The city as metaphor: constructing space meaning

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to analyse a picturebook – A Cidade [The City], by Inês Fonseca Santos and Beatriz Bagulho – that deals with a symbolic city since it refers to a single building: a cultural centre in the heart of Lisbon. Aimed at promoting the Centro Cultural de Belém (CCB) [Cultural Centre of Belém] and its cultural activities among young readers, this picturebook depicts the building and its “inhabitants” as a special city, “a city inside a city”, including its history (and anecdotes) and special protagonists. The metaphor used throughout the picturebook reinforces the idea of space cohesion and identity, a sort of a unique ecosystem where art and people can be together. Combining facts and fiction, this picturebook is also distinguished by the way it promotes the idea of an urban setting as a child-friendly space, an uncommon idea in Portuguese children’s literature.

Keywords

• space
• city
• picturebook
• metaphor
• building