refers o a norm.

Style

an d

use

both have

to

do

wi th

a

"way

of operat ing"

(of

speaking,walking,

etc. ) ,

but style involves

a

pecul iar

processing

f the symbol ic,whi le use

refers

o

elementsof a

code. They ntersect

o form a style

of

use,

a

wa y

of

be ingand a way

of opera t ing .2r

In

int roducing

the not ion

of

a

"residing

hetor ic"

("rhetor ique

habi-

tante"\ ,

the

fert i le

pathway

opened

up by

n.

Meciain22nd

systemat ized

by

S.

Ostrowetrky" and

J.-F.

Augoyard,2'we assume

hat

the

"t ropes"

cataloguedby rhetor ic urnish modelsand hypothesesor the analysis f

ways

of appropriat ing

places.

Two

postulates

eem o me to underl ie he

val id i ty

of th is appl icat ion:

l)

it

is assumed hat

pract ices

f space

ls o

correspond o

manipulat ions

of

the basicelements f a constructed rder;

2) i t is assumed

hat they are,

l ike

the t ropes

n

rhetor ic, deviat ions

relat ive

o

a sort of

" l i teral

meaning" def ined

by

the urbanist ic

ystem.

There

would thus

be

a homology

between

erbal iguresand the f igures

of

walking

(a

styl ized

select ion mong

the lat ter s al ready

ound in the

f igures

of danc ing) nso faras bo th cons is t

n

" t rea tments"

r

opera t ions

bear ing

n

iso la tab le n i t s ,25

nd n

"ambiguous

ispos i t i ons"

hat d i ver t

and d isp lacemean ing n the d i rec t ionof equ ivoca lness26n

the

way a

t remulous image confusesand mul t ip l ies he photographedobject . n

these

two

modes, the analogy can

be

accepted.

would add that

th e

geometr ical

pace

of urbanistsand archi tects eems

o

have he

status

of

the

"proper

meaning"const ructed y

grammarians

nd

l inguists

n order

to

have

a

normal

and

normative level

to which they

can compare

he

drif t ing of

"f igurat ive" languagb.

n reality,

this faceless

proper"

mean-

ing

(c'e

propre"

sans.f igure\

annot

be

found n currentuse,

whether

verbal

or

pedestr ian,

t is merely

he f ict ion

produced y a

use

hat

s

also

part icular, he meial inguist ic

se

of

scief ice

hat

dist inguishestself

by

thatveryd is t inct ion.2T

WALKING

N

THE

CITY

The long p_oem

f wa lk ing man ipu la tes pa t ia l o rgan iza t ions, o

mat terhow

panopt i c

hey

may be:

t i s ne i ther o re ign

o

them

( i t

can

take

p lace

on ly w i th in them) nor in conform i t y

wi th

them

(i t

does

not

receivets dint i ty

f rom them).

t

creates

hadows

nd ambigui t ies

within

them. I t inser ts ts

mul t i t ud inous e ferences

nd

c i ta t ions n to

them

(social

models, ul tural mores,

personal

actors).

Within them i t is i tsel f

the

ef fectof successivencounters nd occasions

hat constant lyal ter

t

and make it the other's blazon:

in

other

rvords.

it

is l ike ^

-d.8aiei. '

,

carrying

somethingsurpr ising,

ransverse r

at t ract ive

compared

with

the

usual

choice.

These

diverseaspects

rovide the

basis

of a

rhetor ic.

They can even

be said

o define t.

By analyzing his

"modern

art of everyday

xpression"

s t

appears n

accounts

f spat ia l

pract ices, t *

. -F.

Augoyard

discerns

n i t t rvo

espe-

cial ly

undamental

tyl ist ic igures: ynecdoche

nd asyndeton.

he

pre-

dominance

of these

wo f iguresseems

o

me

to indicate.

n

relat ion o

two complementary

oles,

a formal st ructure

of

these

pract ices.

