Motion, Change and Discontinuity in David Lodge’s Changing Places (1975)

Abstract

This paper aims to show that the suitability of the title of Lodge’s novel, "Changing Places", transcends the surface level meaning of the story it purports to reflect. In its referentiality, this title is far from restrictive. The concept of motion it suggests can be found in the interactions between characters, but also at an emotional and textual level. I argue that movement and change prevail in the novel. The analeptic references, and peripatetic nature of the story, as well as the shifts of identity noticed in the protagonists, among others, are very telling as to the place devoted to movement and change. Also, Lodge’s different narrative techniques disrupt the narrative linear progression.

Keywords

• changing places
• david lodge
• irony
• intertextuality
• movement
• postmodern novel