nancylebov (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
nancylebov) wrote2014-03-26 01:23 pm
nancylebov) wrote2014-03-26 01:23 pm
Imagination and time travel
"What is the first example of a story in which people travel in time to the past?"
This is fun in itself, but it also reminds me of a question: is there anything substantial written about people imagining themselves in the past? What parts of their identity do people keep stable? Is imagining oneself in the past a fairly modern invention? Is there a difference between "I can imagine myself in times and places that members of my group(s) were" vs. "I can imagine myself in any part of the past"?
This is a rather psychological take on the question, but a literary version could make sense-- what's going on in stories about going into the past?
This is fun in itself, but it also reminds me of a question: is there anything substantial written about people imagining themselves in the past? What parts of their identity do people keep stable? Is imagining oneself in the past a fairly modern invention? Is there a difference between "I can imagine myself in times and places that members of my group(s) were" vs. "I can imagine myself in any part of the past"?
This is a rather psychological take on the question, but a literary version could make sense-- what's going on in stories about going into the past?