. t 'ner ' -

doche

cons is t s n

"us ing

a

word in a

sense

which

is

par t

o f

another

meaningof the same

word."2e n essence.t names

a

part insteadof the

whole which ncludes

t.

Thus

"sai l "

is taken or

"ship"

n the

expression

"a

flbet of f i f ty sa ils";

n the

sameway, a br ick shel ter

or

a hi l l

is taken

for the

park in the narrat ion of a t rajectory.As. t 'ndeton

s the suppres-

s ion o f l i nk ing words such

as con junct ions

nd

adverbs,

i t her

wi th in a

sentence

r between entences.

n

the same

way, n walking

t selects

nd

f ragments he

space raversed;t skips

over

inks

and whole

parts hat

it

omi ts.From this

point

o f

view,

every

walk constan t l y

eaps,

r

sk ips

ike

a

chi ld,

hopping

on

one

oot . I t

pract iceshe el l ipsis

f conjunct ive

oci .

In real i ty, hese

wo

pedest r ian

igures

are related. Synecdoche

x-

pands

a

spat ia l

element

n order to make

t

play

the role of

a

"more"

(a

total i ty)

and ake

ts

place

the

bicycle

or the

piece

of

furni ture

n a store

window stands or a whole st reet or neighborhood).Asyndeton, by

el is ion, reates

"less, "

opens

gaps

n the spatial

cont inuum,

and retains

only selected

arts

of i t that

amount almost

to rel ics. Synecdoche

e-

places

otal i t iesby f ragments

a

/ess n

the

place

of

a ntore);

asyndeton

disconnects

hem by el iminating the

conjunct ive or

the consecut ive

(nothing

n

place

of something).

Synecdoche

makesmore

dense:

t am-

pl i f ies

the

detai l and miniatur izes

he whole. Asyndeton

cuts

out :

it

undoes ont inui ty and undercuts

ts

plausibi l i ty.

A space

reated

n this

way and shaped

by

pract ices

s t ransformed

nto

enlargedsingular i -

t ies and

separate

slands.s0

hrough these

swel l ings,

hr inkings,

an d

l 0 l


8/12

t02

IYALKING

IN

THE

CITY

fragmentat ions,

hat

is,

through

these

rhetor ical

operat ions

a

spat ia l

phrasing

f

an analogical

composed

f

juxtaposed

i tat ionsl

nai i t ipt ical

(made

of

gaps,

i ipses, and

al lusions)

ype is

created.

For the

techni l

logical

system

of

a coherent

and total iz ing

space

hat

is

" l inked"

an d

simul taneous,

he f igures

of

pedest r ian

hetor ic

subst i tute rajector ies'

that have

a

mythical st ructure,

at least f

one understands y

' lmyth"

a

discourse

elat ive o

the place/

nowhere

or

or ig in) of concrete

xistence,

a s to ry er ry-bu i l t ou t of elementsaken rom commonsay ings, n a l l u -

sive

and

fragmentary

story whose

gaps

meshwith

the social

pract ices

t

symbol i zes.

Flg-greq re

the

acts of this styl ist ic metamorphosis

f space.Or

rather,

as Ri lke

puts

i t , they are

moving

"t rees

of

gestures."

hey

moveeven he

r igid

and

contr ived

terr i tor ies

of

the

medico-pedagogical

nst i tute n

which retarded

chi ldren find a

place

to

play

and

dance

heir

"spat ia l

stor ies. "3r

These

"t rees

of

gestures"

re

in

movement

everywhere.

hei r

forests

walk

through

the st reets.They t ransform the scene, ut

they

cannot

be

f ixed

in a

certain

place

by

images.

f

in

spi te of that an

i l lus-

t rat ion

were required,

we

could ment ion the f leet ing

mages,

el lowish-

green and metal l ic blue cal l igraphies hat howl wi thout raising hei r

voices

and emblaz-on hemselves

n

the

subterranean

assages

f

th e

ci ty,

"embroider ies"composed

of

let tersand numbers,

perfect

gestures

of

v io lencepa in ted

wi th

a

pistol ,

Sh ivas

made of

wr i t t en characters ,

dancing

graphics

whose f leet ing

appari t ions are

accompanied y

th e

rumble

of subway

rains:

New

York

graf f i t i .

