Of Efficient Fragments: Reification and British Aestheticism
Yannis Kanarakis
Publication: Volume 3 Issue 4
Abstract
This paper utilizes Fredric Jameson’s work on the concept of “reification” as a means of considering the artistic movement of aestheticism as the cultural logic of late nineteenth century capitalism. The paper intends to show that Jameson’s concept can help us approach this paradoxical relation in a systematic way, where, on the one hand, the aesthetes propounded artistic autonomy, while, on the other, they were actively engaged with market policies. The objective of this paper is to demonstrate that fragmentation in aestheticist works through the concept of reification which functions as a means of intensifying emotional response and of increasing the efficiency, and thus the impact of the work, in a manner that is reminiscent of advertising or even market practices, rendering the movement a cultural counterpart of late nineteenth century capitalism.
Keywords: Aestheticism, Aesthetics of Fragmentation, Market Economy Reification, Nineteenth Century Capitalism, Fredric Jameson, Walter Pater, Oscar Wilde, Algernon Swinburne, Cultural Studies
Yannis Kanarakis (yanniskanarakis@gmail.com) is an adjunct faculty member in the Department of English Literature and Culture at Aristotle University, Thessaloniki, Greece. His PhD explores the implications of Walter Pater’s synthesis of British empiricism and Continental idealism in his aestheticist creed. His research and publications focus on the movement of aestheticism, literary theory, and aesthetics. He is currently working on affect theory and the representation of smell in nineteenth century literature.