Wow! eBook
Sacramental Shopping: Louisa May Alcott, Edith Wharton and the Spirit of Modern Consumerism
Author(s): Sarah Way Sherman (Author)
- Publisher: University of New Hampshire Press
- Publication Date: 31 Oct. 2013
- Language: English
- Print length: 336 pages
- ISBN-10: 1611684226
- ISBN-13: 9781611684223
Book Description
Written a generation apart and rarely treated together by scholars, Little Women (1868) and The House of Mirth (1905) share a deep concern with materialism, moral development, and self-construction. The heroines in both grapple with conspicuous consumption, an aspect of modernity that challenges older beliefs about ethical behavior and core identity. Placing both novels at the historical intersection of modern consumer culture and older religious discourse on materialism and identity, Sarah Way Sherman analyzes how Alcott and Wharton rework traditional Protestant discourse to interpret their heroines’ struggle with modern consumerism. Her conclusion reveals how Little Women’s optimism, still buoyed by otherworldly justice, providential interventions, and the notion of essential identity, ultimately gives way to the much darker vision of modern materialistic culture in The House of Mirth.
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Sarah Way Sherman is an associate professor of English and American studies at the University of New Hampshire, USA.