I f i t is

true

that

.fore.st ' i-

f-lrsrures

^r. manifest

n

the

streets, heir

movement cannot be captured

n a

picture,

nor

can he meaning f thei r

movements

be

ci rcumscribed

n a

text . Their rhetor ical

ransplantat ion

carr ies

away and displaces

he analyt ical , oherent

proper

meanings

f

urbanism; i t const i tutesa

"wandering

of

the semant ic"r2

roduced

by

masseshat make somepartsof the ci ty disappear nd exaggerate thers,

,

distort ing t ,

fragmenting

t , and divert ing

t

f rom i ts mmobi le

order.

3.

Myths:

what

"mokes

h ings

go "

The f igures of these

movements

synecdoches,

l l ipses,

tc. )character ize

both

a

"symbolic

order

of

the

unconscious"

nd

"certain

ypical

processes

of

subject ivity manifested

n

discourse."rr

The

similarity

between

dis-

,,

course"so nd dreamsls

has to do

wi th

theiiuse-oit t t .

s imL " i ty l ist ic

---*..*

proi.au.es";

it

therefore

ncludes

pedestrian

prait ices as well.

The

"an-

,

cient .ui i iog

of

i;;;;;;' that fiom

Freud

to Benveniste

as urnished

an

appropriate

nventory

or the

rhetor ic

of

the i rst t rvo egisters f expres-

sion s equal ly

val id for the thi rd. l f

there

s

a

paral le l ism,

t

is

not

only

because

nunciat ion s dominant

in these

hree areas,

but

also

because

i ts

discursive

verbal ized,

reamed. r walked)developments organized

as a

relat ion between he

place

rom which

i t proceeds

an

origin)

an d

the

nowhere t

produces

a

way of

"going

by").

F rom th is

point

o f

v iew,a f te r hav ing

compared

pedest r ian rocesses

to l i ngu is t i c

ormat ions,

we

can br ing

hem back down

in the d i rec t ion

of

oneir ic igurat ion, or at

least

discover

on

that

other side

what,

in a

spat ia l

pract ice,

s

inseparable

rom the dreamed

place.

To

walk is to

lack

a

p lace.

t i s

the

ndef in i te

rocess

f be ing

absent

nd in search

f

a

proper . -The

moving

about t ha t

the ci ty mul t ip l ies

nd concent ra tes

makei

the city

tsel f

an

immense ocial

experience

f

lackinga

place-an

experienoe

hat s, - io b. ,ur. , broken

up into

count less

iny deportat ions

(displacements

nd

walks), compensated

or

by

the

relat ionships

nd

in tersect ions

f

theseexoduses

hat

in te r tw ineand crea te

an

urban

fabr ic, and

p laced

under he s ign o f

what

ought

to

be,

ul t imately.

he

p lace

ut

i s

on ly a name, he C i t y .

The dent i t y u rn ished

y

th is

p lace

s

a l l t he

more symbol i c

named)

ecause.

n

sp i teo f

the inequa l i t yof i ts

c i t i zens ' os i t i ons

nd

pro f i t s .

here s

on ly a

pu l lu la t ion

f

passer -by,

ne twork

o f res idencesemporar i l y

ppropr ia ted y

pedest r ian

raf f ic,a

shuf f l ing among

pretenses

f

the

proper.

a universe

of

rented spaces

haunted

y

a nowhere r by dreamed-of

laces.

