Abstract
Theories of place identity provide a foundation for the analysis of identity in an urban context in the novel Phố vẫn gió by Lê Minh Hà. This essay analyzes the architectural spaces in Hanoi after 1975, paying attention to the spontaneous expansion of living-space in urban residential areas. I argue that this kind of living space not only reveals the residents’ desire for personal spaces apart from their neighbors, it also articulates the self’s position toward the natural environment. The analysis of living space expansion focuses on two aspects: first, individuals’ assertion of identity also functions to assert their powers over others; second, identity is not only portrayed exclusively as human beings’ consciousness, but also as the “awareness of the city.” In the struggle between the old and the new Hanoi, the new Hanoi won, which led to the replacement of French-style architectural spaces in the past with grotesque buildings in the present. Exploring the relationship between nature, urban space, and identity adds a new perspective to the literary representation of nature in Vietnamese diaspora literature.
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Notes
- 1.
When I asked Lê Minh Hà in personal exchange why Hanoi is always the setting of her fiction rather than Germany, she queried back, “Why not Hanoi?” This answer implicitly confirms that Hanoi as the storyworld space is her deliberate choice.
- 2.
The Old Town or Old Quarter comprises the unique streets and architecture of old Hanoi. The area is famous for its trade in local handicrafts and traditional medicine. It is also considered the most expensive part of Hanoi.
- 3.
All translations from Vietnamese are mine unless otherwise indicated.
- 4.
The Fall of Paris (1942) by the Russian writer Ilya Ehrenburg describes the decay and collapse of French society between 1935 and 1940.
- 5.
In Vietnam, a four-level house is a construction with a roof and walls for living, with a floor area of less than 1000 square meters and only one level. It is considered the lowest of six levels by the Vietnamese and is customarily thought of as temporary, dilapidated, and shabby.
- 6.
Vietnam underwent three currency changes in 1975, 1978, and 1985. In 1975, all currency of the Republic of Vietnam valued at over VND50 was replaced. A second currency change in 1978 was seen as one of the ways to eradicate the capitalist economy of South Vietnam and to reduce the black-market economy. The last currency change in 1985 was part of the government’s wage-salary reform program (for more detail, see Letwin 2014).
- 7.
Price-wage reform is the economic reform in Vietnam in 1985 that transformed the economy into a socialist-oriented market economy. This reform led to the subsequent economic crisis.
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Vy, T.T. (2024). When the City Speaks Up: Nature, City, and Identity in Lê Minh Hà’s Phố vẫn gió. In: Heise, U.K., Pham, C.P. (eds) Environment and Narrative in Vietnam . Literatures, Cultures, and the Environment. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-41184-7_13
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