The impact of_space_on_the_psyche_of_the

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PEOPLE’S DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OFALGERIA
MINISTRYOF HIGHER EDUCATION AND SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH
AMAR TELIDJI UNIVERSITY- LAGHOUAT
FACULTY of LAW and SOCIAL SCIENCES
DEPARTMENT of ENGLISH
The impact of space on the psyche
of the protagonist in George Orwell’s
Nineteen Eighty Four
A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the
degree of Master in Civilization, Literature and Language Teaching
Candidate Supervisor
Ibtissam Touhami Professor. F. Berrahal
2014/2015

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
General introduction .......................................................................................................03
I. Chapter one: Space and Place in Literature, Philosophy, Urbanism and
Psychology
I.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................16
I.2 Yi Fu Tuan: The Distinction between Place and Space ..................................17
I.3 Bertrand Westphal: The Geo-critical Approach to Literature..........................20
I.4 Michel Foucault : ‘Panopticon’ and Heterotopia ............................................22
I.5 Henry Lefebvre: The Conscious Production of Space .....................................27
I.6 Environnemental Psychology ..........................................................................29
I.7 Conclusion .......................................................................................................31
II. Chapter Two: The architecture of Panopticism in Nineteen Eighty four
II.1 Introduction to Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty Four .............................................34
II.2 The theme of Power and Control in the novel................................................36
II.3 Architecture in Nineteen Eighty Four as a Device of Power and Control .....38
II.4 The Concious Production of Space ................................................................41
II.5 The Foucauldian Panopticon ..........................................................................44
II.6 Panopticism Juxtaposed on Ninteen Eighty Four...........................................45
II.7 Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 48
III. Chapter Three The Heretopic Place in Ninteen Eighty four
III.1 The Heretopic Place in contrast with the Panopticon Space.........................52

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III.2 The Heretopic place in Ninteen Eighty four .................................................... 55
III.3 The features of the Heretopic place ................................................................... 56
III.4 The impact of the Heretopic place on the protagonist .................................... 58
III.5 The Return towards the Panopticon Space ....................................................60
III.6 The Impact of the Panoticon Space and the Heretopic Place on the psychee of
the paratogonist .....................................................................................................63
III.7 Conclusion ....................................................................................................65
General Conclusion .........................................................................................................66
Appendices........................................................................................................................00
Appendix 1: Nineteen Eighty Four: Synopsis (Plot and Characters) ....................79
Appendix 2: Short Biography: George Orwell .....................................................82
Appendix 3: Short Biography: Michel Foucault ...................................................83
Appendix 4: Short Biography: Henry Lefebvre ....................................................84
Appendix 5: Short Biography: Yi Fu Tuan ...........................................................85
Appendix 6: Short Biography: Bertrand Westphal ...............................................86
Appendix 7: Figure: Panopticon ...........................................................................87
Bibliography ....................................................................................................................88
Webography ....................................................................................................................89

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General introduction
In recent years space and spatiality has come to the forefront and it has gained more
importance within the disciplines of social science. It is becoming one of the key elements
in critical theories especially as far the Postcolonial theory and Psychological theories are
concerned. The term "Space" holds numerous and various definitions; for example The
Oxford English Dictionary defines space as ‘the dimension of height, width and depth
within which all things exist’. According to the Merriam Webster Dictionary Space is
defined as “a boundless three-dimensional extent in which objects and events occur”. That
is to say that each space has three dimensions. The first one is the cultural dimension; in
which space serves as a powerful organizer for both the individual and the collective
memory. The second one is the social dimension which dictate the way people are
interacting with each other and the third one is a psychological dimension, which includes
the subjective perception and emotional interaction with space.
Various scholars and geographers focused their interest on the substances within
the space. The central idea of their study became spatiality; a concept which relates to the
distribution of objects and bodies in space and their relationships towards each other.
Michel Foucault for instance; argued in his lecture Of Other Spaces(1967); that space
outpaced time and has advanced to the forefront in the contemporary era, and he called for
the study of the interrelation between sites and the distribution of bodies in space.
According to Henry Lefebvre the production of space is related to the Marxist theory, as it
is a conscious process which reflects the social strata. Ti Fu Tuan also emphasized the idea
of conscious production of space and he argued that ‘Man’ divides and arranges space
consciously to suite his ‘body’, which includes a particular attention to the social hierarchy
of space which reminds man of where he stands in society. Thus from these definitions of

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space it appears that space is a multidimensional entity, and each dimension has its own
structure, rules and norms which dictate the relationship between the bodies and objects
spread into that specific space. In other word the broad term of ‘Space’ englobes the urban
spaces which are the outcomes of human architectural designs, it also englobes the social
space in which we live and interact with each other as well as the personal space of an
individual.
In literature the concept of space is regarded as the physical element of the events
occurring in the novel or a story, that is to say that any artistic creation is accompanied by
its own space being real or fictional, which serves as a container for the plot and the events
of any narrative. In his essay; Geocriticism; Real and Fictional Spaces(2007) Bertrand
Westphal, supported a geo-centered approach to literature .He suggested a ‘Metalangue’
or a code allowing transmission from spatial sciences such as geography, architecture and
urban studies to literature and vice versa. As such the literary texts become an infinite
source of new spaces, since it does not just reproduce reality it, it also creates fictional
places, sometimes we delve into mythical and imaginary space, in other texts we enter
utopian societies and sometimes we discover apocalyptic and nightmarish sceneries such
as in the Orwellian London of Nineteen Eighty Four .
In George Orwell’s novel Nineteen Eighty Four the protagonist Winston is in his
own quest for meaning. A search during which he undergoes a stream of thoughts and
enquiries concerning life style in London under Big brother's watch. The space which
contains the narrative in the novel, is crucial to render fully the experience of the
protagonist. The living spaces in the novel; such as his apartment, the hallways, his work

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space, the canteen, all have been designed by the government of INGSOC to maintain a
solid grip and a firm control over the individuals, this control begins with the first
dimension of space which is the concrete physical spaces, and ultimately spread to the third
dimension which is the psychological space. In the Orwellian London the social and the
cultural dimensions of space have been carefully designed and uniformly conceived,
leaving no room for individuality, or any other form of freedom. The living spaces have
been homogenously manipulated to enable a total hegemony; which ultimately facilitate
the manipulation of the third dimension of space which is the psychological one.
The quest for meaning of the protagonist in the novel ; culminates in one space in
particular a counter-site in contrast with the dystopian society conceived by the government
and it is the room above the antique shop. This new space which contrasted with the other
spaces in the novel and which supposedly dodged Big Brother’s watch, becomes his space
of crisis, where his knowable and unimaginable are merged. In this new space he
experienced the feeling of privacy, individuality and knowledge. Towards the end of the
novel he lands in the ministry of love, more precisely in room 101 another type of spaces
used by the government of INGSOC to erase the effect that this counter site had on him
and to take away the knowledge discovered and imposed a logic violation. In this vein, the
main problematic would be as follows: How does the physical space impact on the
psychological space in Orwell’s novel 1984?, which raises the question of how the living

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space is conceived by the government of INGSOC and what sort of impact it has on the
protagonist?. It also raises the questions concerning the new place that the protagonist has
created for himself as well as the effects it has on the psyche of the protagonist?
What can be hypothesized at this level is that the space and place in the Orwellian
London of Nineteen Eighty Four; is conceived and designed to maintain control over the
individual. The external surroundings of the protagonist such as the architecture, the
buildings and living environment are all carefully designed to indoctrinate the individual's
thoughts, and affect him from the outside towards the inside. The main hypothesis is that
the city is architecturally conceived as a ‘Panopticon’ .The concept of the Panopticon
design is to permit to a single guard to observe several residents of an institution constantly
without them being able to know whether they are watched or not, and this lack of
knowledge will impact their psyche; thus they will be conditioned to live in fear which will
ultimately result in a tangible change of their behavior. In this gigantic Panopticon that
George Orwell has created in Nineteen Eighty Four, there still remain on space supposedly
uncontrolled by the government of INGSOC, the room above the antique shop; where the
Protagonist is presumably able to evade Big brother’s watch, thus this counter-site becomes
his heretopic place in the homogenous space. And this Heretopic place has a different effect
from the Panopticon space on the psyche of the protagonist. The Heretopic place which;

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were his conceived and perceived are merged to form a new space of consciousness where
his living acquires a meaning.
The objective of this dissertation is to illustrate the influence of the physical space
on the psychological Space of the protagonist in George Orwell’s novel Nineteen Eighty
Four. This dissertation is an attempt to differentiate between the ‘Panopticon Space’ and
the ‘Heretopic Place’ in the novel. This dissertation is also an attempt to illustrate how the
conception and the perception of a space and a place can influence the psyche of the
protagonist. In George Orwell’s novel the room above the antique shop stood out as a
special place that contrasted the other spaces in the novel and it had a noticeable impact on
Winston. From his experience with the room it became evident that a change in the physical
environment could bring about radical changes in one’s physical as well as mental health.
Which opens the door to a query, since a space could have a positive impact on an
individual physically and mentally; then would it be possible to intentionally reverse the
effect?. In other words would it be possible to immerse and individual in a physical setting
that would negatively affect his physical and mental health. And could these surrounding
be manipulated and controlled to achieve the desired change in one’s behavior?.

