Paul Auster’s postmodern characters: a relativistic/referential dichotomy

Abstract

Paul Auster is one of the most widely studied postmodern authors and his novels have been extensively used as paradigmatic examples of the fiction of this movement. In the light of the recent theoretical debate about the passing of postmodernism, it seems fundamental to explore the way in which Auster conceives the nature of this paradigm, the problems it arises and their possible solutions. The aim of this article is to analyse two recurring types of characters from the Austerian universe that represent two great sources of influence on the novelist: Ludwig Wittgenstein’s philosophy and the ideas from American transcendentalism