Liminal Times, Places and Substances in Contemporary Fiction

Liminality is a term which is generally connected to anthropological studies on rituals concerning the in-between state between two spheres of (social) progress. The etymology of the word reflects this, for linamen in Latin stands for threshold. Thus, the symbolic or physical stepping over a threshold or boundary is crucial in examining liminality. However, in my opinion, this term is a much broader and deeper concept which can be applied to several other aspects of life especially because transitoriness is such a typical form of life and that is why I examine liminal times as well as liminal substances. Life in itself is an in-between period, once we are born we literally are “being dead,” our bodies start rotting, we make our first steps towards the grave. Liminality proves to be a useful concept in understanding some (especially contemporary) novels, since these reflect the underlying fears that transitorieness causes in us.Mscanglisztik