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Throughout the narrative in Ninteen Eighty Four; the settings surrounding the
protagonist changed from one section to the other. In the first section we were introduced
to his building and his apartment in Victory Mansions , the description the author provided
of this place contributed in setting the tone of despair, fear, and ill-adjustment of Winston
in Oceania. Even in his apartment when he decided to commit the ultimate act of rebellion
to start a diary he had to sit in an alcove within his apartment, as if he was trying to find a
hiding place to commit his act of defiance. The minute description of the built environment
continues further, and towards the end of the first section and almost all throughout the
second section we are introduced to the room above the antique shop. The physical and
psychological transformation that Winston experienced in this room are also minutely
described. Early in the novel, he was described as dead-living or a zombie with a
meaningless life, and caught up in a routine imposed by the government of INGSCO.
However in the room above the antique shop, he regained human appearance, the room
was meant to be lived in, and in deed he came back to life. He interacted with this room
with all his senses and experienced, privacy, love and hope, which was a clear contrast to
his previous state of mind in the other spaces and places in the novel.
Through a Geocritical approach and with a descriptive and an analytical method,
this dissertation will attempt to distinguish between space and place and illustrate them in
the novel. A Geocritical approach would permit to use one ‘Place’ or ‘Space’ as focal point

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for the research, it would also permit an interdisciplinary approach since we would have to
refer to theories of geographers and urban planner to support the hypothesis. This
dissertation is also an attempt to distinguish between the Macroscopic Space and the
Microscopic Place and illustrate the impact of both on the psychological space of the
protagonist. I will attempt to illustrate how the Macroscopic Space has been conceived by
the government as a ‘Panopticon’ aimed to keep a firm control over the psychological
space. While the microscopic place which appears to be a ‘counter-site’ or a Heretic place,
became the protagonist ‘Lived space’.
The first part of the dissertation introduces the theoretical background escorting this
dissertation. The theoretical background includes Bertand Westphal’s approach of
‘Geocritisicm’. The theoretical part also includes the distinction between ‘Space’ and
‘Place’ which is crucial in order to distinguish the different settings presented by George
Orwell in Nineteen Eighty Four. It also introduces the Foucauldian concepts of
‘Panoticism’ and ‘Heterotopia’ which will be both linked to specific places and spaces in
the novel; as well as the Lefevreian Trialectic of space which will permit to distinguish
between the conception, perception and the actual experience of one place, also included
in the theoretical background a small introduction to the discipline of environmental
psychology which studies the impact of the physical space on the mental space. I will be
referring to the discipline of environmental psychology in relation to two concepts in
particular; the first concept is ‘behavioral setting’ which illustrate how behavioral changes

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are associated with architecture and the second concept is the ‘defensible space’ also
known as ‘Personal space’.
The second chapter introduces a synopsis of Nineteen Eighty Four including the
plot and the major characters, with a focus on the designed environment and the
architecture accompanying the plot. In the novel Orwell suggests that the production and
manipulation of knowledge are critical to the usurpation of power, and this dissertation is
an attempt to demonstrate that the conscious production and manipulation of space was
also a crucial tool in this process. The second chapter will focus on connecting the theories
of space, and control to the novel in order to illustrate how the Orwellian London has been
consciously and meticulously conceived based on the architecture of Panopticism. , this
hypothesis will be supported by with the Lefevrian theory of the production of space and
the Foucauldian concept of the Panotpticon
The final chapter will attempt to illustrate how the protagonist created a counter-
site for himself in the state of surveillance that the government of Ingsoc has designed
form him . The protagonist commits what Westphal has termed as ‘Transsgressivity’,
which resulted in a new microscopic place that differed form the macroscopic space. The
third chapter will refer to the insight of Yi Fu Tuan in order to extract the place from the
space. It will be also referred to the Foucauldian concept of Heretopia and the Lefebvreian
tiralectic of space in order to highlight the particularity of that place and more precisely the
psychological change in the protagonist in the Heretopic place in contrast with the
Panopticon space.

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Theoretical debate
Geocriticism
In his essay Geocriticism; Real and Fictional Spaces, Bertrand Westphal, presents
an approach to engage with fictional spaces. He advocated a geo-centered approach to
literature and cultural studies, which would permit a particular place to serve as a focal
point for analysis and criticism. He raised the question of a ‘Metalangue’ to allow an
interdisciplinary transmission from spatial sciences such as geography, architecture and
urban studies to literature and vice versa. In Geocriticism, Westphal argued that a particular
space in literature could be subjected to symbolic readings and interpretation, rather than
immediate observation, thus one concrete space may have several subjective interpretation,
in this sense literature becomes the experimental field of alternative realities as well as an
infinite source of new spaces, since it does not just reproduce reality, it also creates fictional
places, which sometimes reveal concealed truths. In his work Westphal also dealt with the
‘Spatiotemporal Analysis’ of fictional Characters, which consist of the study of the
interaction between bodies based on their location in social space. He also proposed a
distinction between ‘Homogenous’ spaces and ‘Heterogeneous’ spaces and the theme of
‘Transgressivity’. According to Westphal the transgression on a space would result in the
creation of a new space away from the homogenous space, and this space of transgression
would result in the creation of an intimate zone.

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Panopticon
In Discipline and Punish: The Birth of Prison (1975) Michel Foucault offers a
description of the space of surveillance which he termed Panopticism with reference to the
architectural design introduced by the social theorist Jeremy Bentham in the late 18th
century. The name Panopticon is also a reference to Panoptes from Greek mythology; who
was a giant with a hundred eyes and thus was known to be a very effective watchman. The
Panopticon architecture is designed in such a manner to create a space of surveillance
where individuals are constantly scrutinized. It consist of a tower with large windows
surrounded by an annular building which is divided into cells .This architecture exposes
the annular building totally to be constantly watched and observed and it permits the central
tower to sees everything without being exposed. This particular use of space and the carful
distribution of bodies into specific places results in a powerful space of surveillance and
control.
The Foucauldian Heretopia
Foucault’s first reference to the concept of heterotopia appeared in 1966 within his
preface to ‘Les Mots et les choses’. According to Foucault the macroscopic space is
governed by a set of laws and common agreements dictated by societal rules and human
conventions. However certain microscopic sites somehow contradict the homogenous
macroscopic space .He referred to these counter-site as Heterotopic sites. Michel Foucault

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suggested that Heterotopia; is another name for the sphere of intimacy that resist the
prevalent codification in the macroscopic space. In Other Spaces Foucault, described the
Heterotopia spaces. As shelters for the individuals in time of crisis he referred to these sites
as ‘the crisis heterotopia’. He also attributed to the heretopic sites the function to create a
space of illusion or compensation.
The ‘Lived space’
Henry Lefebvre introduced in The Production of Space. The ‘Trialectic of space’
in which space is viewed in three ways, as ‘perceived, conceived and lived’: ‘I'espace
percu, concu, vecu’. He argued that space needs to be understood not in two ways - as a
conceived, abstract thought of space, or perceived, concrete reality of space - but in three
ways, with the additional ‘lived space’, which result from the previous two spaces.
According to Lefebvre the first and the second space would not be sufficient to transmit
fully and individual’s experience of space .Henceforth the idea of the third space ‘The
Lived’; encompasses both the real/perceived and imagined/conceived spaces and captures
real-life experiences.
Environmental Psychology
The discipline of environmental psychology studies the relationship between
environment and psychology. Researches within this discipline; have addressed the extent
to which physical and social spaces impact upon the spaces of mental life and subjectivity.
The observations of scholars within this discipline has revealed that a person unconsciously
manifest different behaviors purely based on the change of setting which he related to

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architecture such as the austere architecture were sufficient to create a feeling of reverence
and stillness. The environmental psychology also promoted the importance of the ‘Personal
space’ and how it impacts on the individual. The theories of environmental psychology on
how environment impacts us can be critical when designing a city. If such designs are
mishandled, it could lead to feelings of stress and animosity.

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I. Chapter one
Theories of Space and Place in Literature,
Philosophy, Urbanism and Psychology
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................16
I.2 Yi Fu Tuan: The Distinction between Place and Space ..............................................14
I.3 Bertrand Westphal: The Geo-critical approach to literature ........................................20
I.4 Michel Foucault : ‘Panopticon’ and Heterotopia ........................................................22
I.5 Henry Lefebvre: The Conscious Production of Space.................................................27
I.6 Environmental Psychology ..........................................................................................29
I.7 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................31

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I.1 Introduction
The 19th
century orbited around the subject of time development especially with the
modernist experiment that enriched the temporal linearity. In recent years especially
following the Second World War, when the world moved into both the Cold War and the
‘Space Race’1
. Consequently Space and Spatiality2
came to the fore front, and began to
reassert itself in critical theory and began rivaling with time. Literary criticism has long
privileged the questions of time to the detriment of an enquiry into space. In the1960
situation began to change, (p 23) this spatial turn is supported by the new esthetic sensibility
introduced by the postmodern thoughts, and became a key term for literary, cultural and
psychological studies as well as strong theoretical critique provided by structuralism and
their intertextual connections. Furthermore the transformational effect of post-colonialism
and globalization also contributed into blurring and remodeling traditional geographic
limit, which all ultimately all contributed to bring space to the foreground. Michel Foucault
reflected on this shift of focus from time to space in his lecture ‘Of Other spaces’. He
noticed that, if the 19th
century was dominated by a grand obsession with history, the
contemporary epoch of late twentieth century is an era of spatiality:
The great obsession of the nineteenth century was , as we know, history:
with its themes of development and of suspension , of crisis , and cycle,
1
Space race: The competition between nations regarding achievements in the field of space exploration.
2
Spatiality: the distribution of bodies in space and their relation to each other according to this spatial
distribution it(http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/)2
Spatiality:

