Contesting Captive Spaces: A Reading of Emma Donoghue’s Room

Abstract

Experiencing space in its entire manifold is extremely indispensable to human existence. Our everyday life, social and personal relations and idea of the self are somehow defined by space. However, owing to its ambiguous nature space might not always add a smooth dimension to one’s life. Analysing the mesh of complexity and anxietylying underneath the common understanding of space, an attempt is made in this paper to study Emma Donoghue’s Room.Through an examination of its central characters, Ma and Jack, the essay seeks to highlight the trauma borne out of changing spaces.