Abstract
This article offers a semantic analysis of aerial and terrestrial spaces in the aviation narratives of Joseph Kessel and Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. It shows that these two spaces function as opposing poles that shape the heroes’ actions, values, and inner quests. Aerial space is associated with emptiness, altitude, evasion, freedom, elevation, and purification, whereas terrestrial space is linked to fullness, depth, suffocation, malaise, heaviness, and materiality. The study also notes that some terrestrial spaces, especially the desert and wild regions, may acquire positive values when they reconnect the hero with purity, simplicity, and a form of spiritual freedom. The article concludes that the opposition between air and earth structures the characters’ experience and reveals their movement between freedom and confinement.
Recommended Citation
Bouqallal, Nadia
(1988)
"A Semantic Study of Aerial and Terrestrial Spaces in the Aviation Narratives of J. Kessel and A. de Saint-Exupéry,"
Bouhout: Vol. 1:
Iss.
1, Article 15.
Available at:
https://scholarhub.univh2c.ma/bouhout/vol1/iss1/15