An Analysis Of Space And Subjectivity In Big Little Lies

The American series Big Little Lies produced by HBO are adapted from the 2014 novel of the same name by Liane Moriarty.The series revolves around three heroines and their families living in Monterey.From the perspective of Henry Lefebvre’s space theory,and in combination with the characters and plots in Big Little Lies,this paper discusses the construction of subjectivity of the heroines in Big Little Lies.In The Production of Space,Lefebvre divides space into perceived space,conceived space and lived space.This thesis analyzes the construction of subjectivity of the three heroines in the American series Big Little Lies from the perceived space,conceived space and lived space.The main body of this thesis is divided into three chapters.The first chapter analyzes the predicament of the heroines from the perspective of perceived space.They are confined to family space and they bear most of the responsibilities of family.The second chapter analyzes that heroines are oppressed by patriarchal society from the perspective of conceived space.Under the oppression of male discourse and domestic violence,they develop their subjectivity and get rid of violence and oppression.The third chapter analyzes the construction of the heroines’ subjectivity in lived space.Lived space is a space of resistance.The heroines break the spatial structure of male-dominated world through resistance and struggle,and construct female space and subjectivity.This thesis intends to prove that space is connected with the construction of subjectivity.An individual has to engage with spaces in order to develop their own subjectivity.By engaging with perceived,lived and conceived spaces,women can reshape space and construct their subjectivity.