Namesand

symbols

An ind ica t ionof

the re la t ionsh ip

hat spat ia l

p ract i ces n ter ta in

wi th

that

alsgl rg

is

furnished

precisely

y

thei r

manipulat ions

of

and

with

"proper"

names.The relat ionships

etween

he di rect ion

of

a walk

(/ e

sens e Ia ntarche)and

,the

meaning of words (_le ens 1

lno1l

situate

twJiort i of uppurent ly

ont rary

movements.

ne ext rovert

to

walk

is

to

go

outside),

he

other

int rovert

(a

mobil i ty

under

the stabi l i ty

of

th e

signi f ier) .

Walking is in fact determined

by semant ic

ropisms;

it

is

at t racted

and

repel led

by

nominat ions

wl tose meaning

is

not

clear,

whereas he ci ty,

for i ts

part ,

is

t ransformed

or

many

people nto a

"desert "

n which the meaningless,

ndeed

he terr i fy ing,

no

longer

akes

the

form

of shadowsbut

becomes,

s in

Genet 's

plays,

an

implacable

l ight

that

produces

his urban

text wi thout

obscuri t ies,

hich

is

created

by a

technocrat ic

power

everywhere

nd

which

puts

the ci ty-dwel ler

under cont rol

(under

the cont rol of

what? No one

knows):

"The

ci ty

WALKING

IN

THE

CITI'

r0 3

r)-r


9/12

r05

04

VVA

.KING

IN

TH

E CITY'

keeps

us

under

its

gaze,

which

one

cannot

bear

without

feel ing

dizzy, "

says

a res ident

f

Rouen. 'o

n

the

spaces

ru ta l l y

i t

by an

a l ien

eason,

proper

namescarve

out

pockets

f h idden

and

fami l i a r

mean ings.

he y

"maGTer ise" ;

in

o iher

words,

hey

are

the impetus

of

movements,

ik e

vocat ions

and

cal ls

hat

turn

or divert

an i t inerary

by

giving

t

a

meaning'

(or

a

di rect ion)

. ren. r)

hat

was

previously

nforeseen.

hese

ames reate

a

nowhere

n

places;

hey change

hem

nto passages.

A f r i end who l i ves n the c i t y of Sdvres r i f t s , when he is in Par i s ,

toward

the rue

des

Saints-Pire. r

nd the

rue

de

S?r 'res, ven

hough

he

s

go ing

o

see

h is

mother

n anotherpar t

o f

town:

hese

ames

r t i cu la te

sentence

hat

h is

s teps

compose

without

h is knowing

i t . Numbered

st ree ts

nd

st ree t

numbers

l l2 th

St . , or

9 rue

Sa in t -Char les)

r ient

he

magnet i c

ie ld

of t ra jec tor ies

ust

as they

can

haunt

dreams.

Another

f r i end

unconsc ious ly

epresses

he

st ree ts h i ch

have

names

nd,by th i s

fact , t ransmit

her -orders

or

ident i t i es

n

the

sameway

as

summonses

and

c lass i f i ca t ion .s ;

he

goes

nstead

long

paths

hat

have

no name

or

s ignature .

But

her wa lk ing

is t hus

st i l l

con t ro l l ed

egat i ve ly

y

proper

names.

What is i t t hen tha t they spe l l ou t? D isposed n conste l l a t ionshat

h ie rarch iz-e

nd semant i ca l l y

rder

the sur face

of the

c i t y , opera t ing

chrono log ica l

a r rangements

nd

h is to r i ca l

us t i f i ca t ions,

hesewords

(Borrdgc. t ,

lotzar i . r ,

Bougaint, i l le.. .

)

slowly lose, ike

worn coins,

he

y3 9

_ery11ygd

n th9m,

but thei r

abi l i ty

to

signi fyout l ives ts

i rst def i -

ni t iorr .

