The Accursed Economy of Literature

Autor

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31261/SSP.2021.18.13

Słowa kluczowe:

economy of literature, mimesis, Melville, Bataille

Abstrakt

In this article, the author explains the connection between literature and economy on a philosophical level, especially in case of logic of exchange and concept of mimesis in novels. Basic tools for his arguments are derived from Georges Bataille’s concept of Accursed Economy (from the essay “The Accursed Share”). The French philosopher argues that in our everyday reality we use logic imposed on us by capitalism, which means that the value of everything is measured by its utility and, at the same time, values of all things can easily be accumulated. Because of that blind belief something important is omitted – surplus, a particle which does not fit into the global system of exchange. In the author’s opinion this phenomenon (and all its consequences) can be used to interpret the novel Bartleby, the Scrivener by Herman Melville, showing the main character’s activities (or their lack) in different contexts. This interpretation also proves the usefulness of applying some tools and terms from the language of economics into literary studies.

Bibliografia

Bataille, Georges. 1976. Oeuvres complètes. Tome VII: La Part maudite. L’économie à la mesure de l’univers. La limite de l’utile (fragments). Théorie de la religion. Conférences 1947–1948. Annexes. Paris: Gallimard.

Bataille, Georges. 1988. The Accursed Share: An Essay on General Economy. Translated from French by Robert Hurley. New York: Zone.

Deleuze, Gilles. 1997. “Bartleby; or, The Formula.” In Essays Critical and Clinical, 68–90. Translated from French by Daniel W. Smith and Michael A. Greco. London: Verso.

Franklin, Benjamin. 1840. “Necessary Hints to Those That Would Be Rich.” In The Works of Benjamin Franklin. Vol. 2, edited by Jared Sparks. Boston: Hilliard, Grey, and Company.

Melville, Herman. 2002. “Bartleby, the Scrivener. A Story of Wall Street.” In Melville’s Short Novels: Authoritative Texts, Contexts, Criticism, selected and edited by Dan McCall, 3–34. New York; London: W. W. Norton & Company.

Vila-Matas, Enrique. 2000. Bartleby & Co. Translated from Spanish by Jonathan Dunne. London: New Directions.

Weber, Max, 2005. The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. Translated from German by Talcott Parsons. London: Routledge.

Opublikowane

2021-08-16

Jak cytować

Sowiński, M. (2021). The Accursed Economy of Literature. Śląskie Studia Polonistyczne, 18(2), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.31261/SSP.2021.18.13