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themes of the ever-accumulating past ….The present epoch will perhaps be
above all the epoch of space (qtd in Westphal,24).
I.2 Yi Fu Tuan and the distinction between SPACE and PLACE
The concept of space encompasses the universe or the outer space. The space
became a prolific source for science fiction, time wrap, black holes, worm holes3
became
familiar concepts, which permitted the idea that time can be curved and inspired themes
such as time travel and the movement between several virtual realities and different space-
time dimensions. However the focus of this research paper is not on the outer space, it is
more related to the visible space, and more precisely to certain places in our space of living.
Both concepts; ‘Space’ and ‘Place’ are dealt with in this dissertation and in order
to distinguish between these closely related notions, several references are made to the to
the work of Yi-Fu Tuan who is famous for his definitions of space and place. Place is
defined as a particular part of space that can be occupied, unoccupied, real, or perceived.
Space is defined as that which is occupied by an object's volume. In his 1977 article, "Space
and Place: The Perspective of Experience" Tuan argued that to define space, one must be
able to move from one place to another, but in order for a place to exist, it needs a space.
Thus, he concluded that these two ideas are dependent upon one another. He further
emphasized that a space turns into a place when it gains demarcation through acquiring its
3
For further explanation refer to Stephen Hawkings Lectures : http://www.hawking.org.uk/lectures.html

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own specific characteristics, and as it is impossible to render the experience of space
without refereeing to the objects and places within that space. Tuan also argued that ‘Space’
in the broad sense becomes a ‘Place’ as it acquires definition and meaning and starts having
it own aura. Tuan also argued that ‘Space’ and ‘Place’ can be defined by their relation to
each other since the two notions are mutually co-dependent, space serves as a container
that englobes various ‘Places’, and a place could only exist within a particular ‘Space’.
In experience, the meaning of space often merges with that of place. "Space"
is more abstract than "place." What begins as undifferentiated space
becomes place as we get to know it better and endow it with value. [...].The
ideas "space" and "place" require each other for definition. From the
security and stability of place we are aware of the openness, freedom, and
threat of space, and vice versa .(Tuan,6)
Tuan further argued that our knowledge of ‘Space’ and ‘Place’ is induced and
directed by all our senses which he termed ‘The Experiential perspective of space’. He
described the experiential perspective; as the individual’s ability to know and construct
reality through various modes. He also divided the modes into direct and indirect. ‘Direct
modes’ of perceptions; such as the passive senses of smell and taste or the active sense of
vision; and the ‘Indirect modes’ of symbolization. According to Tuan construction of
reality through different modes of experience will lead to diverse, complex and ambivalent
interpretations of space and place. Henceforth, one place will have multiple interpretations,
based on the multiplicity of perceptions.
In the eight chapter entitled Architecture Space and Awareness, Tuan argues that,
the rearrangement of space is done by the human being. Any act of building calls for a

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conscious organization, thus the planning is a necessity to any architecture. Once achieved
the architectural edifice will form an environment for man. That is to say that ‘Man’ shapes
his environment to suite his ‘body’. The designed environment may also serve as an
educational purpose, as an architectural space may reveal and instruct, and some
architectures may be instrumental in handing down traditions, communicating rituals, or
for presenting a view of reality and the social norms. Tuan emphasizes that ‘Man’ divides
and arranges space consciously, and that the final result of this architectural awareness will
engender an architectural compound ; which will ultimately have an immense impact not
only on the individual’s perceptions and feelings towards their own living space, but on
the social interactions as well. He further explained that this conscious arrangement of
space will draw one’s attention to the social hierarchy of space constantly reminding man
of where he stands in society.
Completed the building or architectural complex now stands as an
environment capable of affecting the people who live in it .Man made space
can refine human feeling and perception (…) Another influence is this: the
built environment clarifies social roles and relations. People know better
who they are and how they ought to behave when the arena is humanly
designed rather than nature’s raw stage. (Tuan,10).
In spite of the relatedness and the codependence of the two concepts of ‘Space’ and
‘Place’, the work of Yi Fu Tuan in Space and Place: The Perspective of Experience, has
contributed into making a clear distinction between the two terms. According to Tuan’s
theory, a space turns into a place when it gains an aura or an atmosphere of its own, and
this process of bestowing an atmosphere on a place is interlinked with the human senses
and modes of perception, thus place can only be defined through the interaction that occurs
via the direct and indirect modes of perception. Form Tuan’s theory one may conclude that

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as entities we exist in space; but we; as complex human beings truly live in a place which
we construct through our personal modes of perception.
I.3 A Geo-Critic approach to literature
In his essay Geocriticism; Real and Fictional Spaces Bertrand Westphal, presents
an approach to engage with fictional spaces. He advocated a geo-centered approach to
literature and cultural studies, which would permit a particular place to serve as a focal
point for analysis and criticism. He argued that the understanding of a specific place is a
subjective matter which will differ from one person to another based on the experience or
interaction involved, because the perception of a space and the actual conception of the
space are different. The Einsteinian revolution4
made everything relative, even the absolute
and the concrete:
Our Understanding of a particular place is determined by our personal
experience with it, but also by our reading about others experiences, by our
point of view, including our biases and our wishful thinking. (Westphal,
Translator Preface x).
In this light we may understand that a particular space may have been subject to
symbolic readings and interpretation, rather than immediate observation, thus one concrete
space may have several subjective interpretation, for instance if we take the city of London
4
For further explanation of The Theory of relativity: http://www.space.com/28738-einstein-theory-of-
relativity-explained-infgraphic.html

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a concrete place, yet presented differently in the pastoral novel of Jane Austen, which
contrast with the foggy and rainy Dickensian London. And both are in contrast with the
Dystopian Orwellian London of 1984. ‘Literature becomes in this context the experimental
field of alternative realities, (Westphal,59)
Westphal suggest that the experience of place can be translated through literature
via modes of perception, it also present a critique of reality or of a dominant ideology. He
raised the question of a ‘Metalangue’ or a code allowing transmission from spatial sciences
such as geography, architecture and urban studies to literature and vice versa. Thus a
literary text becomes a source of new spaces, since it does not just reproduce reality it, it
also creates fictional places, which sometimes reveal the gist of concealed truths:
The literary text therefore becomes a generator…this characteristic reveals
the fictional logos reveals the meaning of hidden realities, exploring the
folds of reality, and may thus be worthy of attention from geographers as it
is from literary critics.(westphal,32).
In Geocriticsm, Wesphal also dealt with the Spatiotemporal Analysis of fictional
Characters. He made reference to the work of Michel Foucault, who associate the location
of bodies within a social space regulated by an authority , Foucault incorporates the effect
of the individual’s attitude in dealing with space –time and how interpersonal relationship
may be dictated in an entourage , and how an authority can determine or prohibit access .
Adapted to literature his theory would permit a Spacio-temporal5
analysis of a fictional
5
Spacio-Temporal: relating to, or existing in both space and time.( http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/)

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character. Which could be explained as the analysis of the interactional of the fictional
character with the fictional space provided in a novel or a narrative.
The second chapter of Geocriticism; entitled ‘Transgressivity’ , Westpahal explains
that space is both ‘Homogenous’ and ‘Heterogeneous’ ,The first would exclude the
particularity of minority perception and the latter is presented as the outcome of the
transgression on homogenous space. Thus according to Westphal transgression relates to
the crossing of boundaries outside which exists ‘a marginal space of freedom’ ( Westphal
47) and when this transgression becomes a customary habit it turns into what Westphal
termed as ‘Trangressivity’ . Westphal further explains that this transgressivity would result
in the creation of a new space far from being homogenous, an intimate space outside of the
boundaries of the enclosure. It creates for the individual a zone of intimacy, guarded against
external intrusions and allows the synthesis of all differences.
This is a secret space, of hyperbaton one where the individual deploys a
supplemental personal truth, protected from the eyes of the world and from
the prescriptions of the code. This tension between a normatively
sanctioned unity and the need for freedom emerging at the margins of the
law (Westphal,44)
I.4 Michel Foucault: Panopticism and Heterotopia
Foucault’s concern with space was centralized on the relations among sites, the
intersection between the macroscopic space and the individual space. In ‘Discipline and
Punish’ Michel Foucault offers a description of the space of surveillance ‘the Utopia of a

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perfectly governed city’ (Discipline and Punish 196), which he termed ‘Panopticism’ with
reference to the architectural design of Jeremy Bentham. The Panopticon architecture is
designed in a manner to create space of surveillance where individuals are constantly
scrutinized. And designed to prevent any form of deviance or transgression to the rules and
norms imposed in a given society, and this was achieved by means of a meticulous
arrangement of the space which is meant to be controlled:
at the periphery an annular building ; at the center a tower; this tower is
pierced with wide windows that open onto the inner side of the ring, the
periphery building is divided into cells, (…) al that is needed, then is to
place a supervisor in a central tower and to shut up in each shut up in each
cell a madman , a patient , a condemned man, a worker or a schoolboy(…)
they are like so many cages , so many small theaters, which each actor is
alone, perfectly individualized and constantly visible ( Foucault,197)
The Panopticon architecture exposes the periphery building totally to be constantly
watched and observed without being able to see in return, while the central tower sees
everything without being exposed. This particular use of space and the carful distribution
of bodies into specific places results in a powerful space of surveillance and control.
Foucault described it as a ‘cruel, ingenious cage’ (Foucault 199), which could have
multiple functions , as it could serve to reform prisoners, to confine the insane ; treat
patients, to supervise workers and even to instruct school children. Foucault argued that
this type of architecture would be ideal as it is as a sort of distribution of bodies in space in

