Zola's The Ladies Paradise

The story aids in convincing society of the negatives of the Bourgeoisie, as they are portrayed this way in the piece of literature through the sisters’ self-importance and sense of entitlement. Moreover, the hard working and virtuous Beauty embodies the positive aspects of the Proletariat in the text. Furthermore, the merchant’s wealth directly affects his importance in the story. This story is one of the many examples of an allegory used to promote an author's viewpoint as it is seen as a romantic story on the surface, but underneath, shows the importance of wealth and presence of class within society. This story can prove that readers must broaden their scope in order to examine all aspects of a text and analyze them in a way to draw true

The 18th century, more precisely between 1715 and 1789, was a significant time period in the fashion sphere for women in France. The time period itself was a mark of great change for the history of France due to various political reasons as well as various art movements and often times fashion, despite being a branch of art, is overlooked by most viewers. However, fashion during this time excelled in France and was essentially the symbol of a new era in this domain; French fashion was now snowballing into something much greater that still echoes to this today. Ultimately, the goal of this essay is to describe women’s fashion during the period of 1715-1789 and the shifts it made through the analytical use of various sources including artwork, literature, museums’ online archives and internet sources.

“Outlet shopping is perhaps luxury’s greatest ploy to get its goods into the hands of anyone and everyone,” (Thomas, Pg. 246). “But outlet shopping is the antithesis of the flagship, the antithesis in fact, of luxury itself.” (Thomas, 2007. Pg. 247) Columnist Karen Heller explained to Thomas after visiting Woodbury Common Premium Outlets in New York, “The clothes were marked down, picked over and repeatedly pawed, the opposite of how they were originally displayed. Their power to enchant seemed minimized, even at a third the price, smashed together like produce in a storage hold.” Thomas explains how luxury merchandise is purely just that, leftover “luxury” products: overproduction. No longer does luxury embody the experience of pampering nor does it signify class and wealth. Some

The short story“The Necklace” by Gui de Maupassant follows Madame Loisel and her husband who are living in the middle-class during the rise of the middle class in Paris, France.There are many different examples of irony throughout the short story, demonstrating Maupassant's talent at commenting on the society in which he was immersed in. The theme of “The Necklace” is revealed through the character Madame Loisel, irony, and symbolism.

> After a night of sex, Vivian is ready to leave in the morning. It is perfunctory for her to have sex then leave, but she has a nice breakfast that awaits her. She is not used to being treated as a person. Edward, ever concerned with work, needs a “date” for the upcoming week for the sake of appearances. He wishes to employ Vivian for the next week as his “date.” He says that he is paying her three thousand dollars “be at [Edward’s] beck and call.” Here he is treating Julia like a prostitute. The nature of their relationship is pendulous, moments of a nascent love to moments of business and concupiscence. Vivian needs new clothes to replace her questionable and inappropriate attire in order to ensconce in the upper class. She is shopping on Rodeo Drive, the Mecca of haut-couture, but while at a store she encounters women that will not wait on her because of the way she is dressed. Because of the prejudice she

In this essay I want to examine how the corset evolved from a staple of the British feminine wardrobe of the Nineteenth Century into a symbol of an outmoded tradition – only to later return as a statement of female liberation. I am going to look at different aspects of this development including technological advances, economic facts, external events, particularly the First World War and changes in social, political and aesthetic attitudes. I will also look briefly at the role of Chanel on the silhouette and how this impacted on the corset: focusing on the trend to towards ‘opulent androgyny’ in the 1920’s. Finally I will examine the resurgence of the corset

In order to generate astonishing revenue, Mouret’s Ladies’ Paradise employs techniques to create spontaneous desire by playing on customers’ sense of sight, which would help women, who make up the majority of department store customers, realize their independent desires for femininity. The first thing one sees when one walks into a brightly lit department store is the displays. In an appeal to his customers’ sight, Mouret throws brightly colored scarves in heaping piles on a display in the front of the store. According to Elaine Abelson, “Subtlety was not an attribute of merchants in the late nineteenth century. If there was color used, it appeared in massive displays” (44). Such flamboyancy attracts women wishing to release their own creativity, suppressed by the male-dominated society. The lack of harmony in the displays portrays Mouret’s belief “…that customers should have sore eyes by the time they [leave] the shop”

