Identitet og ensomhed i Paul Austers 'City of Glass'

In a world filled with losses and sorrow, maybe it is easier to switch between different personalities. Thereby becoming whoever you want to be and even create a new person if you miss something in your life. But what if you pretend to be another person only because you need a distraction from the real you? Is that right? In the fictional novel “City of glass,” from 1985, written by Paul Auster, the main character named Quinn is confronted with exactly this dilemma. Quinn lives an isolated life, but it has not always been like that, once he was married and had a son, but unfortunately, they passed away. He lives a life as the isolated Quinn, the writer William Wilson and later he gets a life changing call and chooses to take on a third personality. More specific he chooses to be a private detective called Paul Auster. Therefore one of the main themes in the novel is identity.

Quinn is a 35-year-old man who was married once and had a son. But both have now passed away. A part of him died with his family and perhaps that is a reason, why he feels isolated and empty. Now he wants to live a dull life as a man who loves the modest life in a small apartment despite from his income as we can read on page 3, around line 19.