Alberto Blest Gana and the Sensory Appeal of Wealth

This essay explores sensory stimuli in La aritmética en el amor [Arithmetic in Love/Economics of Love] (1860) as they relate to the consumer preferences (for clothing, furniture, jewellery) and purchasing practices of nineteenth-century Santiago, Chile. The novel presents detailed descriptions, for...

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Autor principal:	Vilches Patricia
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	De Gruyter 2021
Materias:	chile santiago affect clothing la aritmética en el amor social order Social sciences (General) H1-99
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/2273615f8c574b90ab9f27fbd474033a
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id	oai:doaj.org-article:2273615f8c574b90ab9f27fbd474033a
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:2273615f8c574b90ab9f27fbd474033a2021-12-05T14:10:45ZAlberto Blest Gana and the Sensory Appeal of Wealth2451-347410.1515/culture-2021-0006https://doaj.org/article/2273615f8c574b90ab9f27fbd474033a2021-06-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1515/culture-2021-0006https://doaj.org/toc/2451-3474This essay explores sensory stimuli in La aritmética en el amor [Arithmetic in Love/Economics of Love] (1860) as they relate to the consumer preferences (for clothing, furniture, jewellery) and purchasing practices of nineteenth-century Santiago, Chile. The novel presents detailed descriptions, for example, of fine fabrics, emphasising the sounds that the wearers of such fabric reproduce as they move about. Wealthy or not, people feel the pressure to present themselves in their best garments, but the “best noise” is made by the rich, who transmit the affect of opulence to the less fortunate. Overall, to radiate a sensory appeal, characters frequent the city of Santiago and patronise the finest clothing stores. From our very first encounter with the protagonist Fortunato Esperanzano, he is dressed accordingly, engaging with Santiago and showing in his persona that he shops only for nice clothes and the best cigars. From a Lefebvrian perspective, Fortunato represents how Chile’s modernisation transforms the capital’s “marketplace” as a social space where a new luxury economy flourishes and a traditional, rigid social order is maintained.Vilches PatriciaDe Gruyterarticlechilesantiagoaffectclothingla aritmética en el amorsocial orderSocial sciences (General)H1-99ENOpen Cultural Studies, Vol 5, Iss 1, Pp 81-95 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	chile santiago affect clothing la aritmética en el amor social order Social sciences (General) H1-99
spellingShingle	chile santiago affect clothing la aritmética en el amor social order Social sciences (General) H1-99 Vilches Patricia Alberto Blest Gana and the Sensory Appeal of Wealth
description	This essay explores sensory stimuli in La aritmética en el amor [Arithmetic in Love/Economics of Love] (1860) as they relate to the consumer preferences (for clothing, furniture, jewellery) and purchasing practices of nineteenth-century Santiago, Chile. The novel presents detailed descriptions, for example, of fine fabrics, emphasising the sounds that the wearers of such fabric reproduce as they move about. Wealthy or not, people feel the pressure to present themselves in their best garments, but the “best noise” is made by the rich, who transmit the affect of opulence to the less fortunate. Overall, to radiate a sensory appeal, characters frequent the city of Santiago and patronise the finest clothing stores. From our very first encounter with the protagonist Fortunato Esperanzano, he is dressed accordingly, engaging with Santiago and showing in his persona that he shops only for nice clothes and the best cigars. From a Lefebvrian perspective, Fortunato represents how Chile’s modernisation transforms the capital’s “marketplace” as a social space where a new luxury economy flourishes and a traditional, rigid social order is maintained.
format	article
author	Vilches Patricia
author_facet	Vilches Patricia
author_sort	Vilches Patricia
title	Alberto Blest Gana and the Sensory Appeal of Wealth
title_short	Alberto Blest Gana and the Sensory Appeal of Wealth
title_full	Alberto Blest Gana and the Sensory Appeal of Wealth
title_fullStr	Alberto Blest Gana and the Sensory Appeal of Wealth
title_full_unstemmed	Alberto Blest Gana and the Sensory Appeal of Wealth
title_sort	alberto blest gana and the sensory appeal of wealth
publisher	De Gruyter
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/2273615f8c574b90ab9f27fbd474033a
work_keys_str_mv	AT vilchespatricia albertoblestganaandthesensoryappealofwealth
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Alberto Blest Gana and the Sensory Appeal of Wealth

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