25
relation to one another, which could be distributed based on a hierarchical relation ;or when
dealing with several individual who must be controlled
Foucault also notes that that ‘the Panopticon schema makes any apparatus of power
more intense’ (Foucault 200),because power exercise its strength without directly
intervening, and without any physical instrument other than architecture and geography.
The arrangement of space in a Panopticon mechanism or architecture would act directly on
individuals and ‘give power of mind over mind’(Foucault 200). He also argued that the
increase of power created by a Panopticon architecture may degenerate into tyranny, and
that the integration of a Panopticon architecture within the political apparatus, will result
in the subordination of bodies, through a relation of surveillance and discipline which will
ultimately produce a reformed society; were no discipline would be required since the
constant surveillance would be sufficient to shape the human behavior towards the desired
conduct. The residents of the Panopticon will ultimately be conditioned to the fact that they
are constantly scrutinized, so even when no surveillance occurs they would still behave as
if it did.
The second Foucauldian concept in relation with space is Heretopia, and it also
focused on, the crossing between the macroscopic space and the individual space. However
unlike the Panopticon space of surveillance, the Heretopic spaces are described as counter-
sites. According to Foucault each space is governed by a set of laws and agreements

26
dictated by societal rules and human conventions and no practices will dare to break down
the sacredness of these sanctuary like sites .For example public space , social space and
professional space all has a certain number of guidelines and practices which are commonly
and popularly agreed upon , thus it consciously or subconsciously maintain the notion of
the sacred , thus it is impossible to achieve what Foucault termed a ‘practical
disanctification of space’. However among all these site he focused his interest on certain
sites that have the curious property of being in relation with all the other sites yet somehow
contradict them he referred to these counter site as Heterotopic sites which he also
described as ‘a place outside of all places and time outside of all times’. Heterotopia
according to Michel Foucault ; is another name for the sphere of intimacy that resist the
pervasive codification in the macroscopic space attributed to the state apparatus.
Foucault’s first reference to the concept of heterotopia appeared in 1966 within his
preface to Les Mots et les choses, later translated into English as The Order of Things
(1970). With this concept he introduced a contradictory ‘unthinkable space’. With
reference to utopia a good place; ‘heterotopia’, refers to a different or another place
(heteros). According to Foucault’s utopias, however fantastic, present an ordered, coherent
whole, whereas heterotopia it raises questions about the establishment of order in our
culture, or those basic codes that govern perceptions, language and practice. Foucault
outlines a number of these ‘counter-spaces’ that are in different ways outside the ordinary,

27
including cemeteries, prisons, asylums. He suggests that modern Heterotopian sites relate
more to enclosing some form of deviation.
In Other Spaces Foucault, has attributed six principles to describe and distinguish
the Heterotopia spaces. The first principle is that every single culture in the world has its
own heterotopias , which takes varied forms in time and cultures, thus there is no universal
form yet it could be classified into two main categories , the first being ‘the crisis
heterotopia’ which are privileged sacred or forbidden places reserved for the individual in
time of crisis. Foucault further explained that these ‘crisis heterotopia’ are disappearing
and being replaced by ‘heterotopias of deviation’ which are reserved for individuals with
deviants behaviors by the norms and practices of a given the society, which he exemplified
by prisons and psychiatric hospitals and even nursing homes.
The second principle for describing Heterotopic spaces is that the function of
heterotopic space may change with time. The third principle is that heterotopia is able to
juxtapose in a single real place several spaces that are themselves incompatible. The fourth
principle are linked to slices of time, such as immobile places with the ideas of
accumulating time, such as libraries and museum. The fifth principle hold that heterotopias
always presuppose a system of opening and closing which makes them both impenetrable
and accessible at the same time, this type of heterotopia could be illustrated in a motel

28
room, which is protected, and hidden, , yet accessible. The sixth principle lies within the
function of the heterotopic spaces either to create a space of illusion or compensation:
Either their role to create a space of illusion that exposes every real space
, all the sites inside which human life is partitioned…..Or else, on the
contrary, their role is to create space that is other, another real space as
perfect , as meticulous , as well arranged as ours is messy , ill constructed
and jumbled’(Foucault).
I.5 Henri Lefebvre: The Conscious Production of Space
The Major contribution of Henry Lefebvre to the studies on space and spatiality is
embodied in his ‘Trialectic of Space’, which he introduced in The Production of Space. In
the Lefebvrian schema Space is viewed in three ways, as perceived, conceived and lived:
‘I'espace percu, concu, vecu’. He argued that space needs to be understood not in two ways
- as a conceived, abstract thought of space, or perceived, concrete reality of space - but in
three ways, with the additional lived space, which result from the previous two spaces.
Henri Lefebvre, who was also known as a neo-Marxist and existentialist philosopher,
mentioned that the process of the production of space has explicit political aspects ‘there
is a politics of space because space is political'.(Kipfer125). He also argued that the space
of town planners which are understood as a scientific object, and apolitical, have been in
fact shaped and molded through a political process.(Kipfer126). There is therefore work to
be done on an understanding of space and how it is politically and socially constructed and
ultimately individually used, which is illustrated by Stefan Kipfer article entitled ‘How
Lefebvre Urbanized Gramsci’:

29
From Lefebvre, we can gather a new, urbanized understanding of
hegemony. While Gramsci saw hegemonic 6
projects implicitly [...] Lefebvre
invites us to make an explicit link between hegemony and the production of
space. [...] Processes of producing space (shaped by urban specialists) are
potentially hegemonic insofar as they integrate the affective-symbolic sides
of everyday life (lived space) into the practical material (perceived) and
institutional-ideological (conceived) dimensions of abstract space. This
process of producing and incorporating lived space into abstract space can
be hegemonic by homogenizing diversity or denying difference (Keifer,205).
The Lefevrian Schema of ‘Trialectic of Space’ accentuated the three dimensional
characteristic of space. The concept of ‘The Lived Space’ is presented as a distinct mode
of critical spatial awareness. This Lived space is the outcome of the fusion of the two
opposite poles of the abstract and concrete space, it is a space that results from the merger
of the objectivity of the real and the subjectivity of the imagined. It is the encounter
between mind and body, consciousness and the unconscious. The first space which is the
perceived represents the visible material space that can be measured and described, with
its natural markers as well as those recognizable man-made landmarks that were placed
there by those in control, it also takes into consideration the configuration of the building,
the campus, the town. The Second space’ may be understood as the interpretations or
ideologies concerning ‘First space’ it is one’s conceived space, it is the space of the
architects designers and artist, geographers and mappers who construct a representation of
6 Cultural Hegemony: is a term developed by Antonio Gramsci, activist, theorist, and founder of the Italian
Communist party "The Gramscian concept of hegemony is mostly used to indicate the cultural leadership
of the dominant classes in the production of generalized meanings in society.
(https://faculty.washington.edu/mlg/courses/definitions/hegemony.html)

30
the first space. Thus the first and the second space will permit the understanding of the
ideology and politics behind the conception and the perception of a particular space.
However, according to Lefebvre the first and the second space would not be sufficient to
understand fully the space ,as none of the previous concepts account for the individual
experience and the individual’s contact with that space, especially if we take into
consideration that each and every one would probably have a different representation based
on their interactions and experiences of a space or a place in particular. Henceforth
Lefebvre advanced the idea of ‘The lived space’. This third space which results from the
fusion of the first and the second space would account for the individual’s living experience
in a space. The term the ‘Lived Space’ encompasses both the real/perceived and
imagined/conceived spaces and captures real-life experiences.
I.6 Environmental Psychology
Lefebvreian theory had a major contributed in what is called the spatiality through
introducing the ‘lived space’ mental space which is the baby born of the concrete space,
the abstract space and the individual’s interaction with both. His ‘Trialectic of Space’ has
made an account of the interaction between the physical and the mental to render truthfully
the living experience of a single body within a specific space. His work paved the way to
the discipline of environmental psychology which attempts to study the relationship
between environment and psychology researches within this discipline; have addressed the

31
extent to which physical and social spaces impact upon the spaces of mental life and
subjectivity.
The term "environment" englobes a range of topics, such as how family life or
neighborhood and culture affects behavior, but it also holds the sense of how architecture
affects behavior, and how the city planning on the macro scale can affect behavior. In the
broad sense it is about how we interact with the world in which we live, and how those
interactions shape our psychology. The observations revealed that we unconsciously
manifest different behaviors purely based on the change of setting related to architecture;
such as the austere architecture of school and church were sufficient to establish a feeling
of respect and quietude. Within the same stream the research in environmental psychology
advocated the importance of the ‘Personal space’. According to environmental psychology
observations of this discipline revealed the importance of the personal space since it offers
a sense of security, comfort and privacy. The theories of environmental psychology on how
environment impacts on the individual’s emotions and behavior can be critical when
designing a city. If such designs are mishandled, it could lead to feelings of stress and
animosity.

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I.7 Conclusion
The theoretical background introduced in this chapter , illustrates the therories of
space form the perspectives of literature, which is illustrated by Bertrand Westphal’s
insights in Geocriticism, space and place are also dealt with from the perspective of
geographers , and urban planners which is illustrated by the work of Yi Fu Tuan and ,
Henry Lefebvre. From the philosophical point of view. It has been refered to the
Foucauldian perspective concerning space and spatiality, and finally space is also viewed
form the perspective of the enviorenmental psychology which coined the built environment
with the individual’s psyche. The theoretical background introduced in this chapter will
escort this dissertation in order to attempt to support the hypothesis The insight of Yi Fu
Tuan will permit to distinguish between the space and the place in the protagonist’s
surrounding. . In the second chapter the Theories of Tuan and Lefebvre will contributes
into illustrating how space is consciously produced and meticulously designed , as for the
and the Foucauldian concept of Panopticism , it will be juxtaposed with the architecture
in Nineteen Eighty Four to illustrate how The Orwellian London is designed as a
Panopticon. The third chapter is supported by Tuan’s theory in order to extract place from
space it is also evolving around the concept of ‘Transsgressivity’ introduced by Bertand
Westphal. This distinction between space and place and the transsgressivity on the
homogenous space will result in a new place which Michel Foucault has referred to as the

33
Heretopic place .The Foucauldian concepts of ‘Panoticism’ and ‘Heterotopia’ are both
linked to specific places and spaces in the novel, and from the protagonist interaction with
both the Panopticon space and the Heretopic place ; this dissertation will attempt to
illustrate the influence of each space and place on the protagonist’s psyche.