Srr in/ .1 '-

i re: ; ,

Corent in

Cel ton, Recl

Square...

these

ames

make

\

themselves

vai lable

o

the

diverse

meanings

given

hem by

passerr-by:

',

hey

detach

hemselves

rom the

places

hey were

supposed

o definean d

\

i ser t 'e

as

lmag lnary

meet ing-po in t s

n i t i nerar ies h ich ,

as

metaphors ,

i

t hey

determine

or reasons

hat

are

fore ign o

thei r

o r ig in 'a l a lue

br j t

I

rnoy

be

recogniz-ed

r not

by

passers-by.

st range oponymy

that is

detached from actual placesand f l ies high over the ci ty l ike a foggy

geography

of

"mean ings"

he ld in

suspens ion ,

i rec t ing

he

phys ica l

deambulat ions

below: Pla


10/12


11/12

l0t t

WALKING

N

THE CITY

seems

hat today

there is rather

a

st rat i f icat ion:stor ies

are becoming

pr i va te

and s ink in to the

sec luded

laces

n ne ighborhoods,ami l i es ,

r

ind iv idua ls ,

wh i le

the rumors propagated

y the med iacover

every th ing

and, gathered

under the f igure

of the Ci ty, the masterwoici

T

an anony-

.

mous

aw, the subst i t u te

or

a l l

p roper

names, hey w ipe

out o r

combat

any

supers t i t i ons

u i l t y

of st i l l

res i s t i ng

he

igure

The

d ispers ion

f s to r ies

o in t s

o the

d ispers ion

f the memorable

s

wel l .

And in fact

memory s

a sor t o f

an t i -museum:t is

not

oca l i zab le .

Fragments

of i t

come out

in

legends.

bjects

nd words ai i i j

f iavehol low

places

n which

a

past

sleeps, s n the everyday cts of

walking,eat ing,

go ing

o bed,

n

which anc ien t

evo lu t ions lumber .A memory

s

on ly

a

Prince

Charming who stays

ust

long

enough

to awaken

he

Sleeping

Bcauties of our wordless

stories.

"_ _t.f-u,

here

used to

be

a bakery."

"That ' . r

where

o ld

lady Dupu is used

o

l i ve . "

t i s s t r ik ing

here

hat the

p laces

eop le

ive

n are

ike the

presences

f

d iverse bsences.

ha t

can

be

seendesignates

what is

no longer here:

you

see,here hereused o

be .

.

.

,"

but i t can

no

longer

be seen. Demonstrat ives

ndicate he

in -

v i s ib le

dent i t ies

f

the visible:

t i s

he very

def in i t i on

f a

p lace,

n

fac t ,

that i t is composedby theseseries f displacements nd ef fects mong

the

f ragmented st rata

that

form i t

and that

it

p lays

on these

moving

Iaye s.

"Memor ies

t ie us

to that

p lace .

. .

I t ' s

persona l ,

o t

in te rest ingo

anyone else,

but after

al l

that 's

what

gives

a neighborhood

ts

char-

acter. "48 here

is no

place

hat is not haunted

by many di f ferentspi r i ts

h idden

here

n

s i lence,

p i r i t sone

can

" invoke"

or no t .

Haunted

p laces

are the only ones

people can

l ive in-and this

nverts he schema

f the

Panopt i< 'on. ut l ike he

goth ic

scu lp tures

f

k ingsand

queens

hat

once

adorned Notre-Dame

and have been bur ied

for

two centur ies

n the

basement

of

^ building

in the rue de

la

Chauss6e-d'Ant in,a '

hese

"spi r i ts, " hemselves roken into piecesn l ike manner,do not speakan y

more than

they

. ree. his

is

a sort of

knowledge

hat remains

i lent .Only

hints

of

what is known but unrevealed

re

passed

n

'Just

between

ou

a n d

me. "

Places re

f ragmentary

and inward-turning

histor ies,

asts hat others

ur i

n"t u l lowed to read.

accumulated

imes

hat

can be unfolded

but l ike

stor ies

held

in

reserve,

emaining

n

an

enigmat ic

tate,

symbol izat ions

encysted n the

pain

or

pleasure

of

the

body.

' : l

feel

good

hi ie" ' ro

th e

wel l -being

under-expressedn

the

language

t appears

n

l ike a f leet ing

gl immer

s

a

spat ia l

rac t i ce .

