I Close My Eyes, and I Travel: Imaginary Travel in Susan Sontag’s Play Alice in Bed

Abstract

Susan Sontag’s 1993 play Alice in Bed focuses on Alice James, a historical figure from the 19th century who, despite having a privileged education and lifestyle, was unable to fulfill her own dreams. She lived in the shadow of her novelist brother Henry James and her other famous brother, psychologist, and thinker William James. Drawing from Alice James’ diaries published posthumously, Sontag breathes life into her, concentrating on the times when she was bedridden in her sickroom in London, having struggled with illness for most of her life. The sixth scene of the play is set entirely in Alice’s mind and depicts an imaginary journey to Rome. This scene can be considered as a distinct genre in literature, is privileged in narratives of imaginary travel, and points to the efforts a socially very precarious woman in the 19th century made to construct an autonomous identity.

Keywords

• imaginary travel
• woman and travel in the 19th century
• The Grand Tour
• f lâneuse
• psychogeography

Gözlerimi Kaparım, Seyahatimi Yaparım: Susan Sontag’ın Alice Yatakta Adlı Oyununda Hayalî Seyahat

Abstract

Susan Sontag’ın 1993’te kaleme aldığı tiyatro oyunu Alice in Bed (Alice Yatakta), tarihi bir figürü, on dokuzuncu yüzyılda yaşayıp aldığı ayrıcalıklı eğitime ve sahip olduğu yaşam standartlarına rağmen kendini gerçekleştirme fırsatı bulamayan, romancı ağabeyi Henry James ve diğer meşhur ağabeyi psikolog ve düşünür William James’in gölgesinde kalan Alice James’i konu alır. Alice James’in ölümünden sonra yayımlanan günlüklerinden faydalanarak bu oyunu yazan Sontag, ömrünün çoğunu hastalıklarla boğuşarak geçiren Alice James’e Londra’daki hasta odasında, artık yatağa bağımlı olduğu zamanlara odaklanarak ses ve hayat verir. İki sahnesi tamamen Alice’in zihninde geçen oyunun altıncı sahnesi, hayalî bir Roma seyahatini konu alır. Edebiyatta başlı başına bir tür olarak değerlendirilebilecek hayalî seyahat anlatılarına ayrıcalıklı bir biçimde dahil olan bu sahne, on dokuzuncu yüzyılda toplumsal açıdan son derece güvencesiz bir konumda olan kadının özerk bir kimlik inşası çabasına işaret eder.

Keywords

• hayalî seyahat
• on dokuzuncu yüzyılda kadın ve seyahat
• Büyük Tur
• flâneuse
• psikocoğrafya

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