第17章

类别:其他 作者:Thorstein Veblen字数:5734更新时间:18/12/26 16:50:16
Sothatintheaffectionbestowedonpetanimalsthecanonofexpensivenessispresentmoreorlessremotelyasanormwhichguidesandshapesthesentimentandtheselectionofitsobject。 Thelikeistrue,aswillbenoticedpresently,withrespecttoaffectionforpersonsalso;althoughthemannerinwhichthenormactsinthatcaseissomewhatdifferent。 Thecaseofthefasthorseismuchlikethatofthedog。Heisonthewholeexpensive,orwastefulanduseless——fortheindustrialpurpose。Whatproductiveusehemaypossess,inthewayofenhancingthewell-beingofthecommunityormakingthewayoflifeeasierformen,takestheformofexhibitionsofforceandfacilityofmotionthatgratifythepopularaestheticsense。Thisisofcourseasubstantialserviceability。Thehorseisnotendowedwiththespiritualaptitudeforserviledependenceinthesamemeasureasthedog;butheministerseffectuallytohismaster’simpulsetoconvertthe“animate“forcesoftheenvironmenttohisownuseanddiscretionandsoexpresshisowndominatingindividualitythroughthem。Thefasthorseisatleastpotentiallyarace-horse,ofhighorlowdegree;anditisassuchthatheispeculiarlyserviceabletohisowner。Theutilityofthefasthorselieslargelyinhisefficiencyasameansofemulation;itgratifiestheowner’ssenseofaggressionanddominancetohavehisownhorseoutstriphisneighbor’s。Thisusebeingnotlucrative,butonthewholeprettyconsistentlywasteful,andquiteconspicuouslyso,itishonorific,andthereforegivesthefasthorseastrongpresumptivepositionofreputability。Beyondthis,therace-horseproperhasalsoasimilarlynon-industrialbuthonorificuseasagamblinginstrument。 Thefasthorse,then,isaestheticallyfortunate,inthatthecanonofpecuniarygoodreputelegitimatesafreeappreciationofwhateverbeautyorserviceabilityhemaypossess。 Hispretensionshavethecountenanceoftheprincipleofconspicuouswasteandthebackingofthepredatoryaptitudefordominanceandemulation。Thehorseis,moreover,abeautifulanimal,althoughtherace-horseissoinnopeculiardegreetotheuninstructedtasteofthosepersonswhobelongneitherintheclassofrace-horsefanciersnorintheclasswhosesenseofbeautyisheldinabeyancebythemoralconstraintofthehorsefancier’saward。Tothisuntutoredtastethemostbeautifulhorseseemstobeaformwhichhassufferedlessradicalalterationthantherace-horseunderthebreeder’sselectivedevelopmentoftheanimal。Still,whenawriterorspeaker——especiallyofthosewhoseeloquenceismostconsistentlycommonplacewantsanillustrationofanimalgraceandserviceability,forrhetoricaluse,hehabituallyturnstothehorse;andhecommonlymakesitplainbeforeheisdonethatwhathehasinmindistherace-horse。 Itshouldbenotedthatinthegraduatedappreciationofvarietiesofhorsesandofdogs,suchasonemeetswithamongpeopleofevenmoderatelycultivatedtastesinthesematters,thereisalsodiscernibleanotherandmoredirectlineofinfluenceoftheleisure-classcanonsofreputability。Inthiscountry,forinstance,leisure-classtastesaretosomeextentshapedonusagesandhabitswhichprevail,orwhichareapprehendedtoprevail,amongtheleisureclassofGreatBritain。 Indogsthisistruetoalessextentthaninhorses。Inhorses,moreparticularlyinsaddlehorses——whichattheirbestservethepurposeofwastefuldisplaysimply——itwillholdtrueinageneralwaythatahorseismorebeautifulinproportionasheismoreEnglish;theEnglishleisureclassbeing,forpurposesofreputableusage,theupperleisureclassofthiscountry,andsotheexemplarforthelowergrades。Thismimicryinthemethodsoftheapperceptionofbeautyandintheformingofjudgmentsoftasteneednotresultinaspurious,oratanyratenotahypocriticaloraffected,predilection。Thepredilectionisasseriousandassubstantialanawardoftastewhenitrestsonthisbasisaswhenitrestsonanyother,thedifferenceisthatthistasteisandassubstantialanawardoftastewhenitrestsonthisbasisaswhenitrestsonanyother;thedifferenceisthatthistasteisatasteforthereputablycorrect,notfortheaestheticallytrue。 Themimicry,itshouldbesaid,extendsfurtherthantothesenseofbeautyinhorsefleshsimply。