Abstract

This article explores the representation of lived life in the house in Willa Cather’s The Professor’s House (1925). It uncovers how the house moves bodies and affects moods that create individual meaning but also reflect broader responses to modernity. The article argues, in line with recent architectural scholarship, that literature, especially “middlebrow” fiction that would reach a large audience, is productive for understanding atmospheres. Using Bille and Simonsen (2021 Bille, Mikkel, and Kirsten Simonsen. 2021. “Atmospheric Practices: On Affecting and Being Affected.” Space and Culture 24(2): 295–309.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) concept of “atmospheric practices” as a key theoretical framing, the article shows how interactions with the house are deeply dependent on moods (such as anxiety, curiosity, nostalgia), and that practices performed in and with the house (walking down the stairs, sitting working, opening windows etc.) transmit affects that, in turn, determines the body’s movement.

摘要

本文探讨了威拉·凯瑟 (Willa Cather) 的《教授之家》 (1925)中对房子里生活的表现。它揭示了房子如何移动身体并影响情绪，从而创造个人意义，但也反映了对现代性的更广泛的反应。这篇文章认为，与最近的建筑学研究相一致，文学，尤其是能够吸引大量读者的“中庸”小说，对于理解气氛是富有成效的。使用比勒和西蒙森（2021 比勒、米克尔和克尔斯滕·西蒙森。2021 年。“氛围实践：关于影响和被影响。” 空间与文化24(2): 295 – 309。[Crossref]、[Web of Science®]  、[Google Scholar]）将“氛围实践”概念作为关键的理论框架，文章展示了与房子的互动如何深深依赖于情绪（例如焦虑、好奇、怀旧） ，并且在房子内和与房子一起进行的练习（走下楼梯、坐着工作、打开窗户等）会传递影响，进而决定身体的运动。