34
II. Chapter Two
The architecture of Panopticism
in Nineteen Eighty four
TABLE OF CONTENTS
II.1 Introduction to Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty Four .........................................................34
II.2 The theme of Power and Control in the novel............................................................36
II.3 Architecture in Nineteen Eighty Four as a Device of Power and Control .................38
II.4 The Concious Production of Space ............................................................................41
II.5 The Foucauldian Panopticon ......................................................................................44
II.6 Panopticism Juxtaposed on Ninteen Eighty Four.......................................................45
II.7 Conclusion .................................................................................................................48

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II.1 Introduction to Orwell’s ‘Nineteen Eighty Four’
George Orwell’s novel Nineteen Eighty Four; with its nightmarish fictional prophecies
is both a political novel and a dystopia, and it is usually placed within anti-fascist literature
produced in the thirties and forties. Although written over a half-century ago, Nineteen
Eighty-Four remains a significant novel, the title itself has become a political archetype,
and has engendered numerous catching phrases that became familiar expressions of the
oppression and tyranny of totalitarian regimes; such as ‘thought police’, ‘doublethink’
‘newspeak’ and ‘thought crime’. Accordingly, a substantial body of literature surrounds
both the novel and its author .There are several researchers, philosophers and critics who
tackled this novel in relation to various themes such as how fiction offers an understanding
of social and political events, the tyranny of technology, the effects of torture on thought,
sexual revolt to express political rebellion, as well as the limitation of the linguistic space
with the purpose to control the thoughts.
Nevertheless the most predominant theme enveloping the novel remains the theme of
power and control. The totalitarian government of Oceania ensures to maintain control and
power over all aspects of life. The citizen’s existence was organized, regulated and
scheduled, in such a manner so that no room for individuality or independent thinking was
left. And any form of uniqueness was regarded as a deviance and considered to be a crime
referred to as ‘OWN LIFE’ by the government of INGSOC. Another form of the power and
control imposed by the government of Oceania over its citizens could be explored from the
angle of space and spatiality. From perspective of space and spatiality, it is possible to
illustrate how the built environment and the architectural planning in Oceania have been
carefully designed to ensure the usurpation of one’s ‘personal space’ , and how this

36
architecture of domination also turned out to be a valuable tool to impose power and
maintain control.
The narrative is set in 1984 in a futuristic and dystopian London and its capital
Oceania, where the state is the ultimate source of power, and all forms of individuality and
personality have become criminalized. Citizens live in an atmosphere of suspicion and
extreme surveillance imposed by ‘Big Brother’ and ‘the telescreen’. The novel focuses on
the life of Winston Smith, the main protagonist, who lives in London, the chief city of
Airstrip One (formerly England), which is one of the many provinces of Oceania. Winston
who is a member of the outer party; is employed in the Records Department of the Ministry
of Truth and his job is to rewrite history .The novel begins, a bleak day in April, when
Winston ‘commits his tiny, brave act of defiance and, starts to keep a diary, even though
he knows that the punishment for doing so is death’. He is even obsessed, with
unanswerable questions, and particularly the question of ‘Why?’. Apart from Winston, the
novel revolves around Julia and O’Brien. . Julia, like Winston, is employed in the Fiction
Department in the Ministry of Truth. At first, Winston, believes Julia to be either an agent
of the Thought Police or an amateur spy, however, she secretively passes a note to Winston
that says ‘I love you’. following which they begin a secret love affair. The character of
O’Brien, is presented as a mysterious and fascinating figure to Winston, who is a member
of the Inner Party. Winston believes mistakenly that he is a member of a secret
revolutionary group known as the Brotherhood; a supposedly underground organization
aiming to overthrow the Party. However, towards the end of the novel it is O’Brien who
personally oversees the torture and confession of Winston.
Nineteen Eighty-Four is divided into three large sections with an additional short
appendix discussing Newspeak, a new linguistic space which imposes a more concise and

37
accurate language for Oceania. In section one, Winston Smith, describes the material
conditions of his life which include his daily rituals, the censorship he is subjected to, his
feelings towards his colleagues, work, women food, history, reality, truth and especially
the regime's ideology and its leader, Big Brother. He also gives minute description of his
living place and working place. The second section introduces an element of hope as
Winston and Julia experience the temporary feeling of privacy in the room above the
antique shop. By the end of this section they are captured by Oceania's secret services. The
third section is even uglier than the first, and exposes the extent of the brutality of Oceania's
regime, in this section the protagonist is caught and tortured at the Ministry of Love by
O'Brien's. Once Winston is estimated to be totally re-educated; he is set free and given a
less responsible job at the Ministry of Truth. It is on the last page of this section that
Winston expects to die, having first met Julia, who is also psychologically broken. Finally,
in the appendix, Newspeak is described as if written at a time far beyond the world of
Nineteen Eighty-Four. It includes a detailed descriptions of how the vocabulary of the new
language will be greatly reduced. Newspeak was one of the forms of device that the
government of INGSOC used, and it aimed with it to eventually be able to control the
citizen’s thoughts through limiting their linguistic space.
II.2 The theme of power and control in the novel
The obsessive preoccupation with limiting the linguistic space in order to control
the thoughts, runs in parallel to the lack of freedom in every other aspect of life in the
society of Oceania. In the imaginary world of ‘Nineteen Eighty Four’, Orwell expressed
the thought control with his inventions of ‘Thought Police’, ‘Newspeak and doublethink’,
which all contributed to the production, falsification and manipulation of knowledge, thus
enabling the INGSOC government to erase any remains or fragments of the ancestral

38
memory including history and language. Even their inner thoughts were scrutinized as
Winston described in the novel; it was even dangerous for people to allow themselves to
think when they were in public, considering that their facial expression may betray them
and they would have committed a ‘face crime’. As a result the members of the party were
not only wearing the same uniforms, but a similar facial expressions as well, and it was all
out of fear to be ‘Vaporized’. Because if any free thought were considered as a deviance
and a crime, and if such deviance is detected the deviant individual would have to cease to
exit. Individuals would simply dissolve form space, names will be erased and any records
of their existence will be altered. Thus the vaporized or annihilated individual is erased
from both space and memory.
It was terribly dangerous to let your thoughts wander when you were in any
public place or within range of a telescreen. The smallest thing could give
you away. A nervous tic, an unconscious look of anxiety, a habit of
muttering to yourself—anything that carried with it the suggestion of
abnormality, of having to hide. In any case, to wear an improper expression
on your face … was itself a punishable offense. There was even a word for
it in Newspeak: facecrime, it was called. (Orwell,55).
In the dystopian society of Nineteen Eighty Four, George Orwell described the
abuses of power which resulted in the loss of humanity and individuality. In Oceania he
imagined a totalitarian state overly disciplined both spatially and temporally; as every
single aspect of life was regimented by the government. Therefore all landmarks of
humanity and individuality were incorporated under the control of the state. Orwell
suggests in his nightmarish prophecy, that the production and manipulation of knowledge
were critical to the usurpation of power. And if we tackle the ideology of power from the
perspective of space and spatiality, it becomes evident in the novel that the production and
manipulation of space was also instrumental in maintaining surveillance, usurping power

39
and maintaining control. In Oceania all the landmark buildings were attributed to the
government of INGSCO and all history was in Orwell’s words: a palimpsest, scraped clean
and reinscribed exactly as often as was necessary (Orwell 51).Churches were transformed
to war museum for propaganda, or left as ruins with no possibility of knowing their history,
since the government altered any thing that might throw light on the past including
architecture, so that no one could learn history from architecture any more than one could
learn it from books, thus clearly the ruler of Ninteen Eighty Four was fully aware of the
power of architecture in teaching, thus ; just as language; it was considered as a powerfull
device of power , and it had to be controlled inorder to be used as a tool of opression and
to quote Tuan:
‘Architecture teaches. A planned city, a monument, or even a simple
dwelling can be a symbol of the cosmos .In the absence of books and formal
instruction. Architecture is a key to comprehending reality’ (Tuan Pg 102)
II.3 Architecture as a device of power and control
The ideology of power and control of followed by the government of INGSOC is
omnipresent in the living space of the protagonist. The minute description of his built
environment, and its architecture transmit a sense of despair and discomfort. The physical
surroundings of the narrative changes from one section to another to escort the narrative
and illustrate the individual’s interaction with space and demonstrate how space and place
have been designed in Oceania to keep a firm control its inhabitants. Within Nineteen
Eighty four, it becomes clear that all aspects of life are regimented in Winston’s world. The
spatial and temporal elements of discipline, for example, are clearly illustrated in the
everyday lives of party members:
In principle a Party member had no spare time, and was never alone except
in bed. It was assumed that when he was not working, eating, or sleeping
he would be taking part in some kind of communal recreations; to do

