The politics of place: A study of lieux de mémoire in Orwell's early novels

This thesis re-evaluates the early fiction of George Orwell—Burmese Days (1934), Keep the Aspidistra Flying (1936), and Coming Up for Air (1939)—as sophisticated "memory texts" whose engagement with the past is central to their literary and political projects. While Orwell's legacy is justifiably defined by his role as a political thinker, this critical focus has often privileged his later masterpieces, framing the early novels as mere precursors. This study challenges that teleological reading by arguing that these formative works contain a complex and evolving exploration of memory, identity, and place that is crucial for understanding Orwell's later work. Employing a theoretical framework from Memory Studies centred on Pierre Nora's concept of lieux de mémoire ("sites of memory"), this thesis analyses how specific physical and symbolic sites function within Orwell's narratives. The analysis reveals a clear developmental trajectory in Orwell's use of memory. Burmese Days stages a conflict between an artificial colonial lieu de mémoire and an organic indigenous milieu de mémoire, a struggle embodied in the personal trauma of its protagonist. Keep the Aspidistra Flying internalises this conflict, presenting a dialectic between a decaying literary past and an aggressive capitalist modernity that results in ideological compromise. Finally, Coming Up for Air charts the failure of nostalgic memory against the traumatic ruptures of the modern world, concluding that no physical or mental sanctuary remains. Ultimately, this study demonstrates that Orwell's early explorations of memory's fallibility, its role in identity formation, and its connection to societal power provide the crucial thematic and psychological groundwork for his later, famous critiques of systemic memory manipulation under totalitarianism. In doing so, this thesis offers a significant re-evaluation of his early fiction, proving its central importance for a more complete understanding of George Orwell's literary method and intellectual development.