Department of English and American Studies

Faculty of Arts
Palacký University in Olomouc

Ján Čollák
English Philology

China Miéville's story "The Foundation" incorporates the motif of corpses to reflect on the
consequences of existence of the unconscious and repressed influences.

Mgr. Tomáš Roztočil

English Language 1

The Final Assignment AJC1

 (China Miéville’s Foundation)

The topic of death contains a certain level of mystery and appears not only to evoke pure

negative emotions, yet a specific sort of curiosity, as well. China Miéville's “Foundation” introduces

the inconvenient reference of a buried corpse to what we have no power over – the ancestors’

influence and the unconscious. In my essay I am going to demonstrate the prominence between the

central motifs of the story, namely the architectural objects in a dreamscape reality. The story revolves

around the interpretation of key words such as building, attic, basement, and foundation that are

crucial to the narrative. I am going to analyze the protagonist's relationship with the foundation, which

is the most significant element, and the role of attic and basement in dreamscape interpretation which

are one of the crucial components. My objective is going to be to state the foundation's function in the

story and its associated features representing the presence of the unconscious, defining the correlation

between its characteristics and its resulting impact.

In Miéville’ story Foundation, the motif of the architectural objects plays a major role taking

in consideration the calling for perceiving the story as the dreamscape reality. The fundamental

vocabulary for the text is above all the words, building, attic, basement, and foundation, of course. The

backbone for the further analysis is undoubtedly the interpretation of the terms building followed

immediately by the recognition of the role of the words attic and basement in dreamscape reading.

Their tendency is to work closely with the unconscious and oneself.

A building as a symbol reflecting the existence of a self1, points directly to the attic and the

basement as the marginal spaces, therefore as the room for storage. Speaking in the terms of

psychology and mental representations, it is valid to find them to be the representation of the

unconscious. The word attic appears only once in the initial parts in the story, yet in the context refers

rather to a room that is being hauled into, what emphasizes the dominant significance of the metaphor

of the underground space. It is only logical then, to evaluate basement as the crucial element, where its

importance comes from the power it possesses thanks to the potential of the impact it will eventually

have on the course of all of the following events.

1
Raymond W. Gibbs Jr., Bodily Action and Metaphorical Meaning, vol. 36, 3 vols., Style (Penn State
University Press, 2002), https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5325/style.36.3.524.
 The function of the foundation in the work and its accompanying characteristics serving as the

presence of the unconscious are key for defining the relation between its features and its subsequent

influence. The protagonist’s relation to the foundation is rather close and trustworthy, he talks to it

authentically what brings up the question of who can be the foundation seen as. In several parts of the

text, it appears evident that the foundation is created by dead corpses. Death itself and the non-living

state of the post mortal collective character in the story is a metaphor for the deceased ancestors. The

affect that they have is an ongoing and permanent influence performed through their actions despite

their physical departure which is a realization one of the concepts of family.2

Preconditioning my reading with the two mentioned realities, the uprising dilemma is the form

of the communication between the protagonist and the foundation questioning what role does the form

play in the whole structure. The main character and the foundation often transmit ideas, which hardly

represent real talk, with each other accompanied by the term whisper. He seems to acquire a certain

level of importance when speaking to the foundation using a personification due to hearing its “voice”.

However, as for the side of the foundation, there is a noticeable level of manipulation and influence,

which repeatedly designate a similarity between how the foundation affects the protagonist and the

way one is influenced by the ancestors, family members and all the situations which have already

happened, the consequences drawn from them and cannot be changed by us.

Following key for the thorough understanding of the work, a special attention needs to be

drawn to the defense mechanisms of the protagonist and how they collaborate spite their variety. The

boldest defense the character prefers to use is avoidance portrayed in numerous scenarios throughout

the text. Such an approach is seen in the case of his emotional state when he is expected to descend

deeper to the basement and finds himself to be nervy and tense. The possibility to sense the voices of

those who are no more among us evokes fear and discomfort within him and creates the strong

compulsion to escape from the place. The avoidant attitude also occurs in the topic of family, which

apparently left him. An emotional harm of such intensity accordingly builds the expectation to

encounter more detail about the particular topic yet is not fulfilled throughout the whole text. The

structure of the story, therefore, avoids this theme and intends not to let the reader know more.
2
Lois Tyson, Using Critical Theory: How to Read and Write about Literature (New York: Routledge,
2011), 83.
 Alongside with the absolute refusion of the occurrence of the abandonment he has experienced

by his family, the main character appears to recognize yet not accept the alienation he is confronted

with. The part of the text which speaks about the protagonist’s desire for the foundation not to exist is

distinct by the metaphorical quality and syntactic uniqueness of the paragraph. The story uses a fine

number of symbols which are related to the indigenous communities. Evidently, their most common

realization of shelter, tents, omit any possibility to contain basement, what indicates the main

character’s profound want to exclude the foundation with the along-coming issues.

The main cause for the character’s dysfunctional behavior hides in his emotional instability

which finds in it root to be the feeling of guilt and regret. Having been led by the foundation and

contributing to a murder is an act which seems to be unacceptable for the main character and hence

makes him transfer this event to the unconscious, what explains the postponing of the mentioning of

the events to a latter part of the story. It is then an element which has impact on the character’s

behavior from the unconscious, more specifically, creates pressure and causes emotional lability of the

main character.

In summary, "Foundation" by China Miéville highlights the crucial role of architecture in its

metaphorical sense and its influence on the protagonist's psyche. The foundation's existence and

manipulation serve as a permanent impact on the protagonist, reflecting the actions of the ancestors.

The defense mechanisms employed by the protagonist, mainly avoidance, showcase his emotional

state and his strong desire to exclude the foundation and any associated issues. The use of symbols

related to indigenous communities adds depth to the character of the protagonist. This science fiction

tale is thought-provoking, delving into the limits of human knowledge and the impact of the

unconscious on human behavior.

 Bibliography
Tyson, Lois. Critical Theory Today: A User-Friendly Guide. Third edition. Milton Park, Abingdon,
Oxon ; New York, NY: Routledge, 2015.
———. Using Critical Theory: How to Read and Write about Literature. New York: Routledge, 2011.
W. Gibbs Jr., Raymond. Bodily Action and Metaphorical Meaning. Vol. 36. 3 vols. Style. Penn State
University Press, 2002. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5325/style.36.3.524.