This article examines the artistic representation of social space in the works of Theodore Dreiser and Hector Malot. The main aim of the study is to identify the function of urban and rural settings in revealing the charactersʼ lives, their social position, and the problem of economic inequality. The research problem is based on the interpretation of literary space not merely as a physical location where events take place, but as an important poetic device that conveys social meaning. The study applies comparative-typological, contextual, and literary analysis methods. The analysis shows that Dreiserʼs depiction of poor urban quarters reflects the difficult living conditions of the working class, while Malotʼs representation of rural villages reveals the hardships of peasant life. The findings demonstrate that both writers use spatial description within the tradition of realism and connect it with poverty, social stratification, and human destiny. The article concludes that literary space performs a semantic function and becomes one of the main artistic means of revealing the psychological and social condition of the characters.