In spaces we live: Representation of space and spatiality in Joyce Carol Oates' Missing Mom

The aim of this thesis is to analyse Joyce Carol Oates' Missing Mom, published in 2005, by focusing on the portrayal of spaces narrated within the novel. In this study, not only the spaces themselves but also the mutual relationship between space and characters, or the spatiality, is scrutinised. This thesis will treat space as a dynamic and layered concept. Literature has long mirrored the ways people live and interact with the spaces they live in, and in Missing Mom, settings such as the family home, the courtroom, and the Windward Inn emerge as symbolic and pivotal in capturing the personal transformation of the protagonist and reflecting cultural connotations associated with these spaces. The conceptual basis of this study is informed by the ideas of Henri Lefebvre, Michel Foucault, Yi-Fu Tuan, and Robert T. Tally Jr., along with thoughts of other significant thinkers who have contributed to spatial thought. By mapping and analysing how spaces act as active participants in shaping the experience of the characters in the novel while being reshaped through the interactions of these characters, this thesis emphasises the reciprocal bond between space and individuals.