An Interpretation Of The Man Of Property From The Perspective Of Boudrillard’s Consumerism

The Man of Property, a representative work of John Galsworthy, has laid a solid foundation for John Galsworthy’s reputation in the field of literature. This novel presents the readers a vivid and real picture of the life of the up-middle bourgeois class in the turning of the nineteenth century to the twentieth century. Though simple the plot of the novel is, it still provokes the readers’ boundless thinking and reflection. This paper tries to use Boudrillard’s theory of consumerism to shed some new light on the interpretation of The Man of Property.The thesis consists of five chapters.Chapter one is a brief introduction to John Galsworthy and the plot of the novel The Man of Property.Chapter two is a literature review about this novel at home and from abroad. It includes the recent research on this novel and the author’s interpretation of this novel.Chapter three explores the theoretical basis: Boudrillard’s consumerism. It narrates Boudrillard’s overall view on consumerism and introduces relevant terminologies used to analyze the novel. In Boudrillard’s eyes, consumption is more a way of communication than a superficial daily activity. The introduction includes the definitions of three terms; they are “consumption”, “differentiation” and “structural penury”.Chapter four is the body of this paper and falls into three sub-sections. The first section, based on the theoretical term “consumption”, traces back to the Forsytes and Soames Forsyte’s consumption behaviors. In Boudrillard’s eyes, the consumption of use value has receded to the consumption of symbolic value. Through the consumption of symbolic value, consumption becomes a class institution and a salvation dimension. In the consumer society, the Forsytes turn their clothes, food, sheltering and transportation into an exhibition platform. They stick to a “good-taste” dressing code, stubbornly regard mutton as the best main course, possess the most centered house in the city and even pay good price for transportation. The purpose of these consumptions is to manifest the priority of their class. Soames keeps a habit of collecting paintings as well as antiques and endeavors to buy fancy dresses and precious diamond for his wife. He is trying to get closer to excellence and grace. In the Forsytes’ eyes, only the consumption of commodities which possess highly symbolic value can mark their high social class, powerful finance and excellence. And these qualities are defined as social essence by Boudrillard. The second part uses Boudrillard’s most popular terminology “differentiation” to interpret the unstoppable and continuous trend of consumption. Boudrillard thinks that people consume to mark social status and maintain social distance. Consumption leads to social stratification through differentiation. Since social classes need to be established, therefore consumption will never come to an end. In the novel, the Forsytes distance Bosinney by mocking at his old grey hat and sending him cheap wedding gifts due to his humble birth. Differentiation not only happens among different classes but also within the same class. Soames tries to be different from other Forsytes by possessing an extremely beautiful wife and building a country house. The third part centers on the analysis of interpersonal relationships in the consumer society under the guidance of “structural penury”. Boudrillard thinks that penury will continue to exist even in a growth society. In consequence, the pauperization of interpersonal relationship will occur. In the novel, the Forsytes’ s prosperous business versus Bosinney’s bleak career, and the Forsytes’ s property versus the poverty of the mine manager’s widow all suggest that in the consumer society the pauperization of interpersonal relationship has happened. Moreover, consumption becomes a main means of communication. Old Jolyon wants to take young Jolyon back to the Forsyte family. He would rather offer young Jolyon constant financial help than exhibit his son’s paintings. Soames is willing to buy any expensive commodities for Irene but that just places more obstacles between them.Chapter five is the conclusion of this thesis. It reviews the main views discussed previously and draws a conclusion for this thesis. It narrates that consumption, the most common activity in life, has dominated people’s life. On the one hand, consumption has become a means of communication and a carrier of emotions. On the other hand, consumption has emerged as a way to stratify social class and maintain social distance. Consumption develops into a social logic, governing people’s life. While people engage themselves in endless consumption, the true meaning of life has been obscured.