Fictionalizing division: The urban landscapes of Belfast, Beirut and Berlin

Abstract

In contemporary literature, divided cities still inspire authors from different cultural backgrounds. Like Belfast, the traditional setting of the so-called ‘Troubles novel’, Beirut and Berlin have given rise to a great number of narratives. Over the years, the three internally partitioned cities have turned into symbols of political disunion. Despite their different histories, they share a wide range of features central to divided cities. The cities’ contrasting socio-political environments have generated specific territorialities, which determine their respective urban layout; whereas in Belfast ‘peacelines’, murals and kerbstone paintings have separated working-class Catholic and Protestant residents since the outbreak of the Troubles in 1968. In Beirut, seventeen years of civil war have created a volatile demarcation line, turning the city into a sectarian labyrinth. In Berlin, on the contrary, ‘the Wall’ divided the urban landscape into east and west for twenty-eight years and served to keep two clashing ideological systems apart. Regardless of their political and historical differences, Belfast, Beirut and Berlin have been equally maimed by physical segregation, which became etched into the fabric of the urban space. In each city, particular territories take on specific symbolic and psychological meanings.