Triangulating the Rhetorical with the Economic Metaphor
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Brigham Young University BYU ScholarsArchive Theses and Dissertations 2004-07-16 The Valuation of Literature: Triangulating the Rhetorical with the Economic Metaphor Melissa Brown Gustafson Brigham Young University - Provo Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd Part of the English Language and Literature Commons BYU ScholarsArchive Citation Gustafson, Melissa Brown, "The Valuation of Literature: Triangulating the Rhetorical with the Economic Metaphor" (2004). Theses and Dissertations. 180. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/180 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. THE VALUATION OF LITERATURE: TRIANGULATING THE RHETORICAL WITH THE ECONOMIC METAPHOR by Melissa B. Gustafson A thesis submitted to the faculty of Brigham Young University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Master of English Department of English Brigham Young University August 2004 BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY GRADUATE COMMITTEE APPROVAL of a thesis submitted by Melissa B. Gustafson This thesis has been read by each member of the following graduate committee and by majority vote has been found to be satisfactory. ______________________________________________________________________________ Date Nancy L. Christiansen, Chair ______________________________________________________________________________ Date Matthew F. Wickman, Reader ______________________________________________________________________________ Date Edward S. Cutler, Reader ______________________________________________________________________________ Date Grant M. Boswell, Area Advisor ______________________________________________________________________________ Date Lance E. Larson, Graduate Coordinator BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY As chair of the candidate’s graduate committee, I have read the dissertation of Melissa B. Gustafson in its final form and have found that (1) its format, citations, and bibliographical style are consistent and acceptable and fulfill university and department style requirements; (2), its illustrative materials including figures, tables, and charts are in place; and (3) the final manuscript is satisfactory to the graduate committee and is ready for submission to the university library. ______________________________________________________________________________ Date Nancy L. Christianson Chair, Graduate Committee Accepted for the Department ________________________________________________ Lance E. Larson, Graduate Coordinator Accepted for the College ________________________________________________ Van C. Gessel Dean ABSTRACT THE VALUATION OF LITERATURE: TRIANGULATING THE RHETORICAL WITH THE ECONOMIC METAPHOR Melissa B. Gustafson Department of English Master of English Several theorists, including the Marxist theorists Trevor Ross, Walter Benjamin, and M.H. Abrams, have proposed theories to explain the eighteenth-century shift from functional to aesthetic conceptions of literature. Their explanations attribute the change to an increasingly consumer-based society (and the resulting commoditization of books), the development of the press, the rise of the middle class, and increased access to books. When we apply the cause- effect relationships which these theorists propose to the contexts of nineteenth-century America, Communist East Germany, WWII America, and 9/11 America, however, the causes don’t correlate with the effects they theoretically predict. This disjunction suggests a re-examination of these three theories and possibly the Marxist basis which they share. I suggest that by triangulating rhetorical theory with Marxist theory we will gain a more comprehensive understanding of society’s valuation of literature. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS For Josh, without whose hugs, technological know-how, and backrubs this would have been impossible. For Nancy, whose great patience and scholarly expertise helped me to make this something to be proud of. For Matt, to whose class I am indebted for the initial idea. And for all my other Professors who have taught me and encouraged me at Brigham Young University. Table of Contents Chapter I: The Theories............................................................................................................... 1 The Eighteenth Century Change................................................................................................. 2 The Theories ............................................................................................................................. 15 M. H. Abrams—Rise of the Middle Class............................................................................ 16 Trevor Ross—Consumption-Based Society ......................................................................... 18 Walter Benjamin—the Mechanical Reproduction of a Work of Art.................................... 20 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 21 Chapter II: Nineteenth-Century America................................................................................ 24 Nineteenth-Century America’s Economic Climate .................................................................. 24 Rise of the Middle Class ....................................................................................................... 24 Printing Presses in Nineteenth-century America .................................................................. 27 Consumer-based Climate ...................................................................................................... 29 Results....................................................................................................................................... 33 Moral Instrumentality in the Nineteenth-Century................................................................. 33 Political Instrumentality in the Nineteenth-Century ............................................................. 38 Chapter III: Communist East Germany and WWII America ............................................... 43 American vs. East German Economic Environments............................................................... 43 American economic environment—Consumer based........................................................... 43 The East German Economic Environment—Producer based............................................... 44 Results....................................................................................................................................... 55 The East German Writer’s Congress .................................................................................... 55 The American Writer’s Congress ......................................................................................... 64 Chapter IV: 9/11 ......................................................................................................................... 67 A Change in Subject Matter...................................................................................................... 70 A Change in Consumer Attitudes ............................................................................................. 76 Methodology ......................................................................................................................... 76 Results................................................................................................................................... 87 Books with a Higher Functional Value Sold Better After 9/11 than others ......................... 89 A Connection to Eighteenth-Century Bookshops in the Netherlands................................... 90 Results in Terms of Ross, Benjamin, and Abrams ............................................................... 92 Chapter V: Conclusion............................................................................................................... 94 Triangulation Point #1: Allow an Un-limited Range of Motives/Factors ................................ 95 Triangulation Point #2—Acknowledge the effects of human agency and discussion ........... 105 Works Cited............................................................................................................................... 117 Table of Figures Figure 1: 9/11 associated change in how society values literature based on the ratio of functional comments to aesthetic ones in Amazon.com customer reviews…………88 Figure 2: A comparison of the average functional/aesthetic comment ratios for books which were generally popular in the year before and after 9/11/2001 and those books which rose in popularity in the two weeks following 9/11…………………………………………………………………………….90 Figure 3: Critical Space in 1976 Dutch Literary Field…………………………………………106 Gustafson 1 Chapter I The Theories This week, driving to the airport and listening to our local classical music radio station, I learned that Tschaikowsky’s Swan Lake, destined to become one of the most popular ballets of all time, was an initial flop. Reviewers considered its four-hour performance only a little short of torture, and they said as much in their reviews. Apparently, it was only later as it was revived in another time and place that it gained the popularity it enjoys today. As I drove along, listening, I realized that Swan Lake’s tale is a familiar