Italian to English Art/Literary Poetry & Literature Character narration

In a description of how he grew into becoming a writer, this character likens his younger self to a character being developed by a writer-creator. At one point this writer-creator gave up writing to become an actor, leaving young character at fear of neglect and incompleteness. He discusses the wholeness of other well-established characters in fiction:

Me la sono vista davvero brutta. Lo spazio, già angusto di per sé, che mi ero guadagnato con tanta fatica, cominciò a pullulare di possidenti russi dai nomi irripetibili, di re sanguinari, di emarginati dalla battuta facile


Is he saying that he had to fight to gain space or a place amongst these other ugly characters?