40
anything that suggested a taste for solitude, even to go for a walk by
yourself, was always slightly dangerous. There was a word for it in
Newspeak: OWNLIFE, it was called, meaning individualism and
eccentricity. (Orwell pg 104)
As such, even walking home via an alternative route was considered as a deviation
from the structured space and was enough to arouse suspicion (Orwell 106). The spatial
separation was also designed with respect to social relations. The architecture was used to
indicate the social strata and it also contributed to the isolation of its inhabitants; by
assigning each individual to a particular place, for example, party members are both
socially and spatially separated from the state and society; they were unaware of others’
activities. They remained partitioned, each sequestered into their own enclosed spaces; and
each is performing a specific function, and no member was able to see the totality of the
system. Thus, all facets of humanity are monitored and disciplined and this control of
society and space is performed hierarchically.
In the Orwellian london it is abvious that the the physical environment also
contributed to opress the indiviual, he presented a specific description of the architectue
and the built environement through which his characters passages. He introduced land mark
building, such as the Ministry of Truth and the Ministry of Love and minute description
of living places such as the victory manssions and working places which all reflects a
society controlled by its architecture, in his article The architecture of opression Dr.Gerald
Bernstein mentioned that:
‘The negative Utopia described in 1984 is one of the repression supported
by a complex technology in the service of the state. But in Orwell’s
dehumanized world it is not only the psychic environment that opresses the
individual but the physical environment as well. For the architecture of
Orwell’s ‘future’ as a metaphor of a totalitarian repression’.(Bernstein)

41
Form the very first chapter we are introduced to the physical surroundings of the
protagonit which sets the tone of the novel , in Orwell’s description of Winston’s return to
his appartment we are presented with the architecture of the Victory Mansions which are
described as old flats falling into pieces . The depressing atmosphere is transmitted ,
through his description of the the ill-functioning and delapitated structure. With dust every
were , and the smell of boiled cabbage filling the atmosphere in his appartmen. I his
appartement winston was aware of the telescreen scrutinizing evry sound and move he
would produce, yet decided to commit his act of devance of starting a diary , in the novel
gerorge orwell suggest winston’s bold deceision to do so was encouraged beacause he
managed to find a small corner in his apartemnt which was hidden from the telescreen.
Thus it felt safe for Winston to express his thoughts on paper, Orwell states clearly that it
was the unusual physical setting , which created a small place of privacy , that dodged the
constant surveillance in his living space and partly encouraged winston to have a small
taste of free expression:
‘For some reason the telescreen in the living-room was inan usual position.
Instead of being of being placed, as was normal, in the end wall, where it
could command the whole room ...it was oppisitthe window. To one side of
it was a shallow alcove in which winston was now sitting (…). By sitting in
the alcove and keepin well back , Winston was able to remain outside the
range of the telescreen(…) It was partly the unusual geography of the room
that had suggested to him the thing he was about to do’. (Orwell,8)
Late in the novel winston visits Obrien’s place which demonstrate a vibrant contrast
with the appaling living conditions in Victory Mansions. The elite of the party lived in
huge blocks of spacious flats , softly carpeted passageways with their cream papered walls
and white wainscoating were exquisitly clean. In Obrien’s office it was was not needed to

42
find a hiding alcove from the telescreen , as he simply turned it off one of the numerous
previledges enjoyed by of the Inner party members.The symbolic contrast between the
architecture and the settings of Victory Mansions and Obrien’s place also served to
transmitts the different positions in the hierarchical society.
II.4 The Conscious Production of Space
Accordingly it is possible to deduce that all facets of humanity are monitored and
disciplined in Winston’s world. As it has been previously illustrated , within Nineteen
Eighty four; the spatial and temporal elements of life were closely monitored and
meticulously timed ;in order to control every aspect in the lives of Oceania’s citizens ;and
allow no deviance form the scheduled life and structured space. It has been also mentioned
that the physical environment in the Orwellian london have also contributed to opress the
indiviual. Therefore the ideology of power and control followed by the government is
omnipresent in the living space of the protagonist as well. The detailed description of his
built environment, and its architecture also served as an indicator of the social strata
especially in the description of the living environment of the Proles and the living
conditions of the Outer Party agents that clearly contrasted with the style of living of the
Elite of the Inner Party. Which indicates that the control of society and space is performed
hierarchically. Thus it is possible to assume that the space of the protagonist within
Nineteen Eighty Four has been consciously and judiciously designed to maintain a firm

43
control over the individual. And this idea of a conscious and meticulous creation of a living
space is reinforced by both Yi Fu Tuan as well as the Lefebvreian Trialectic of space.
Yi Fu Tuan argued in the eighth chapter of ‘Space and Place: The Perspective of
experience’ ,which is entitled ‘Architecture Space and Awareness’; that any act of building
calls for a conscious organization, thus the planning is a necessity to any architecture. Once
achieved the architectural edifice will form an environment for man. That is to say that
‘Man’ shapes his environment to suite his ‘body’. He also emphasized that the final result
of this architectural awareness will ultimately have an immense impact not only on the
individual’s perceptions and feelings towards their own living space, but on the social
interactions as well. Because this this conscious arrangement of space will draw one’s
attention to the social hierarchy of space constantly reminding man of where he stands in
society. Within the same stream of thoughts the schema of the Trialectic of space
introduced by Henry Lefebvre in ‘The Production of Space’, also emphasized the conscious
production of space.
Henry Lefebvre explained that the creation of a space is a conscious process that
goes through two different phases the ‘Perceived’ and the ‘Conceived’ while the third
phase which is the ‘Lived’ serves as a report of the experience of the individual with the
space which have been perceived and then conceived. Henri Lefebvre explained that the
process of the production of space has explicit political aspects ‘there is a politics of space
because space is political'. (qtd in Alden125). He also argued that the space is shaped and
molded through a political process. Therefore the understanding of a Space includes an
understanding of its political and social construction as well as the individual’s dealings
with the space produced.

44
The idea of the conscious production of space and the politic of space is also well
illustrated by Michel Foucault in Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison. He began
his chapter on Discipline with the measures adopted in the seventeenth century when the
plague appeared in town. Those measures involved a strict spatial partition and the division
of the town into distinct quarters, and each placed under a strict surveillance, in order to
prevent the plague from spreading. Foucault mentioned that inspection functions
continuously, considering that the gaze is wide wide-awake all over the place. The
individuals are confined in specific places, where the role of each individual is clearly
specified .which leaves no room form movements, or interaction, thus nor risks of
contagion or rebellion. The space is strictly designed to be stable, standardized and
immovable in order to facilitate the monitoring of the inhabitants, in Foucault’s terms:
‘It is a segmented, immobile, frozen space. Each individual is fixed in his place.
And if he moves, he does so at the risk of his life, contagion or punishment[…]This
enclosed segmented space , observed at every point, in which all individuals are
inserted in a fixed place, in which the slightest movement are supervised , in which
all events are recorded …all this constitute a compact model of disciplinary
mechanism’ (Foucault 195-196 ).
Accordingly if we refer to Tuan’s conscious arrangement of space, and to the
Lefebvreian theory concerning the political production of space, as well as the Foucauldian
measures of discipline and the cautious design of the space of surveillance, we may deduce
that the space of the protagonist in Nineteen Eighty Four was not a mere coincidence, but
instead it has been perceived first and then conceived by the government of INGSOC. In
the light of the above mentioned theories we can also understand ‘The Why’ behind the
conscious and meticulous production of space which is clearly to keep the citizens under
the government close watch. As for ‘The How’ concerning the space arrangement for a
perfect surveillance, it is illustrated by Foucault’s Panopticism, which he described as an

45
effective mechanism of power without any physical instrument other than architecture and
most importantly it acts directly on the individual as it gives ‘power of mind over
mind’(Foucault 200).
II.5 The Foucauldian Panopticon.
Michel Foucault argued that the Panopticon epitomized the perfect architectural
representation of the mechanism of surveillance. This architecture pivoted around two
central concepts, which are partitioning and scrutinizing. He further explained, that this
solid model of disciplinary mechanism; demonstrated the way of exercising power over
men, by scrutinizing them, controlling their relations and separating them to avoid any
threatening combinations. And this disciplinary partition, was further applied in the
nineteenth century to ‘the space of exclusion’ such as psychiatric asylum or penitentiaries
which served as space to contain the individuals who were considered to be abnormal or
deviant by the society’s norms. He also explained that these ‘spaces of exclusion’, dispose
of techniques and mechanisms that serves to supervise and correct, or alter ‘the abnormal’
throughts.
Michel Foucault termed this mechanism of surveillance ‘Panopticism’, with
reference to the architectural design introduced by Jeremy Bentham in the late 18th
century. The Panopticon architecture is designed to create a space of surveillance where
individuals are constantly scrutinized. This particular use of space and the carful
distribution of bodies into specific places results in a powerful space of surveillance and
control. This architecture consist of an annular building at the periphery and a tower at the
center. The annular building is divided into cells, with two windows one on the inside
which exposes the cell to the tower in the center and one from the outside which allows the
light to cross the cell from one end to the other. Subsequently the full lighting and the

46
position of the supervisor in the tower would permit to capture every single movement of
the inmates. Each individual is confined in his cell, and the side walls prevent any contact
with his neighbors. Each individual is seen by the supervisor in the tower, without being
able to see in return, as Foucault mentioned:
‘He is seen, but he does not see; he is the object of information, never a
subject in communication. The arrangement of his room, opposite the
central tower, imposes on him an axial visibility…and visibility is a
guarantee of order.’(Foucault 197)
Foucault further indicated that this architecture would maintain the perfect order be
it in a prison, an asylum, at work or even school, as any form of collectivity is abolished
replaced by the partition of the individuals and the distribution of bodies in space. He also
explained that the major effect of the Panopticon; is that it induces the idea that you are
being constantly scrutinized even if you are not, thus this architectural apparatus will
sustain the power relation, as the inmate will never be able to tell whether he is being
watched or not. Consequently the inmate will constantly live in the fear of being watched
and thus will maintain the discipline imposed on him. This from of architecture, could be
illustrated in the novel with Orwell’s description of the architectural design of the
macroscopic space of the protagonist, with Big Brother’s Poster symbolically serving as a
supervising tower to be seen from each and every angle. And the constant scrutiny of the
‘Telescreen’.
II.6 Panopticism Juxtaposed with the Orwellian London
Similarly to The Foucauldian Panopticon, it appears that the architecture in the
Orwellian London has been designed to provide a powerful model of ‘disciplinary
mechanism’. Through a clear distribution of the bodies, the citizens were partitioned and

