The Fragility of Identity in Paul Auster's City of Glass

Introduction

Identity is what makes you, you. The social aspect of identity plays a big part in who we see ourselves as. Our identity can be influenced by many factors. Culture, environment, family, friends, colleagues, and groups we associate ourselves with makeup who we are. These factors are the very core of what makes up an individual. However, if we lose these key factors of ourselves, our perception on what or who we are becomes skewed. Everyone searches for a sense of belonging to find their identity. In the novel, City of Glass, Paul Auster explores the perception of personal identity and how it may be distorted through external factors.

The Spiraling Maze of Identity

Danial Quinn is a 35-year-old writer who lost his identity the day his family died. Quinn’s sense of belonging was his family. As a husband and father, he was able to fulfill his purpose in life. When that was taken from him, Quinn led an exhaustingly empty life. He lost his sense of belonging and spent his days walking around the streets of New York without purpose. As a result, Quinn portrays an alternate persona as another man to escape his original identity. In that, he loses his friends, his creativity, and will to write. From the chain of events that Quinn faces in the beginning, he struggles to establish the core of who he is. Auster explains that “Quinn was no longer that part of him that could write books, and although in many ways Quinn continued to exist, he no longer existed for anyone but himself” (Auster 5). In this passage, Quinn is going through the motions of his life but he is not living. In order for an individual to have a strong sense of identity, they need to live in a world where they can apply their passions. Furthermore, the very core of his life was taken from him and he loses a vast majority of what made up his identity. He had no one to live for but himself meaning he no longer has anyone left to care about or care for him. Auster suggests that Quinn lives for himself yet has nothing to live for. The spiraling maze of Quinn’s identity leads him to seek out the essence of his personal identity throughout the rest of the book.

Auster conveys Quinn’s identity as fluid. Meaning that Quinn has the ability to change his perceptions through time and his views of himself and the world are always evolving. In the event of getting the call from Peter Stillman, Quinn discovers an opportunity to live his life as someone else. Just like his first alternate personality, William Wilson, Quinn is able to escape his identity as Danial Quinn and step inside for a chance at a new life. The phone call opened up a new window for him to have a purpose and a sense of belonging. As Detective Paul Auster, Quinn has found a distraction from the emptiness of his own life. By taking on the project to find Peter’s father, he can let the life of his new persona take over and he no longer has to be stuck inside the emptiness of the person he used to be. Nevertheless, any individual with a clear sense of personal identity would most likely not be so inclined to make up or pretend to be someone they are not.

Daniel Quinn discovered a new sense of purpose by helping Peter Stillman with the case. He was able to come out of the darkness he was once trapped in and finally get on with his life. Quinn’s identity goes through an extensive journey throughout this novel and his well-being reflects the external factors that he faces. After Quinn takes on his new identity as Auster, his world begins to light up and we see some changes to his life that play a crucial part of his sense of identity. Perhaps Quinn had ulterior motives to help Stillman. Instead of taking on the role of a detective and gaining new perspectives on life itself, Quinn decided to find Stillman's father and help him out because he couldn't help his family. He is making up for the loss of his own family and he needs to play his part as Auster because of the guilt that he feels toward his identity. By accepting this task that Stillman has given him, Quinn would be able to fulfill his purpose of helping a stranger in place of his lost loved ones. We see a spark of hope in Quinn’s character when he purchases the red notebook for the case. Immediately after he buys it, he cleans off his desk in order to begin his entries. This suggests that Quinn is beginning to have a sense of identity because he is clearing his mind of all of his dark thoughts and he is finding his purpose. Additionally, instead of signing the book as his newfound identity, he signs it as D.Q. The author explains that “It was the first time in more than five years that he had put his own name in one of his notebooks.” (Auster 47) and this is a sign that for Quinn, this quest isn't about fulfilling the life of a new identity, it is fulfilling his own identity.

Although it seems as though Quinn's life and identity had been taking a drastic turn for the better, it is short-lived. Nearing the end of the investigation, Quinn loses track of Stillman's father, and his obsession with this case was lost. He begins to fall into his old patterns after his family died and this takes a toll on his well-being. “This period of growing darkness coincided with the dwindling pages in the red notebook. Little by little, Quinn was coming to the end.” (Auster 156) Auster is suggesting that somehow, the red notebook and the loss of Quinn’s identity go hand in hand. With his obsession with writing in it, the pages in the notebook diminish. The notebook represents Quinn's identity and as soon as the red notebook is full, he no longer has a purpose and in turn, he loses his sense of personal identity. Daniel Quinn is becoming lost into oblivion. His descent into madness was a result of things that were beyond his control.

Conclusion

The way Auster displays identity in this novel is an excellent representation of how it is so easy to lose the core of your identity. Quinn was adamant on keeping his original life intact, however, because of the events that took place, he was unable to save himself from the loss of his identity. After losing himself time and time again, he ended up as no one. In the Paul Auster’s City of Glass, we are taken through a journey of Daniel Quinn's loss of personal identity and how it was lost because of external factors beyond his control.