poetics of space

Gaston Bachelard  The Poetics of Space summary and review

In “The Poetics of Space” Bachelard introduces his concept of topoanlysis, which he defines as the systematic psychological studying of the sites of our intimate lives. The house, the most intimate of all spaces, “protects the daydreamer” and therefore understanding the house is for Bachelard a way to understand the soul.

I read the first chapter of Gaston Bachelard’s Poetics of Space on Friday. The following morning I woke up with tangled memories of dreams about houses and places I have never been. Of course, I don’t remember most of the sites, having neglected to write them down immediately.

But I remember one dream thread – a recurring dream, but always different. “Car in water.” I used to dream a lot that I was driving a car into water, backing into water, getting swept away by water while in my car or in someone else’s car. In one dream from long ago, my grandfather was in the back seat.

Saturday morning’s dream: S was driving, his brother was in the front passenger seat, I was in the back seat. We were driving on hilly roads where water was coursing down the asphalt in sheets. At the bottom of a hill, a puddle opened up into a lake. Soon the car was floating, but still navigable, like a boat. It was ominous, but I wasn’t overly alarmed. S navigated skillfully closer to the shore and I felt the car gain traction and start to move up out of the water.

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The early house of my childhood was a suburban single-story ranch house with no basement. There may have been an attic, but I don’t recall going up there. It wasn’t that intriguing as far as dream life. I guess I could apply topoanalysis to the intimate space of the vehicle.

I did have a vivid dream about a cabinet once. Will have to carry on to the chapter about drawers, chests, and wardrobes.