November the Twenty Fifth Post

Does Money Buy Happiness?

" . . . But it does capture nicely how well the emerging commercial economies of the eighteenth century coincided with the new ethics of pleasure announced by Locke and his many continental admirers. By buying and selling luxury items and services with the explicit aim of enhancing pleasure and reducing pain, men and women pursued happiness in the manner that both Locke and Hobbes had described -- as a 'continual progress of the desire, from one object to another, the attaining of the former being still but the way to the latter.' " --McMahon, Happiness: A History, page 206

" . . . But his friend Mr. Darcy soon drew the attention of the room by his fine, tall person, handsome features, noble mein; and the report which was in general circulation within five minutes after his entrance, of his having ten thousand a year." - Austen, Pride and Prejudice, page 49


In regards to the question above, it certainly appears to be the case. Notice how the room as a collective unit appreciates Mr. Darcy much more than Mr. Bingley, the friendly gentleman, after the knowledge circulated that Darcy makes much more than Bingley. This is a theme in a myriad of eighteenth and nineteenth century novels, especially in regards to single women looking for prospects. I found it incredibly interesting how McMahon paralleled the emergence of happiness with the growing economy. It's fascinating how aspects of life intersect. What is it about money that makes us happy? It would seem to me to be the stability. It certainly makes sense in regards to the aforementioned single women, who weren't able to make a living for themselves. There's an interesting quote from Luce Irigaray, a French feminist, speaking on how since women were more or less seen as the "scene of rival exchange" between men, it made sense that these goods were unable to relate to other such goods on the market with anything other than "aggressive jealousy." Even something as complex as a human being can be reduced into economic terms.

November the Eighteenth Post

What Signs Exist to Indicate Intention in a Novel?

"We all learn, whether consciously or not, that the default interpretation of behavior reflects a character's state of mind, and every fictional story that we read reinforces our tendency to make that kind of assumption first.

It seems to me that our unease on this occasion stems from our intuitive realization that on some level our evolved cognitive architecture indeed does not fully distinguish between real and fictional people." -- Lisa Zunshine, pages 4 & 19, Why We Read Fiction

This is one of the questions that I'll be exploring in my research paper on attention and interest, especially with how a reader can follow along a character's often unspoken mental track. Zunshine's whole article on cognitive psychology and theory of mind is extremely interesting, and I'm hoping to be able to check it out to see if it will have relevance to my particular topic. Last semester, I took a Neuroscience of Child Development course, and we actually spent a fair amount of time on theory of mind, as well as reading Simon Baren-Cohen's articles. To read this article was a very nice refresher, and got me excited thinking about continuing study in a similar area. For instance, there is a point in Tristram Shandy when he laments how long it will take him to write his life story, especially since he was already at four volumes and still hadn't been born yet. How familiar would this feel to a college student at final exam time? The reader knows, intrinsically, because of their own theory of mind, that he is lamenting the brevity of time when faced with a daunting task. It is moments like these that I would like to investigate.

November the Eleventh Post

Representation of Madness: How Did Sex Affect Diagnosis?

"The illness of 'the Spleen', characterized by moodiness, irritability, depression and nightmares, was prevalent, even fashionable, at the beginning of the century, and Anne Finch was a notable sufferer. Its alternative name, 'the Vapours', linked it to the melancholy humour whose mists the organ of the spleen was meant to dispel. In the grip of 'the Spleen' imagination tended to function in neurotic, unstable and self-deceiving ways, and Finch's lively diagnosis exploits these possibilities." -- Anne Finch, page 22

"The nature of his mental problems cannot be diagnosed with certainty, but there may have been violent mood swings ('For I have a greater compass both of mirth and melancholy than another', he says in Jubilate Agno, I32); one unstable element was a religious fervour that caused him to pray loudly in public places whenever the need took him." -- Christopher Smart, page 426

I find it extremely interesting that the descriptions of these instabilities differ depending on which sex they're referring to. It seems like Smart's illness is seen as more plausible or credible, while Finch's is referred to in the context of being "fashionable." It reminded me of the origin of "hysteria" ( side note: what if my paper was on the nature//history of hysteria? That could incorporate my feminist literary theory class as well, aka I have a little more background//I've been primed to note instances of inequality. At the very least, would it be implausible to treat that as my presentation topic Thursday? ), especially with how it was typically seen as a women's disease. Silly uterus, making women crazy! Also, the reference to the four humors was intriguing. Finding out when that myth was dispelled would be a compelling subject, as well.

November the Fourth Post

"Satire shou'd, like a polish'd Razor keen,
Wound with a Touch, that's scarcely felt or seen.
Thine is an Oyster-Knife, that hacks and hews;
The Rage, but not the Talent to Abuse; . . .
Sure 'tis as fair to beat who cannot fight,
As 'tis to libel those who cannot write."
-- Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, "Verses Address'd to the Imitator of Horace," pages 189-90

"and that women, in particular, are rendered weak and wretched by a variety of concurring causes . . . . One cause of this barren blooming I attribute to a false system of education, gathered from the books written on this subject by men who, considering females rather as women than human creatures, have been more anxious to make them alluring mistresses than affectionate wives and rational mothers; and the understanding of the sex has been so bubbled by this specious homage, that the civilized women of the present century, with a few exceptions, are only anxious to inspire love, when they ought to cherish a nobler ambition, and by their abilities and virtues exact respect." -- Mary Wollstonecraft, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, page 258

Final Paper Proposal

For my final research paper, I'd like to investigate the connection or relationship between boredom, interest and attention//distraction. I'd like to look at Robinson Cruseo and Tristram Shandy, particularly in how Cruseo meticulously quantitifies everything on his island, and marks his time religiously. As to Tristram Shandy, I would look for instances when he attempts to organize his thoughts. How the brain quantitifies and organizes things is of particular interest, and I'm hoping to find evidence for these things in these novels.