Itincludestrappingsandhorsemanshipaswell,sothatthecorrectorreputablybeautifulseatorpostureisalsodecidedbyEnglishusage,aswellastheequestriangait。Toshowhowfortuitousmaysometimesbethecircumstanceswhichdecidewhatshallbebecomingandwhatnotunderthepecuniarycanonofbeauty,itmaybenotedthatthisEnglishseat,andthepeculiarlydistressinggaitwhichhasmadeanawkwardseatnecessary,areasurvivalfromthetimewhentheEnglishroadsweresobadwithmireandmudastobevirtuallyimpassableforahorsetravellingatamorecomfortablegait;sothatapersonofdecoroustastesinhorsemanshiptodayridesapunchwithdockedtail,inanuncomfortablepostureandatadistressinggait,becausetheEnglishroadsduringagreatpartofthelastcenturywereimpassableforahorsetravellingatamorehorse-likegait,orforananimalbuiltformovingwitheaseoverthefirmandopencountrytowhichthehorseisindigenous。 Itisnotonlywithrespecttoconsumablegoods——includingdomesticanimals——thatthecanonsoftastehavebeencoloredbythecanonsofpecuniaryreputability。Somethingtothelikeeffectistobesaidforbeautyinpersons。Inordertoavoidwhatevermaybematterofcontroversy,noweightwillbegiveninthisconnectiontosuchpopularpredilectionastheremaybeforthedignified(leisurely)bearingandpolypresencethatarebyvulgartraditionassociatedwithopulenceinmaturemen。Thesetraitsareinsomemeasureacceptedaselementsofpersonalbeauty。Buttherearecertainelementsoffemininebeauty,ontheotherhand,whichcomeinunderthishead,andwhichareofsoconcreteandspecificacharacterastoadmitofitemizedappreciation。Itismoreorlessarulethatincommunitieswhichareatthestageofeconomicdevelopmentatwhichwomenarevaluedbytheupperclassfortheirservice,theidealoffemalebeautyisarobust,large-limbedwoman。Thegroundofappreciationisthephysique,whiletheconformationofthefaceisofsecondaryweightonly。Awell-knowninstanceofthisidealoftheearlypredatorycultureisthatofthemaidensoftheHomericpoems。 Thisidealsuffersachangeinthesucceedingdevelopment,when,intheconventionalscheme,theofficeofthehigh-classwifecomestobeavicariousleisuresimply。Theidealthenincludesthecharacteristicswhicharesupposedtoresultfromortogowithalifeofleisureconsistentlyenforced。Theidealacceptedunderthesecircumstancesmaybegatheredfromdescriptionsofbeautifulwomenbypoetsandwritersofthechivalrictimes。Intheconventionalschemeofthosedaysladiesofhighdegreewereconceivedtobeinperpetualtutelage,andtobescrupulouslyexemptfromallusefulwork。Theresultingchivalricorromanticidealofbeautytakescognizancechieflyoftheface,anddwellsonitsdelicacy,andonthedelicacyofthehandsandfeet,theslenderfigure,andespeciallytheslenderwaist。Inthepicturedrepresentationsofthewomenofthattime,andinmodernromanticimitatorsofthechivalricthoughtandfeeling,thewaistisattenuatedtoadegreethatimpliesextremedebility。Thesameidealisstillextantamongaconsiderableportionofthepopulationofmodernindustrialcommunities;butitistobesaidthatithasretaineditsholdmosttenaciouslyinthosemoderncommunitieswhichareleastadvancedinpointofeconomicandcivildevelopment,andwhichshowthemostconsiderablesurvivalsofstatusandofpredatoryinstitutions。 Thatistosay,thechivalricidealisbestpreservedinthoseexistingcommunitieswhicharesubstantiallyleastmodern。 Survivalsofthislackadaisicalorromanticidealoccurfreelyinthetastesofthewell-to-doclassesofContinentalcountries。 Inmoderncommunitieswhichhavereachedthehigherlevelsofindustrialdevelopment,theupperleisureclasshasaccumulatedsogreatamassofwealthastoplaceitswomenaboveallimputationofvulgarlyproductivelabor。Herethestatusofwomenasvicariousconsumersisbeginningtoloseitsplaceinthesectionsofthebodyofthepeople;andasaconsequencetheidealoffemininebeautyisbeginningtochangebackagainfromtheinfirmlydelicate,translucent,andhazardouslyslender,toawomanofthearchaictypethatdoesnotdisownherhandsandfeet,nor,indeed,theothergrossmaterialfactsofherperson。 InthecourseofeconomicdevelopmenttheidealofbeautyamongthepeoplesoftheWesternculturehasshiftedfromthewomanofphysicalpresencetothelady,anditisbeginningtoshiftbackagaintothewoman;andallinobediencetothechangingconditionsofpecuniaryemulation。