Author(s): Orçun ALPAY
Although city and text are two words and concepts that seem distant from each other, these two notions are, in fact, closely related. Just as people have a coordinated life with the city in some way, the city also has a living space, created by human beings, although it interacts with human beings by creating its own text through concrete indicators independent from humankind. The fact that post-structuralism perceives the universe (consciousness) as a text and that contemporary linguistics studies suggest that toponyms can create a text as symbols unique to the city brings the city and the text closer together. St. Petersburg, as the face of Russia turning to the West, is one of the most remarkable cities with its cultural and historical values. Showcasing an example of a European city with its creation myth based on a planned construction process, St. Petersburg provides a rich example of text, including signs such as toponyms, culture, architecture, climate, and landmarks. This city has enabled the formation of literary textual signs, with many poets and writers living in Petersburg and taking the city as a subject during the period from the Russian Age of Enlightenment to the 20th century. While Bitov bids farewell to the city on its way to immortality by treating the city as a museum through these signs belonging to both material culture and literary-artistic heritage, he also makes an implicit reference to its inaccessibility.
The study aims to examine the urban text of St. Petersburg through the postmodern novel titled Pushkin House by Andrei Bitov. K
The Journal of International Social Research received 7760 citations as per Google Scholar report
