Revisiting Literature/Audiovisual Adaptation and Transposition Operations from the Notions of “World” and “Platform-Agnostic Narratives”. The Case of What Are You Going Through and The Room Next Door

Abstract

This study explores the relationship between Sigrid Nunez’s novel What Are You Going Through and Pedro Almodóvar’s film The Room Next Door examining them through the lenses of adaptation, transposition, and platform-agnostic narratives, applying the concept of "world" (Tosca and Klastrup, 2020; Romero 2025) to analyze both works as distinct medial instances within the same narrative universe.

Initially, a detailed comparative characterization examines significant differences between the novel and the film concerning characters, plot, and narrative structure. Nunez’s novel, narrated in first person by a writer accompanying a friend with terminal cancer towards an assisted death, employs a fragmented and reflective structure. Conversely, Almodóvar restructures the source material to suit cinematic language, significantly expanding certain conflicts and secondary characters, notably emphasizing the mother-daughter conflict and legal implications surrounding assisted suicide.

The study critically addresses Almodóvar’s creative decisions, especially regarding substantial changes such as the dramatic aftermath of Martha’s death, introducing new characters and scenarios absent from the novel. This analysis explores how these alterations influence audience perception and narrative experience.

Subsequently, the theoretical analysis reexamines adaptation/transposition from classical notions (Andrew, 1984; McFarlane, 1996; Wolf, 2001), contrasted with a contemporary approach based on transmedial worlds theory (Tosca and Klastrup, 2020; Romero, 2025). It argues that beyond the traditional fidelity debate, adaptation should be considered a specific instantiation within a transmedial world, operating upon its "worldliness" defined by its mythos, ethos, and topos.

Finally, the article underscores the significance of intertextualities employed by Nunez and Almodóvar, identifying key cultural influences such as Ingmar Bergman, Simone Weil, Alfred Hitchcock, and explicit visual references (Wyeth, Houston) as integral components of the comparative analysis.