Would you call the society shown by Alexander Pope in 'The Rape of the Lock', materialistic? How about our society? What is your relationship between your stuff, to other people's stuff? Does having or wanting certain things define who you are?
Materialism can be referred as to the simple preoccupation with the material world, as opposed to intellectual or spiritual concepts. It states that everything in the universe is matter, without any true spiritual or intellectual existence. Materialism can also refer to the doctrine that material success and progress are the highest values in life.
Materialism can be good and it can also be bad. It can be good because it shows that one values the things that have worked hard for yet can be bad. After all, one can become so consumed by the things they have that it overshadows everything in their life and leaves little room for improvement.
The concept of Materialism in 'The Rape of the Lock'
In the “Rape of the Lock,” Pope portrays women as primarily engaged in the art of courtship. The women in the poem are very concerned with their outward physical appearance and attractiveness as we can see in the description of the dressing table. This suggests that the women in the poem are seen as superficial and materialistic.
Belinda in “Rape of the Lock” has natural beauty. When she looks in the mirror, a heavenly image appears in the glass. Her dressing table is a menagerie of cosmetics, many from exotic lands like Arabia and India. These products show her vanity and materialism.
Materialism can be bad because one can become so consumed by the things they have that it overshadows everything in their life and leaves little room for improvement.
In Alexander Pope’s “The Rape of the Lock” Belinda's hair is stolen from her. Belinda loved everything about her appearance, especially her hair. Her hair was her most prized possession. Not only did she worship her hair but others did as well. The Baron loved her hair so much that he stole a lock of it with the help of Belinda’s friend Clarissa who was in love with him. For some people possessions can become the focus of their life. Possessions tend to become more important than friends, religion, and achievements. The way she looked overpowered everything around her. When the Baron cut her hair Belinda became outraged and devastated. It was as if her soul had been taken away from her. This devastation was all because of her materialistic obsession with her hair.
Plato states that there are virtues of the soul that could be developed, just as you can develop your body to exercise.
In Canto I Lines 15-20
Now Lapdogs give themselves the rousing Shake,
And sleepless Lovers, just at Twelve, awake:
Thrice rung the Bell, the Slipper knocked the Ground,
And the press Watch 5 returned a silver Sound.
Belinda still her downy Pillow prest,
Her Guardian Sylph prolongs the balmy Rest.
we see that even before Belinda wakes up, her world is defined by her things: a lapdog, a slipper, a fancy watch, and a pillow. Notice how each of these items contains and constrains her: the dog as a location for affection, the slipper as a means of communication with her servants, the watch dictating her schedule, and the pillow dictating her sleep.
Similarly in Canto I, Lines 129-138,
Unnumber'd Treasures ope at once, and here
The various Off'rings of the World appear;
From each, she nicely culls with curious Toil,
And decks the Goddess with the glittering Spoil.
This Casket India's glowing Gems unlock,
And all Arabia breathes from yonder Box.
The Tortoise here and Elephant unite,
Transform to Combs, the speckled and the white.
Here Files of Pins extend their shining Rows,
Puffs, Powders, Patches, Bibles, Billet-doux.
we see how the description of Belinda’s dressing table, things have been described elaborately—her makeup, perfume, accessories, hairstyling tools, and knick-knacks. In Canto II, Lines 19-28
This Nymph, to the Destruction of Mankind,
Nourish'd two Locks, which gracefully hung behind
In equal Curls, and well conspired to deck
With shining Ringlets her smooth Iv'ry Neck.
Love in these Labyrinths his Slaves detain,
And mighty Hearts are held in slender Chains.
With hairy Sprindges 31 we the Birds betray,
Slight Lines of Hair surprize the Finny Prey,
Fair Tresses Man's Imperial Race insnare,
And Beauty draws us with a single Hair.
We meet Belinda's locks for the first time, and the poem's speaker describes them first as weapons, as lines for hunting and fishing, and finally as traps for men. The overall meaning the locks seem to have here is of power—Belinda's power over the male members of her society.
In Canto Two, society's infatuation with physical beauty is revealed as the author pens line after line comparing Belinda's beauty to that of divinity and describing her lavish garments, jewelry, and surroundings. The point being made is that this society is vain and materialistic. They also stand in for emotions and beliefs. The first canto sets up the satirical statement that Pope is making about 18th-century fashionable society. The first two lines,
What dire Offence from amorous Causes springs,
What mighty Contests rise from trivial Things,
suggest that the poem references society's tendency to embellish and exaggerate relatively small infractions of its rules and to hold grudges for such infractions for a long time. Indeed this particular event, the impish cutting of a small lock of hair, springs from a true story from the 18th century.
While most of us can understand how some things are blown out of proportion, Pope, in Canto One, sets this event up as the cause of the conflict and as a way to reveal the behaviors of the individuals involved as vain and trivial.
In Canto III, Lines 13-18
One speaks the Glory of the British Queen,
And one describes a charming Indian Screen.
A third interprets Motions, Looks, and Eyes;
At ev'ry Word, a Reputation dies.
Snuff, or the Fan, supplies each Pause of Chat,
With singing, laughing, ogling, and all that.
the obsession with things, which we first saw on Belinda's dressing table and through Pope's depiction of her hair, gets extended in these lines to her society as a whole.
In Canto III, Lines 105-112
For lo! the Board with Cups and Spoons is crowned,
The Berries crackle and the Mill turns round.
