The Dispersed City: The Pilgrimage of Arsenije Njegovan by Borislav Pekić in Light of the Urban Revolution

Abstract

The Pilgrimage of Arsenije Njegovan by Borislav Pekic, considered to be the first urban novel in Serbian literature, is analysed from the standpoint of literary anthropology and urban theory. The obsession of the main character is buildings he owns actually as well as symbolically in Belgrade. A distinctive philosophical transformation between a perfect city, urban development and ownership is confronted not only by the prevailing reality of industrial society, but also by urban tendencies within the consciousness of the character. His reasoning and actions reflect the “pulse” of the era toward which he displays resistance on conscious and theoretical planes, despite the impression that he is rather quietly hospitable to it. The novel is analysed in the context of Henri Lefebvre’s metaphor of “The Dispersed City.”