The house you grew up in is important because of all of the places you could hide in it. Like the garret, for instance, or the attic, or the cellar. These hiding places were places of enclosure and protection, making them perfect for day-dreaming. According to Gaston Bachelard in his book Poetics of Space, day-dreaming is important for the health of children. Dreaming of our childhood hiding places brings us back to those places and the day dreams we had there. In each of these hiding spaces, since we can't exactly remember the thoughts we had there, the characteristics of the spaces become symbolic. The attic, with it's height, and strong geometry will have corresponding thoughts. The cellar speaks of the subterranean depths of our sub-conscious.
I have never visited the attic, because I'm afraid of the bats living there, and because of catching the dreaded asbestosis. I spent some time in the basement, though, underneath the stairs, with a talking lion. He would eat grapes and shit everywhere.
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2 comments:
Good post! "The house you grew up in is important because of all of the places you could hide in it." - wow that hits me with force. Yes, that is very true.
Jorg, I positively love you!
I loooved 2 houses I grew up in - until we moved again in the 4th grade. The first house I remember had servants' stairs, built in dressers in the wall (and I could move about them from the inside), a big ass double sided fireplace between the living room and the sunroom - that house was BLISS for a daydreamer kid!
The second house wasn't as cool, but I loved my big closet and the basement - AND the attic. That house was the house we lived in when I had my first vivid nightmare.
Anyway, in 4th grade we moved again, to a boring little house in the 'burbs. Good schools, all that shite.
But I still dream of the first house, and I am positive it sparked my early interest in architecture!
Oh - and I'm really glad the crack and gun wielding meetings don't mix!!
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