On shining Altars of Japan, they raise
The silver Lamp; the fiery Spirits blaze.
From silver Spouts, the grateful Liquors glide,
And China's Earth receives the smoking Tyde.
At once they gratify their Scent and Taste,
While frequent Cups prolong the rich Repast.
Stuff stands in for power and empire once again, after the card game ends, and the party adjourns for coffee and tea service. The countries of "China" and "Japan" here get symbolized by the beverage they represent, something these privileged folk can consume and show off with.
In Canto Three, the behaviors of this society are examined. The important pursuits include card games and gossip, which are both taken very seriously. Belinda has sylphs that help her by protecting her cards. This insinuates that members of fashionable society could not function without a myriad of helpers.
In Canto V, Lines 87-96
Now meet thy Fate, incensed Belinda cried,
And drew a deadly Bodkin from her Side.
(The same, as his ancient Personage to the deck,
Her great Grandsire wore about his Neck
In three Seal-Rings which after, melted down,
Form'd a vast Buckle for his Widow's Gown:
Her infant Grandame's Whistle next grew,
The Bells she giggled, and the Whistle blew;
Then in a Bodkin graced her Mother's Hair,
Which long she wore, and now Belinda wears.
Belinda's "bodkin" or fancy hairpin is more than just a hair toy. Here it represents her entire family history, from her great-grandfather, who wore it in another form as a set of seal rings and then melted it into a belt buckle for her great-grandmother, who then melted it into a baby whistle for her grandmother, and on down to her mother, who gave her the bodkin.
In Canto V, Lines 115-128
There Heroe's Wits are kept in ponderous Vases,
And Beau's in Snuff-boxes and Tweezer-Cases.
There broken Vows, and Death-bed Alms are found,
And Lovers Hearts with Ends of Riband bound;
The Courtier's Promises, and Sick Man's Pray'rs,
The Smiles of Harlots, and the Tears of Heirs,
Cages for Gnats, and Chains to Yoak a Flea;
Dry'd Butterflies and Tomes of Casuistry.
But trust the Muse — she saw it upward rise,
Tho' marked by none but quick Poetic Eyes:
(So Rome's great Founder to the Heav'ns withdrew,
To Proculus alone confessed in view.
A sudden Star, it shot thro' liquid Air,
And drew behind a radiant Trail of Hair.
The lock comes back again, although this time it seems to have risen above all of the trivial "stuff" that we've seen cluttering up the entire rest of the poem. That stuff is here represented by the celestial recycling bin full of "Heroes' wits" in Vases, "Beaus'" wits in snuff boxes and tweezers-cases, etc.
The Concept of Materialism in the Modern World
The plague of our materialistic society is a direct result of mankind seeking satisfaction and happiness through addiction to obtaining our outward desires. Our society has been relentlessly exposed through the media to propaganda served by a capitalistic machine convincing us that the answer to our fulfillment and ultimate happiness can be purchased. It is a sad truth, really, but is part of a system guided by monetary control.
As a society, we are out of control. We are under the control of the machine. We feed that machine by wanting more and more, to obtain things others have or to become someone respected in our communities, rather than finding peace with who we are, what we have, and what we can share. When we don't have enough money we are given a chance to have the things we want through credit. As if money wasn't enough of a detrimental enslavement, credit is the final nail in the coffin.
Reconnecting to nature has a way of simplifying our perspectives. We find that a real sense of peace can be found floating on the breeze as we gaze out to the horizon from the perch of a rock outcropping.
It doesn't take much; really, to loosen the grip commercialism has over our hearts and minds. We need not necessarily slip out of society; we simply need to keep a level head and a clear perspective on what is truly important.
Materialism in our society is what we live in a materialistic society, western society is consumed by materialistic crap. It is bred into us to have a mortgage on a house have a nice car have a good job doing lots of hours, have toys and hobbies, as well as your kid's sports and activities, and many bills to fund the lifestyle.
Parents with a family barely have time to think. I often think of the current natives on tropical Islands and their relaxed lives, stress-free with no bills no expectations just a basic life spending all their time with their family, and each day is taken up preparing dinner, seems too good to be true.
Materialism has corrupted our culture. People are concerned more about money and what it can buy, these days. A lot of people feel that they can never have enough money when they have too much money to spend in one lifetime. Materialism is one of those things that most of us don't want to think about, especially when it causes trouble in our marriage or stresses us out.
As a stereotype, a materialistic person is a high-class one-presenter snob whining about getting a Porsche instead of a Lamborghini, but it's something we're all prone to.
Humans are materialistic by nature. We have an odd relationship with the things we own. We invest emotion and memories in our possessions, giving them deep meaning, but that doesn’t necessarily make us happy-it may drive us slightly mad. We should look toward material possessions as our source of happiness because we are going to hit a dead end with that path. Material possessions are just temporary ornaments in your life. Instead, work on achieving happiness in yourself, outside of material goods and wealth. That’s where you will find an unwavering source of happiness and contentment.
When our internal world is deprived it is only natural to want to fill it with external things. Unfortunately, this is like filling a sieve with sand. The sand may fit in the sieve temporarily, built will soon sift through the holes, leaving us empty again.
Ending materialism doesn’t mean forsaking all your possessions. Ridding yourself of everything you own would only prove you are still too preoccupied with possessions themselves. Someone who has developed a healthy inner world would see possessions as neutral. This shift is more about attitude than specific actions.
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