In any given city, what role does time play? In what ways does the storyteller use time to convey an impression of the city?
Reading about Eutropia (64-65), there’s a weird sense of simultaneity, of several things occurring at one moment- as seen in the quote “not one but all these cities together”. At the same time there’s also a sense of temporariness, since the entire population decides to move to another city in the same territory as Eutropia, and completely change their lives- they also find different ways to spend their time, and different people to spend it with. Everyone does someone else’s job so the total number of jobs remain the same.
Eutropia then is the new city, identical to the old Eutropia but for the location. The role of time is therefore arbitrary, it’s based on feeling, almost whimsical. It feels almost surreal, with no concrete concept of the passage of time. It also seems like the way people spend their time is based on their desire as opposed to necessity, they do whichever jobs they like, talk to whoever they want.
The author uses the word “renewed” which implies a sort of life span to the city. Ironically, the author also creates a sense of monotony, since “inhabitants repeat the same scenes, with the actors changed;”, and a cyclical pattern, as people move in “rotation”. So while a single person might live manhy different lives, the population as a whole performs the same functions. There’s a big difference between the macro and the micro, with time passing continuously if you look closely but seeming to stand still if you look at the larger picture. I loved the mythological reference to Mercury, the Roman god of travel (among other things) who is associated with the “fickle”. The author’s use of metaphor (acting and scenes) as well as the implication of temporariness in the mythological reference create two opposing senses of time- one of constant change and one of the mundane and routine. I’m not sure I would like to stay in Eutropia, but maybe that’s the point.