Hilary Sheppard - Liminality and The Journal Symbol

Graves focuses his writing on journeys and journey narratives. He mentions liminality, which ties back in with Turner's theory of liminality. Turner describes liminality of a state of in between; it is like the threshold of a doorway and the person is neither in nor out of the room, but rather in the threshold. During this period, everything that had once been a part of the person's life and everything that will be part of a persons life disappear. The person is in a suspended state of being, living in a completely different way than ever before. People who venture into the wilderness often experience this state of liminality because they are leaving their settled life behind, but they are still unsure of what will come after they leave the wilderness. When entering the wilderness, one is stripped of all the material good and pleasures they had in their previous life and begin living a different life. Once they leave the wilderness, their life will once again change. The state of liminality contains none of the aspects of the previous state nor the following state. Grave believes that it is common and almost expected for someone who is embarking on a spiritual journey to undergo liminality.