THE MACHINE AND THE OCEAN: THE IMAGE OF THE TRANSATLANTIC STEAMSHIP IN BULGARIAN TRAVELOGUES FROM THE 1920S AND 1930S

Abstract

The paper focuses on the image of the transatlantic steamship presented in Bulgarian travelogues, which were published in the 1920s and 1930s and which narrated the journey to North and South America. The steamship is seen not only as an opportunity for the traveller to overcome the distance between two ocean ports, but also as a certain type of travelling experience and as a modern achievement which represents a technical and social improvement. Life on the steamship is presented as providing a complete sociocultural space, which aims to give maximum comfort and cosines for the passenger on the long journey between The Old and The New World.