HOME: A PLACE TO CALL MY OWN? INVESTIGATING THE QUESTION OF A “JUST” HOME THROUGH LITERATURE

In an ever more interconnected and "liquid" society, we see the spaces that we consider to be our "homes" - whether that be our houses themselves, our cities, or our nations - becoming party to outside presences. The daily presence of these outside forces within these spaces has forced us to critically re-examine the ways in which we exist in, interact with, and conceptualize our homes. Critically, they demand that we consider the question of justice in the home: what does it mean to create a “just” home? How can we “do justice” to those that find themselves in these spaces? These struggles of cohabitation, between people and outside presences in their homes permeate literature, both ancient and modern. Notably, Odysseus and his family contend with the presence of the suitors in The Odyssey. In a more modern rendition of the archetypal struggle, Loulou struggles with the daily presence of the poets in “Loulou; or, the Domestic Life of the Language”. In this paper, I will contrast the radically different ways of grappling with these forces presented by each text - which in turn informs what each text portrays as the "just" home in the presence of outsiders. Ultimately, I argue that “Loulou; or, the Domestic Life of the Language” gives us a more compelling account of how we can conceptualize and create “just” homes when they are made party to outsiders.