This discussion shall focus primarily on the idea of Emile Zola’s novel The Ladies’ Paradise ([1883]2012) and how gender stereotypes are examined within the consumer society of the nineteenth century. The essay shall explore the theory of Karl Marx and consumerism, as well as the idea of femininity being a spectacle itself within society.
The first example of feminine identity being represented within The Ladies’ Paradise ([1883]2012) is the idea of women as a commodity: ‘It was Woman the shops were competing for so fiercely, it was Woman they were continually snaring with their bargains, after dazing her with their displays’ (Zola, [1883]2012, p.76). The fact that these women are being targeted by the marketer gives the illusion that these …show more content…
Tulle and guipure lace were falling from above, forming a white sky, as if veiled by clouds, its flimsy gossamer paling the early morning sun’ (p.419). This imagery of the Ladies’ Paradise directly links to the Great Exhibition in The Crystal Palace of 1851 where retailers of all nations temporarily displayed their goods within the structure to be bought and admired (Hobhouse, 2002). The idea that Zola has replicated the idea to worship and admire the commodity that is displayed across such a beautiful museum is reflected by the entire store in The Ladies’ Paradise. Both the idea for Zola’s paradise and The Crystal Palace was to inspire and dazzle the consumers into feeling as though the goods were commodities and therefore a priceless necessity. Karl Marx explains this commodity fetishism as ‘a definite social relation between men themselves which assumes here, for them, the phantasmagoric form of a relation between things’ (1976, p.165). This phantasmagoria is expressed through The Ladies’ Paradise by the woman’s incessant need to spend and become the commodity. They are immediately attracted both to the architecture of the store being perceived as a ‘white chapel’ as well as by the spectacles that await them inside. However, although this is ultimately empowering for women that are able to relish in the new commodities that are on offer for them, it also suggests that these women are weak minded in the way that they can so easily be manipulated by the men that create such luxuries. The bourgeois approach to the commodity fetishism suggests that these women become almost addicted to these commodities; however, it is possible to detract from Jean Baudrillard’s perspective that these commodities are in fact created for women in order to generate profit for the manufacturer as well as provide the lower
The first example of feminine identity being represented within The Ladies’ Paradise ([1883]2012) is the idea of women as a commodity: ‘It was Woman the shops were competing for so fiercely, it was Woman they were continually snaring with their bargains, after dazing her with their displays’ (Zola, [1883]2012, p.76). The fact that these women are being targeted by the marketer gives the illusion that these …show more content…
Tulle and guipure lace were falling from above, forming a white sky, as if veiled by clouds, its flimsy gossamer paling the early morning sun’ (p.419). This imagery of the Ladies’ Paradise directly links to the Great Exhibition in The Crystal Palace of 1851 where retailers of all nations temporarily displayed their goods within the structure to be bought and admired (Hobhouse, 2002). The idea that Zola has replicated the idea to worship and admire the commodity that is displayed across such a beautiful museum is reflected by the entire store in The Ladies’ Paradise. Both the idea for Zola’s paradise and The Crystal Palace was to inspire and dazzle the consumers into feeling as though the goods were commodities and therefore a priceless necessity. Karl Marx explains this commodity fetishism as ‘a definite social relation between men themselves which assumes here, for them, the phantasmagoric form of a relation between things’ (1976, p.165). This phantasmagoria is expressed through The Ladies’ Paradise by the woman’s incessant need to spend and become the commodity. They are immediately attracted both to the architecture of the store being perceived as a ‘white chapel’ as well as by the spectacles that await them inside. However, although this is ultimately empowering for women that are able to relish in the new commodities that are on offer for them, it also suggests that these women are weak minded in the way that they can so easily be manipulated by the men that create such luxuries. The bourgeois approach to the commodity fetishism suggests that these women become almost addicted to these commodities; however, it is possible to detract from Jean Baudrillard’s perspective that these commodities are in fact created for women in order to generate profit for the manufacturer as well as provide the lower