University space in the novel “On Beauty” by Z. Smith

Abstract

The article examines Z. Smith’s novel “On Beauty” (2005) in the context of the university novel tradition. In general, the writer adheres to the framework of tradition, reproducing typical plot situations in novels of this kind, describing the university environment, conflicts of interests in the teaching environment and relationships with students. One of the central characters of the novel, Howard Belsey, finds himself in a typical situation for a university professor experiencing an age crisis of family breakdown, which is also characteristic of the plots of such novels. The innovation of Zadie Smith is that she raises the issue of the university environment isolation, its social, racial and moral aspects. At the level of space, this idea is expressed in the emphasis on the closeness of the university space and the ways of penetration through its boundaries. The image of Karl Thomas, a young black trespasser of the University of Wellington, raises issues about the possibilities for young and free racially different people of finding a place for themselves in early twenty-first century American society. Particular attention is paid to the description of the university space in the novel in relation to other types of space.