『그 지방의 관습』에서 ‘진짜’와 예술과 몸의 상품화
‘Authenticity’ and the Commodification of Art and Body in The Custom of the Country
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In Edith Wharton’s The Custom of the Country, the aboriginal New York High Society and French aristocracy are being invaded by the nouveau-riche capitalists. The Aborigines value their possessions associated with their family tradition as ‘authentic’ heirlooms that are not fungible. On the other hand, the Invaders can not build a strong bond with their possessions and regard them as fungible commodities. The Invaders’ purchase of the Aborigines’ heirlooms and works of art is the acquisition of status symbol as well as an act of speculation that inflates the monetary value of art commodities. By marrying Undine Spragg, an invading nouveau riche, Ralph Marvell and Raymond de Chelles seek to preserve their ‘authentic’ heirlooms and works of art. However, Undine subjects them to the market as fungible commodities. Undine’s insatiable and ceaseless pursuit of ‘the best’ makes her an equivalent for greedy capitalism. As a ruthless capitalist, Undine trades herself and her son as a commodity to get ‘the best’ she wants. At the same time, she effectively demolishes obsolete structure of Aborigines’ taboos, rites, sanctions, and fossilized tradition that constitutes their authenticity, exposes their snobbishness and hypocrisy, and accelerates their extinction triggered by their failure to adjust to the capitalist economy.
Abstract
In Edith Wharton’s The Custom of the Country, the aboriginal New York High Society and French aristocracy are being invaded by the nouveau-riche capitalists. The Aborigines value their possessions associated with their family tradition as ‘authentic’ heirlooms that are not fungible. On the other hand, the Invaders can not build a strong bond with their possessions and regard them as fungible commodities. The Invaders’ purchase of the Aborigines’ heirlooms and works of art is the acquisition of status symbol as well as an act of speculation that inflates the monetary value of art commodities. By marrying Undine Spragg, an invading nouveau riche, Ralph Marvell and Raymond de Chelles seek to preserve their ‘authentic’ heirlooms and works of art. However, Undine subjects them to the market as fungible commodities. Undine’s insatiable and ceaseless pursuit of ‘the best’ makes her an equivalent for greedy capitalism. As a ruthless capitalist, Undine trades herself and her son as a commodity to get ‘the best’ she wants. At the same time, she effectively demolishes obsolete structure of Aborigines’ taboos, rites, sanctions, and fossilized tradition that constitutes their authenticity, exposes their snobbishness and hypocrisy, and accelerates their extinction triggered by their failure to adjust to the capitalist economy.
참고문헌 (28)
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