47
separated in order to enable a constant surveillance of their actions and thoughts, also to
prevent any form of deviance that might cause a rebellion. This architecture of surveillance
that Foucault termed as ‘The utopia of the perfectly governed city’ (Foucault 196); holds a
resonance of a gigantic prison. Early in the novel we are introduced with this atmosphere
of surveillance and scrutiny at the Victory Mansions. As Winston climbs the floors, he
describes the gigantic poster watching him from every angle, as a constant reminder that
you were under constant observation:
‘…at one end of it a colored poster, too large for indoor display, had been
tacked to the wall. It depicted simply and enormous face, more than a meter
wide: the face of a man …Winston made for the stairs …, went slowly,
resting several times on the way. On each landing…the poster with the
enormous face gazed from the wall. It was one of those pictures which are
contrived that the eyes follow you about when you move. BIG BROTHER IS
WATCHING YOU, the caption beneath it ran’ (Orwell p3)
The Atmosphere of surveillance is omnipresent in all the different spaces of the
protagonist within Oceania. As he enters his flat, Orwell again depicts the atmosphere of
scrutiny by introducing the ‘Telescreen’, a rectangular metal plaque which covered part of
the surface of the wall, an instrument which served as a continuous tool of surveillance.
Outside in the street the police patrol snooped into people’s windows leaving them no
privacy. In the fourth chapter we are introduced to his work place. A hall with fifty workers,
and each was confined in a small cubicle where everything was within arm’s reach
including the ‘Telescreen’. Each worker was involved in a task of his own, with no
communication between them so none of them could know what the other was working on,
thus, none was able to understand the bigger picture. And that hall of fifty workers formed
just a single cell of the Department of Records, which was itself a single branch of the
Ministry of Truth.

48
The carful separation and partition as well as the careful positioning of bodies
within the macroscopic space of the protagonist of Nineteen Eighty Four are all indicators
of the conscious and the political production of space with the clear goal to maintain control
and power over the individual’s actions and thoughts. In the following description given
by Winston in his apartment and ‘The Telescreen’ one may distinguish some similarities
of the Foucauldian description of the Panopticon architecture:
‘So long as he remained within the field of vision which the metal plaque
commanded, he could be see as well as heard. There was of course no way
of knowing whether you were being watched at any given moment. How
often, or on what system, The Though Police plugged in on any individual
wire was guesswork. It was even conceivable that they watched everybody
all the time. But at any rate they could plug in your wire whenever they
wanted to. You had to live- did live, from habit that became instinct- in the
assumption that every sound you made was overheard, and except in
darkness, every movement scrutinized. Winston Kept his back turned to the
telescreen. It was safer, though, as he well knew, even back can be
revealing.(Orwell p5).
Orwell goes even further and explains that even when Winston had his back turned
to the ‘Telescreen’ he had to be careful because ‘even a back can be revealing’(Orwell 5),
which emphasizes the idea that every single little movement was monitored , and the
citizens were expected to behave and conduct themselves according to the norms set by
the government of INGSOC, and heretic thought or movement was deemed to be a form
of deviance and punishable by annihilation or ‘VAPORIZED’ (Orwell 24) was the exact
term used by Orwell. Even the punishment of the individual’s deviance was related to space
, the citizens suspected of ‘THOUGHTCRIME’ or ‘OWNLIFE’ were considered as
heresies and had to evaporate that is to say that they were erased from the space which has
been conceived homogenously by the government., their names were removed from the
registers and any records of their previous existence were wiped out.

49
II.7 Conclusion
Thus in the light of the Foucauldian description of Panopticism, and in addition to
the description of the macroscopic space of Winston , which includes Victory Mansion and
the his cubicle in the Ministry of Truth we may confirm the hypothesis that the, space of
the Orwellian London has been consciously conceived as a Panopticon .The architectural
design of Panopticism, focusses on the carful distribution of the bodies and the constant
scrutiny which escorts perfectly the mechanism of surveillance. In Nineteen Eighty Four
the government of INGSOC maintained a solid grip over its citizens both physically and
psychologically. The citizens were perfectly governed through the control of the spatial
and temporal element of their lives which left no rooms for deviance, consequently it seems
obvious that the design of the macroscopic space in the Orwellian London of Nineteen
Eighty Four was inspired by the Panopticon architecture, which facilitate control of its
citizens by means of the constant and continuous surveillance. As a result of this
Panopticon design Winston was fully aware of being constantly scrutinized and this
awareness of being continuously gazed at, resulted in a conditioned behavior which was in
itself, the ultimate goal of the state of surveillance. The constant scrutiny of the individuals
in space aimed at the control of the inner thoughts of its citizens, and ultimately the
suppression of any deviant thoughts and eventually rebellious behavior , the following
quote form the novel illustrate the importance of controlling the individual’s state of mind
in the Panopticon of Oceania:
‘He knew it was useless, whether he wrote down with big brother or whether
he refrained from writing it, it made no difference…The Thought police
would get him just the same, He had committed, even if had never set a pen
to paper- the essential crime that contained all others in itself.
Thoughtcrime, they called it, Thoughtcrime was not thing that could be
concealed forever. You might dodge successfully for a while, even for years,
but sooner or later they were bound to get you’(Orwell pg24)

50
Accordingly, we may also conclude that the control of the space of the protagonist
in Nineteen Eighty Four, was also a valuable tool in the apparatus of the government.
Considering that the space which was meticulously designed by the government in order
to maintain a constant scrutiny over its inhabitant, also contributed in altering the inner
thoughts of the individuals, out of fear of committing the biggest crime of all which was
the ‘THOUGHCRIME’. The citizens of Oceania were fully aware of being constantly
watched, which resulted. Thus we may deduce that the space designed in Oceania had a
direct impact on the protagonist psyche, as it resulted in a conditioned response and a new
behavior shaping. The protagonist abide by the government rules, because he knew that he
was under constant scrutiny. However in this macroscopic space designed as a Panopticon
the protagonist, transgressed on the fixed boundaries fixed by big brother , which resulted
in a Hertopic place.

51
III. Chapter Three
The Heretopic Place
in Nineteen Eighty four
TABLE OF CONTENTS
III.1 The Heretopic Place in contrast with the Panopticon Space.....................................52
III.2 The Heretopic place in Ninteen Eighty four .................................................................. 55
III.3 The features of the Heretopic place ................................................................................ 56
III.4 The impact of the Heretopic place on the protagonist ................................................. 58
III.5 The Return towards the Panopticon Space ................................................................60
III.6 The Impact of the Panoticon Space and the Heretopic Place on the psychee of the
paratogonist .......................................................................................................................63
III.7 Conclusion ................................................................................................................65

52
The second part Nineteen Eighty Four differs markedly from the first as it
introduced of an element of hope. In this section the protagonist commits a transgression
on the macroscopic space designed as a Panopticon by INGSOC , and by doing so , he
created a new place whish stood as a counter-site in comparison to the Panopticon space.
This new counter-site that resulted from the ‘Transsgressivity’ on space created what Tuan
described as a ‘Place’ which had a different effect on the protagonist both physically and
psychologically, it introduced a feeling of privacy, quietude and serenity which were all
absent from the Panopticon space in Oceania. This new place was the room above the
antique shop which Winston decided to rent in order to have a place of rendez-vous for his
love affair with Julia , and in order to experience their own private 'utopia' away from the
surveillance and the scrutiny of Panopticon space of Oceania.
In Ninteen Eighty Four Winston’s desire to escape the spying eyes and Big brother’s
surveillance lead him to a different space in London’s district inhabited by the proles ; a
different space with a different built environment, Orwell’s description of this devastated
space with its patched streets of little two story houses was just as depressing as Victory
Mansions,and here gain Orwell has used an architectural setting of filthy conditions to
distinguish between the different social strata, since the proles were considered by the
government of INGSOC to be outcasts , who must be kept in their ignorance. However it
is in this place that the protagonist finds some releif form the constant surveillance of big
Brother and the ‘Though Police’. In a small rented room above the antique shop. This
counter-site in the Orwellian London becomes his refuge form the Party , and his love nest
with Julia. The expereince of this place awakened in Winston some sort of an ancestral
memory .

