Consumerism And Female Identity In Sophie Kinsella’s "Shopaholic Trilogy"

Applying theories of consumerism and female identity, this thesis studies ChickLit writer Sophie Kinsella’s “Shopaholic Trilogy”, namely Confessions of aShopaholic, Shopaholic Takes Manhattan and Shopaholic Ties the Knot. In the contextof consumerism, with shopping, fashion and wedding as three important aspects, thisstudy examines how consumerism contributes to female identity construction. Tobegin with, centering on the female protagonist Rebecca’s shopping addiction, thethesis argues that the shopping space is a space of escape that eases her anxiety and inshopping, she satisfies her own desires and demonstrates her economic self-reliance,all of which are contributive to gaining the self. Meanwhile, the threats of CompulsiveBuying Disorder and financial enslavement pose destructive impact. The thesiscontinues to explore Rebecca’s fashion indulgence, arguing that fashion is a means ofperforming various feminine identities and achieving identity transformation. Incontrast to Rebecca’s subjectivity in deploying fashion to construct her identities isher alienation from the real self and inner beauty, which results in her objectivity. Inanalyzing the third facet, wedding, the thesis focuses on Rebecca’sconsumption-based Plaza wedding, noting that the pre-wedding consumptionactivities, the lavish wedding per se and the eventual ceremony all facilitate theconstruction and glorification of her bridal identity. The discussion in this part alsoinvolves gender roles, gender stereotypes and marriage in relation to female identity. The thesis concludes that Sophie Kinsella’s “Shopaholic Trilogy” mirrors thedouble-edged-sword nature of the impact of consumerism on female identityformation. Consumerism can help women to gain confidence, to develop self-relianceand to find the true self whereas it may also drive women to become its victims.