And even their hunger is driven on by his schedule, for onlookers gaze in astonishment when the gates are closed, suppressing their appetites in delight that they will be once again fulfilled when the "governors" gates reopen. "The door knobs had been removed, and the people on the pavement were stopping to look through the windows, surprised to see the shop closed when there was such extraordinary activity going on inside" (p.276). In previous sales of the Paradise, Mouret had placed chintzy items that were of low value and low cost nearest to the entrance, to entice the lower classes to come in and give the impression that the whole shop was in a flurry of activity. The patrons were accustomed to this activity equating it to excitement thereby ensuing intrigue, that although in this previous instance the stares were merely of employees taking stock, the chattel were anticipating their next meal. Being that this was on a Sunday too, one is moved to assume that this is the beginning of religion taking a seat to the periphery in contrast to consumerism. For in the introduction of the novel it is mentioned of the new public sphere in which women enjoyed the benefits of what was before only open to the majority of men. That is the benefits of leisurely activities like dinning, spectacle, and evening public conversation. Where before their main outlet was the

There are many companies in the world today that put an idea of this perfect female body into the heads of women. These images lead to a faulty standard men hold of women and their bodies and that women strive to become. Margaret Atwood addresses the issue of the way men view the female body by writing her essay in the viewpoints of a male so the reader can better understand how the expectation men have of the female body is unrealistic. First, she uses an allusive comparison to show the male expectation of the female body and how it is objectified as if it were a doll that comes with accessories. Next, she uses an anecdote with defamiliarization to show how the way the father views a Barbie doll and the way it portrays the female body to young girls is hypocritical. Lastly, Margaret Atwood uses insidious diction to talk about how men not only view the female body as a product but how they also use the female body as a product which can be sold amongst businessmen. In The Female Body, Margaret Atwood uses many rhetorical devices to convey how the female body is viewed through the eyes of men.

In part three, Miller gives life to the Bon Marché; the store slowly but surely becomes a part of the bourgeoisie class and social culture, giving them such practices as displaying art, selling nouveautés, a library of books, and a venue for concerts. The store attracts a certain kind of upper-class. They wished to be able to take part in something as close to the middle-class as possible. The store added more middle-class employees and merchandising items that personified middle-class values; the Bon Marché helped construct the new idea of how the middle-class looked and acted.

Hunger for luxury items and people’s strife for the brands and items they associate with being beyond reach is paramount for this system. It is this drive for items one can’t have that the author feels is one of the benefits of consumerism. He declares, “…the aspiration of the poor to

This particular poem written by Kim Addonizio “What Do Women Want?”, gives the reader a seductive vision into a woman’s innermost temptress. This woman is on the warpath to be seen, and not only seen, but desired in a way the she has only dreamt of. This will happen when she is wearing a particular dress—one that is as of yet not purchased, but that typifies all she wants to be and to express. She chose the color red, a vibrant, bold color which is associated with seduction, aggression, and confidence. This is her choice weapon.

In On the Road there is an ever-present objectification of women. As a result, the woman loses her human qualities and can be compared to an inanimate object. There are several ways in which this objectification takes form in the novel. It is achieved through the act of gazing at women. The woman can also be used as a means to achieve something else, in this case sensual pleasure. Since the culture described in the novel is highly hedonistic, pleasure in terms of sex is crucial to Sal and his friends. Treating women as objects also implies to me that they are “replaceable” in the same way as items are obtained, used, disposed of and

All characters in the novel are living in a man’s world; nevertheless, the author has tried to change this world by the help of her characters. She shows a myriad of opportunities and different paths of life that woman can take, and more importantly she does not show a perfect world, where women get everything they want, she shows a world where woman do make mistakes, but at the same time they are the ones that pay for these mistakes and correct them.

This essay will be considering the historical development of haute couture by analysing Charles Frederick Worth’s (father of haute couture) key factors in the success of haute Couture. I will then discuss Coco Chanel’s thriving impact on haute couture as well as ready-to-wear caused by the second world war. Saint Laurent’s drift to ready-to-wear and the high street fashion system will also be discussed in order to answer if haute couture is relevant in fashion today. The books I will be analysing and referencing are ‘A Cultural History of Fashion in the 20th Century’ by Bonnie English, ‘Couture’ by Ruth Lynam, ‘How Fashion Works’ by Gavin Waddell. Which will thoroughly breakdown the evolution and historical development of fashion by cultural, economic, environmental and social changes to finally come into a conclusion.