53
III.1 The ‘Heretopic Place’ in contrast with the ‘Panopticon Space’
In the chapter dedicated to the theoretical background, it has been referred to the
insights of Yi Fu Tuan concerning Space and Place and the distinction between these
closely related notions. In spite of the connection and the codependence of the two concepts
of Space and Place, the work of Yi Fu Tuan in has contributed into making a clear
distinction between these two concepts. According to Tuan’s theory; ‘Space’ in the broad
sense becomes a Place as it acquires definition and meaning and starts having its own
specific characteristics and an aura of its own, and this process that marks the shift from
Space to Place; through conferring an atmosphere on a place is interlinked with the human
senses and modes of perception, thus a place can only be defined through the interaction
that occurs via the direct and indirect modes of perception
‘It is impossible to discuss experiential space without introducing the object
and places that define space (…).Space is transformed into place as it
acquires definition and meaning.(Tuan 136)
From Tuan’s theory we may conclude that the human being as an entity exist in
space; but as a complex individual; man truly live in a place which he constructs through
his personal modes of perception. In Geocriticism, Westpahal also tackled the distinction
between space and place from a different perspective. He referred to two different sorts of
spaces, ‘The Homogeneous Space’ which excludes the particularity of minority perception
and ‘The Heterogeneous Space’, which is presented as the outcome of the transgression on
the homogenous space. According to Westphal transgression relates to the crossing of
boundaries outside which exists ‘a marginal space of freedom’ (Westphal), and when this
transgression occurs repeatedly it becomes a customary habit it turns into what Westphal
termed as ‘Trangressivity’. Westphal further clarifies that this repeated transgression

54
would result in the creation of a new space far from being homogenous, an intimate space
outside of the boundaries of the enclosure. It creates for the individual a zone of intimacy,
guarded against external intrusions and allows the synthesis of all differences:
‘This is a secret space, space of hyperbaton one where the individual deploys
a supplemental personal truth, protected from the eyes of the world and from
the prescriptions of the code. This tension between a normatively sanctioned
unity and the need for freedom emerging at the margins of the law.’
(Westphal,44).
Within the same theme of the intersection between the homogenous space and the
heterogeneous space, and the distinction between space and place, we may refer to Michel
Foucault who also focused on, the crossing between the macroscopic space and the
individual space, through his introduction of ‘Heretopia’. Unlike the Panopticon space of
surveillance, this space is described as a counter-site, which have the property to contradict
the homogenous spaces. He referred to these counter site as a Heterotopic site which he
also described as ‘a place outside of all places’. According to Michel Foucault; Heterotopia
is another name for the sphere of intimacy that resist the pervasive codification in the
macroscopic space attributed to the state apparatus. Foucault further argued that the
Heterotopia spaces, could be also termed as ‘the crisis heterotopia’ which are sacred or
forbidden places reserved for the individual in time of crisis. Foucault also mentioned that
‘crisis heterotopia’ are being replaced by ‘heterotopias of deviation’ which are reserved for
individuals with deviants behaviors by the norms and practices of a given the society. He

55
finally attributed to these counter sites the function to create a space of illusion or
compensation:
‘Either their role to create a space of illusion that exposes every real space
, all the sites inside which human life is partitioned…..Or else, on the
contrary, their role is to create space that is other, another real space as
perfect , as meticulous , as well arranged as ours is messy , ill constructed
and jumbled’(Foucault,8).
This new secret place which Tuan , described as the outcome of the individual’s
perception and interaction with space ; and which is also the result of what Westphal
described as a transgression on the macroscopic space , and which Foucault described as a
Heretopic place of intimacy that resist the prevalent classification in the Macroscopic
Space. Was also advanced in the Lefebvreian Schema of ‘Trialectic of Space’ as being the
‘Lived Space’, which accounts for the living experience of the individual. . According to
Lefebvre the first and the second space will permit the understanding of the ideology and
politics behind the conception and the perception of a particular space. However, none
would account for the individual’s contact with that space, especially if we take into
consideration, what Tuan refers to as ‘The Experiential perspective of space’, That is to
say that each and every one would probably have a different representation based on their
interactions and experiences of a space or a place in particular.

56
III.2 The Heretopic Place in Nineteen Eighty Four
As previously suggested the space in Nineteen Eighty Four has been designed as
some sort of a Panopticon, and within the narrative we can witness how the protagonist is
affected by the macroscopic space that has been designed homogenously allowing no
individuality. However, in the second section of the novel the protagonist Winston commits
what Bertrand Westphal referred to as an act of a recurrent transgression on the
homogenous macroscopic space. Westphal argued that the act of ‘Transgressivity’ creates
for the individual a zone of intimacy, guarded against external intrusions:
‘This is a secret space, space of hyperbaton one where the individual
deploys a supplemental personal truth, protected from the eyes of the world
and from the prescriptions of the code. This tension between a normatively
sanctioned unity and the need for freedom emerging at the margins of the
law.’ (Westphal,44)
Accordingly by committing this transgression on the homogenous space which is
designed as a Panopticon Winston found an intimate place which procured a marginal
space of freedom. Thus through this act of repeated transgression he created a counter-site
that contrasted with the Panopticon architecture imposed by the Government of INGSOC.
In the novel this new place of freedom was the room he rented above the antique shop,
which became the protagonist’s zone of intimacy, and which from the protagonist
perspective; clearly contrasted with scrutiny prevailing in Oceania. In the light of Tuan’s
distinction between space and place, we may conclude that this new microscopic space that
resulted from the Protagonist transgression on the Panopticon space engendered what Tuan
referred to as a ‘Place’, because this new counter-site had a distinct atmosphere and an aura
that opposed the other spaces in the novel which is further illustrated by Winston’s
interaction and perception of the room. In this room the protagonist started having what
Tuan referred to as ‘The Experiential perspective of space’, which involves the interaction

57
with a space with all our modes of perceptions. And the minute description of the warmth
and friendly atmosphere is what turned the room above the antique shop form a space to a
place with an aura of its own.
III.3 The Features of the Heretopic Place in the novel
The ‘Place’ that resulted from the protagonist transgression on the Panopticon space
and which emerged as a counter- site that contrasted the other spaces in the Orwellian
London , is introduced towards the end of the first section . However it was not until the
second section of the novel that the protagonist made the move to rent the room and it was
encouraged by his love affair with Julia and their need for a private and a safe place as
mentioned in the novel (Orwell 172). Winston was aware that by renting this room , he was
committing a transgression on the homogenous space as he described his act of renting the
room as being madness , ‘conscious gratuitous suicidal folly’(Orwell173), but the desire
for privacy and the temptation of having a hiding place was stronger than the fear of being
caught. Thus we may say that by committing what Westphal termed as ‘Transgressivity’
on the homogenous space that has been designed as a Panopticon, Winston opened the door
to a new a place which stood as a counter site in the Orwellian London and in the
Foucauldian term the room above Mr Charrington’s shop has become his Heretopic place.
In the eighth chapter of the second section of the novel we follow the protagonist
as his thoughts were wandering while his feet brought him subconsciously to the Prole’s
area and more precisely outside the junk- shop where he had bought his diary. The author
explains that Winston was drawn to this place in spite of the danger of being seen or caught
by the police in these quarters. As the protagonist enters the shop, Orwell describes the
unclean but friendly smell of the shop, he also describes the dusty frames on the walls and

58
the unfamiliar and beautiful objects which seemed to belong to a different age from the
present one (Orwell 121). After his interaction with Mr. Charrington ; the owner of the
Junk-shop ;Winston is invited to see the room upstairs. The author begins by providing a
description of the geographic placement of the room which faced a yard instead of the main
street, which appears to contrast the geographic position and the Panopticon architecture
of his flat of in Victory Mansion. The author also gave a minute description of the room
with its Victorian furniture, which also contrasted with the austerity described in his flat or
his cubicle:
The room did not give on the street, but looked out on a cobbled yard and
a forest of chimney-pots. Winston noticed that the furniture was still
arranged as though the room were meant to be lived in. There was a strip
of carpet in the floor, a picture or two on the wall, and a deep slatternly
arm-chair drawn up to the fir place (Orwell 121).
The Description of the room above the antique shop came as a clear contrast to the
cold and grimy space of the protagonist under INGSOC governance. The room was
described as being designed to be lived in, it was inviting and seemed to be an answer to
Winston’s questions about the past as it triggered his nostalgia and awakened his ancestral
memory. And perhaps the most distinguishable feature of this room is the feeling of
privacy and intimacy which was induced by the absence of the gazing and spying of the
‘Telescreens’ ,which was also a manifest contrast with the Panopticon space of
surveillance.
In the warm dim light the place looked curiously inviting…the room had
awakened in him a sort of nostalgia, a sort of ancestral memory. It seemed
to him that he knew exactly what it felt like to sit in a room like this…utterly
alone, utterly secure, with no body watching you , no voice pursuing you
(Orwell, 122)

59
Accordingly if we refer to Michel Foucault’s description of Heretopia, we may
deduce that this new Place that resulted from the protagonist transgression on the
homogenous space in Oceania; holds the features that Foucault attributed to the Hereotopic
space. Considering that the room stands as a counter site which had the property to
contradict the Panopticism created in the Orwellian London. In addition to the most
significant feature of the room is that it had no apparatus of surveillance, and this
particularity provided what Foucault termed as a sphere of intimacy that contrasted with
the rule and regulations imposed by the government. The room above the junk-shop could
be also viewed as a shelter in which the protagonist managed to hide thus it constituted
what Foucault termed as a ‘Crisis Heretopia’ which are places reserved for the individual
in time of crisis or which are reserved for individuals with deviants behaviors by the norms
and practices of a given the society. Likewise in Nineteen Eighty Four Winston was fully
aware of the folly that he was committing when he decided to rent this place, in order to
nurture his love affair with Julia and he was also aware of his deviance from the rules
imposed. Thus we may concluded that the room above the Junk shop is the Heretopic place
in the novel as it is presented as a counter site to the Panopticon architecture in the
Orwellian London, and it has also welcomed the Protagonist in time of crisis, and served
as a shelter to cover up his deviance, and most importantly it created a space of illusion or
compensation a characteristic that Michel Foucault had also attributed to these counter
sites.
III.4 The Impact of the Heretopic place on the Protagonist
The Heretopic place in the novel had a noticeable impact on the protagonist both
physically and psychologically. The physical impact of the Heretopic place on the

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