Abstract
Walking can be understood as a form of performative mapping. Contrary to mimesis and the particular vision of space it entails, methexis designates an experimentation of/in space that pre supposes the presence of the body of the observer. Methexis is a performative principle based on the creation of narrative maps of the progress of bodies through their particular observations of space. By juxtaposing De Certeau’s theory of the “flâneur” and Debord’s idea of psychogeographical drift I shed new light on the aesthetics of walking during the eighteenth century, in particular, regarding texts such as Gay’s Trivia (1716), Defoe’s Moll Flanders (1722), and Journal of the Plague Year (1722).
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 2016 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Peraldo, E. (2016). Walking the Streets of London in the Eighteenth Century: A Performative Art?. In: Benesch, K., Specq, F. (eds) Walking and the Aesthetics of Modernity. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-60364-7_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-60364-7_1
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, New York
Print ISBN: 978-1-137-60282-4
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-60364-7
eBook Packages: Literature, Cultural and Media StudiesLiterature, Cultural and Media Studies (R0)