Theexigenciesofemulationatonetimerequiredlustyslaves;atanothertimetheyrequiredaconspicuousperformanceofvicariousleisureandconsequentlyanobviousdisability;butthesituationisnowbeginningtooutgrowthislastrequirement,since,underthehigherefficiencyofmodernindustry,leisureinwomenispossiblesofardownthescaleofreputabilitythatitwillnolongerserveasadefinitivemarkofthehighestpecuniarygrade。 Apartfromthisgeneralcontrolexercisedbythenormofconspicuouswasteovertheidealoffemininebeauty,thereareoneortwodetailswhichmeritspecificmentionasshowinghowitmayexerciseanextremeconstraintindetailovermen’ssenseofbeautyinwomen。Ithasalreadybeennoticedthatatthestagesofeconomicevolutionatwhichconspicuousleisureismuchregardedasameansofgoodrepute,theidealrequiresdelicateanddiminutivebandsandfeetandaslenderwaist。Thesefeatures,togetherwiththeother,relatedfaultsofstructurethatcommonlygowiththem,gotoshowthatthepersonsoaffectedisincapableofusefuleffortandmustthereforebesupportedinidlenessbyherowner。Sheisuselessandexpensive,andsheisconsequentlyvaluableasevidenceofpecuniarystrength。Itresultsthatatthisculturalstagewomentakethoughttoaltertheirpersons,soastoconformmorenearlytotherequirementsoftheinstructedtasteofthetime;andundertheguidanceofthecanonofpecuniarydecency,themenfindtheresultingartificiallyinducedpathologicalfeaturesattractive。 So,forinstance,theconstrictedwaistwhichhashadsowideandpersistentavogueinthecommunitiesoftheWesternculture,andsoalsothedeformedfootoftheChinese。Bothofthesearemutilationsofunquestionedrepulsivenesstotheuntrainedsense。 Itrequireshabituationtobecomereconciledtothem。Yetthereisnoroomtoquestiontheirattractivenesstomenintowhoseschemeoflifetheyfitashonorificitemssanctionedbytherequirementsofpecuniaryreputability。Theyareitemsofpecuniaryandculturalbeautywhichhavecometododutyaselementsoftheidealofwomanliness。 Theconnectionhereindicatedbetweentheaestheticvalueandtheinvidiouspecuniaryvalueofthingsisofcoursenotpresentintheconsciousnessofthevaluer。Sofarasaperson,informingajudgmentoftaste,takesthoughtandreflectsthattheobjectofbeautyunderconsiderationiswastefulandreputable,andthereforemaylegitimatelybeaccountedbeautiful; sofarthejudgmentisnotabonafidejudgmentoftasteanddoesnotcomeupforconsiderationinthisconnection。Theconnectionwhichishereinsistedonbetweenthereputabilityandtheapprehendedbeautyofobjectsliesthroughtheeffectwhichthefactofreputabilityhasuponthevaluer’shabitsofthought。Heisinthehabitofformingjudgmentsofvalueofvariouskinds-economic,moral,aesthetic,orreputableconcerningtheobjectswithwhichhehastodo,andhisattitudeofcommendationtowardsagivenobjectonanyothergroundwillaffectthedegreeofhisappreciationoftheobjectwhenhecomestovalueitfortheaestheticpurpose。Thisismoreparticularlytrueasregardsvaluationongroundssocloselyrelatedtotheaestheticgroundasthatofreputability。Thevaluationfortheaestheticpurposeandforthepurposeofreputearenotheldapartasdistinctlyasmightbe。Confusionisespeciallyapttoarisebetweenthesetwokindsofvaluation,becausethevalueofobjectsforreputeisnothabituallydistinguishedinspeechbytheuseofaspecialdescriptiveterm。Theresultisthatthetermsinfamiliarusetodesignatecategoriesorelementsofbeautyareappliedtocoverthisunnamedelementofpecuniarymerit,andthecorrespondingconfusionofideasfollowsbyeasyconsequence。Thedemandsofreputabilityinthiswaycoalesceinthepopularapprehensionwiththedemandsofthesenseofbeauty,andbeautywhichisnotaccompaniedbytheaccreditedmarksofgoodreputeisnotaccepted。Buttherequirementsofpecuniaryreputabilityandthoseofbeautyinthenaivesensedonotinanyappreciabledegreecoincide。Theeliminationfromoursurroundingsofthepecuniarilyunfit,therefore,resultsinamoreorlessthorougheliminationofthatconsiderablerangeofelementsofbeautywhichdonothappentoconformtothepecuniaryrequirement。