『그 지방의 관습』에 나타나는 언딘 스프라그의 욕망의 실체

초록

This paper aims to examine the seemingly endless desire of Undine Spragg in Edith Wharton’s The Custom of the Country, from the perspective of Jacques Lacan’s concept of ‘Desire of the Other.’ At the turn of the century in America, rapid economic growth provided men with the opportunities to accumulate wealth and climb up the social ladder. However, women could not but remain as the subject of conspicuous consumption. This conspicuous consumption also influenced the custom of marriage. Undine Spragg considered marriage as a kind of business transaction. In her repeated pattern of marriages, the way she chose her husbands is equal to consumer desire in a capitalist society. Her desire can be seen as the desire of the Other as Lacan states. Accordingly, Undine’s desire can never be satisfied. In this way, Wharton criticizes contemporary gender awareness by demonstrating that women were only given the choice of the marriage to improve their lives in a male-dominated society.

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