I+'ALKING

N

THE

CITI'

Chi ldhood

and

metaphors

f

places

Metaphor

ons is t s

n

g iv ing

he

h ing

a

nanre

hat

be longs

o

someth ing

e lse .

I :

Ar istot le.

poer i cs

1457b

Tlgg:gggbl_.

tS tha which can be drearnedabout a place. In this

place

hat

is

a

pal impsest ,

ubject iv i ty

s

al ready

inked

to

the

absence

that

s t ruc tures

t

u t - . * i r i . nce

and

makes

t

"be

there , "

L)ase i r t . u t

as we

have

seen,

h is

be ing- t 9 re

cts

on ly

n

spat ia lp ract i ces.

ha t i s ,

n x,a. l , . t

of nroving

nro

tornrt ' i i i r ig 'df f i rent

(ntanibres

le

passet .

l 'aule).

It

mt i i t -u i t imately

be

seen

as the

repet i t i on ,

n

d iverse

netaphors .

f

a

dec is i ve

nd

or ig inary

xper ience,

hat

of the

ch i ld 's

i f f e ren t ia t ion

rom

the

mothA 'S -bbd i r .

t i s t h rough

hat

exper ience

hat

the

poss ib i l i t y

f

space-A ;a-o f

loca l i za t ion

a

"not

every th ing" )

of the sub ject

s in -

augurated.

We

need

not

return

to the

fanrous

analysis

F19ud

nrade

of

this

matr ix-experience

y fol lowing

the

game

played

by

his

eighteen-

month-old randson, ho threwa reel way ronrhimsel f , ry ingoh-oh-

oh in

p leasure ,

. fort l .

i .e. ,

over

there . "

gone, "

or

"no

nrore" )

and then

pul led

it

back

wi th

the

piece

of

st r ing

at tached o

it

rvi th

a

del ighred

dat

( i .e. ,

"here, " "back

again");51

t

suf f ices

here

to remember

t l i is

(per i lous

and

sat isf ied)

rocess

f detachment

rorn

indi f ferenr iar ion

n

the

mother 's

ody, whose

subst i t u te

s

the

spoo l :

h i s depar tu re

f t he

mother

sometimes

he

disappears

y

hersel f ,

omet imeshe

chi ld

nrakes

her

d isappear )

onst i t u tes

oca l i za t ion

nd

exter io r i t y

ga ins t he

back-

ground

of

an

absence.

here

s

a

oyfu l

man ipu la t ion

hat can

make

he

rnaternal

bject

go

away"

and

make

onesel f '

isappear

insofar

as one

cons iders

f iese l f

dent i ca l

w i th

tha t

ob jec t ) .

mak ing

t

poss ib le

o

be

there because) ' i thout he other but in a necessaryelat ion o wliat ha s

d isappeared;

h is

manipu la t ion

s

an

"or ig ina l

spat ia l

t ruc ture . "

No

doubt

one

could

t race

his

di f ferent iat ion

urther

back.

as f -aras

the

naming

that

separates

he foetus

dentif ied

as

mascul ine

rom his

mother-but

how about he

emale

oetus.

who

is f rom

this very

moment

int roduced

nto

another

relat ionship

o

space' l n

the in i t iatory

game,

just

as n

the

"joyful

act iv i ty"

of the

chi ld

who,

standing

before

a mirror,

sees

tsel f

as

one

(it

is

sl re

or

he, seen

as

a

whole)

but onorher

rhat,-An

image

wi th

wh ich

he

ch i ld

dent i f i es

tsel f ; .s2

hat

counts s he

process

of

th i s spat ia l

ap ta t ion"

hat

nscr ibes

he

passage

oward he

other

as

r0 9

I

I t

, l

, l

l

I

I

;\

,rr\


12/12

il 0

the aw

of

be ing

and the

aw

of

.y

the

oyful

and

si lent

experience

ond to

move toward

the

other.

