Consumer chronicles : cultures of consumption in modern French literature / / David H. Walker [[electronic resource]]

• Autore: Walker David H. <1947->
• Pubblicazione: Liverpool : , : Liverpool University Press, , 2011
• Descrizione fisica: 1 online resource (vii, 328 pages) : digital, PDF file(s)
• Disciplina: 843.9093553
• Soggetto topico: French literature - 20th century - History and criticism; Consumption (Economics) in literature; Material culture - France - History - 20th century; Popular culture - France
• Note generali: Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 02 Oct 2015).
• Nota di bibliografia: Includes bibliographical references and index.
• Nota di contenuto: Waiting for the consumer society. Earning, yearning and making do : Huysmans, Les sœrs Vatard ; Flâneurs and shoppers : Huysmans, En ménage ; From shopping to Schopenhauer : Huysmans, A vau-l'eau -- Economies of consumption (1). Transactions and value : Gide, L'Immoraliste -- Small shops. La Lente Agonie du petite commerce : Balzac, Grandeur et décadence de César Birotteau and Zola, Au bonheur des dames ; Elevé dans le commerce : Céline, Mort à crédit ; The emporium strikes back : Dutourd, Au bon beurre -- Big stores. The big sell ; The grand magasin : Zola, Au bonheur des dames (2) ; "Les Vénus des comptoirs" : feminism and shopping in the 1920's ; Total retail : figures of the dystopian superstore -- Economies of consumption (2). Speculations on value -- Reflections on the consumer society. Post-war visions of paradise : the dawning of the consumer society ; Managing the consumers (1) : motivational analysts ; Managing the consumers (2) : advertisers : The consumers managing 1 : making do by instalments ; The consumers managing 2 : making do and producing.
• Sommario/riassunto: At a time when the world is contemplating the depletion of non-renewable natural resources, the consumer society is increasingly being called into question. This is nowhere more acutely evident than in France, where since its beginnings in the nineteenth century, the consumer revolution, extending market forces into every area of social and private life, has been perceived as a challenge to core elements in French culture, such as traditional artisan crafts and small businesses serving local communities. Cultural historians and sociologists have charted the increasing commercialisation of everyday life over the twentieth century, but few have paid systematic attention to the crucial testimony provided by the authors of narrative fiction. Consumer Chronicles rectifies this omission by means of close readings of a series of novels, selected for their authentic portrayal of consumer behaviour, and analysed in relation to their social, cultural and historical contexts. Walker's study, offering an imaginative interdisciplinary panorama covering the impact of affluence on French shoppers, shopkeepers and society, provides telling new insights into the history and characteristics of the consumer mentality.
• Titolo autorizzato: Consumer chronicles
• ISBN: 1-78138-635-8; 1-84631-715-0
• Formato: Materiale a stampa
• Livello bibliografico: Monografia
• Lingua di pubblicazione: Inglese
• Record Nr.: 9910781377003321
• Lo trovi qui: Univ. Federico II
• Serie: Contemporary French and francophone cultures ; ; 19.