Mediterranean
This is the Mediterranean region. It includes texts set in southern Europe, Asia Minor,
and Northern Africa. The Mediterranean is its function as a holiday destination, but also
as a link between north and south, east and west. This is reflected in the events mainly
associated with Mediterranean beaches: leisure activities, such as bathing and swimming,
but also encounters, arrivals, and departures. Despite the prominence of vacationscape,
literary scenes set on Mediterranean beaches are shaped by contemplative and foreboding
moods. This suggests that the Mediterranean is an ambivalent space, a site of tension in
which different interests grapple with each other and in which carefree holiday
atmospheres can quickly tip into something more sinister.