IYALKING

N THE

CITY

place.

o

practice

pace

s hus

o

repeat

of

chi ldhooO;

t is,

n a

place;o

6e other

i

- -

l

. '

. r

T \

' 1

L T

' - '

, '

Kailway

l\avlgauon

hus

begins he

walk

that

Freud

compares

o the

trampling

underfoot

of the

mother- land.53

his

relat ionship

f

onesel f o

onesel f

overns

he

internal

al terat ions

of the

place the

relat ions

among

i ts st rata)

or the

pedest r ian

nfolding

of the stor ies

ccumulated

n a

place moving

about

t6e ci ty nd t ravel l ing).The chi ldhoodexperiencehat determinespatial

pract ices

ater

develops ts ef fects, rol i ferates,

loods

private

and

public

spaces,

ndoes

thei r readable

surfaces,

nd creates

wi thin

the

planned

ci ty

a

"metaphorical"

or

mobi le ci ty,

ike the

one Kandinsky

dreamed f :

"a

great

ci ty

built

according

to

al l

the

rules

of archi tecture

nd then

suddenly

shaken

by a force

hat

def ies

l l calculat ion."5a

Chapter

VIII

and

ncarceration

TRAVELLINGNCARCERATIon-.

mnrob i le

ns ide

l ie

t ra in . see ing

immobi le h ings l i p

by.

What s happer r ing?

oth ing

s nrov ing

ins ide

r ou ts ide he ra in .

The unchang ingrave l le r

s

p igeonho led . umbered.

nd regu la ted

n

the

gr id

of

the

a i lway

ar,

wh ich s a

per fec t

c tua l i za t io r r

l ' t he

at iona l

utopia.

Control

and food move

rom

pigeonhole o

pigeorrhole:

Tickets,

please

.

.

"

"sandwiches?

eer '? of fee'?

. .

"'

Only

the

rest rooms

of'fer

an escape

rom

the closedsystem.

They

are

a

lovers'

phantarsm.

wl ly

out for the l l , an escapadeor ch i ld ren "Wee-wee " ) -a l i t t l e space f

i r rat ional i ty, ike love

af fai rsand sewers

rr

the

Ll tctpias

f

ear l ier

inres.

Except

or

th i s apse

iven

over

o

excesses.very th ing

as

ts

p lace n a

i

g r idwork .

On ly

a ra t iona l i zed

e l l t rave ls .A

bubb le

of

panopt i cand

r

classi fying

ower,

a module

of

inrpr isonnrent

hat

makes

possible

he

'

p roduct ion

of an

order ,

a c losed

and

autononrous

nsu lar i t y - tha t

i s

i

what

can raverse pace

nd

make

tse l f

ndependent

f

l oca l

oo ts .

Ins ide ,

here s he

mmobi l i tyo f

an order .

Here

estand

dreanrs

e ign

supreme.

here

s

not f i lng

o do,

one

s

n the

stote

of reason.Everythi rrg

is

in i ts

place,

as

in Hegel 'sPhi losoph. t 'ct . l '

ight.

Every being

s

placed

there ike a

piece

of

pr inter 's

ype

on a

page

arranged

n

mi l i tary

order.

This order,an organizat ional ystem, he quietudeof a certat ineason, s

the

condi t ion of both

a rai lway

car 's and

a text 's

movement

rom

on e

place

o another.

Outs ide ,

here

s another

mmobi l i ty,

ha t o f

th ings.

ower ing

moun-

ta ins ,

t re t ches

f

green

ie ldand forest .

r res ted

i l l ages,

o lonnades

f

bui ld ings, black urban si lhouet tes

gainst

he

pink evening sky.

th e

twinkl ing

of nocturnal

ights on

a sea

that

precedes r succeeds

ur

histor ies. he t rain

general izes

i . i rer 'sMelanchol ia,

a

speculat ive

x-

per ience

of

the world:

being

outside

of these

hings

that stay there,

detached nd absolute,

hat

leave

us wi thout

having

anything

o do

rvi th

michel de certeau, the practice of everyday life

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