Looking at the Consumption in Love

◆摘  要：With the rapid development of society， the spiritual field of human beings tends to become more capitalized， and love is also considered as a commodity which can be exchanged and consumed. After First World War， America entered a period of economic boom in which the society led a luxurious and indulgent life. Love in that time was inevitably at the mercy of capital. Winter Dreams written by F. Scott Fitzgerald vividly depicts that consumption in love prevailing in Jazz Age through telling the story of Dexter pursing his love which finally evaporated. This thesis focuses on consumption in love to make an in-depth study of love between Dexter and Judy， hoping to help modern men foster a healthy view of love.

◆關键词：Consumption in Love;Winter Dreams;F. Scott Fitzgerald

Introduction：

It is no exaggeration to say that F. Scott. Fitzgerald is the most important representative of the roaring twenties， showing us an authentically general social life of 1920s by use of his vivid and exquisite writings. Winter Dreams is a short story written by Fitzgerald， which gives an authentic picture of the "Jazz Age" and truly reflects people's view on love and marriage at that time. This thesis takes the consumption in love as a starting point， which has been gradually paid great attention in modern society and makes an in-depth analysis of Judy's taking advantage of her physical capital to exchange male's attention and Dexter using his wealth and time to exchange a rise in his class status.

Consumption in Love

With sex as the joint， love is a kind of giving， which comes from body or sex but is not controlled by body or sex itself. Love is a kind of game with its equal， independent， and free relationship.[1]However， this concept of love seems no longer to be fully applicable in modern society because we have entered a consumerist society， in which consumerism culture is prevalent and alienation of consumption is nothing new. Therefore， love is also inevitably to be affected and is regarded as an object， which can be exchanged. This is the embodiment of the prevailing utilitarian value， which is divorced from the true view of love. Under the trend of pan-materialization， love has rooted in economic interests， and people regard love as a commodity to change their fate. When commodity utility maximization is regarded as the selection standard of love， people will pay more attention to what kind of material wealth or benefits will love bring to themselves and love has become a naked business.[2] As a result， consumption in love comes into being， which refers to that people regard their physical appeal and perceptual beauty as a kind of capital to attract the opposite sex to produce the chemical reaction， similar to "love" and make benefit from it， which in essence is a kind of alienation of love.

Dexters use of pursuing love in exchange of status rising

It seems that Dexter loves Judy passionately and desperately， but what he pursues in nature is a rise in status. His love is intertwined with ambition and admiration to higher status that could never be counted as pure.

On one hand， Dexter's dreams always have some to do with the glittering things themselves， which is clearly pointed out by Fitzgerald in the second part of story. When he was young， Dexter dreamed of being a golf champion， defeating the best one in his imagination. But what he wanted more was surrounded by admiring crowd with Mr. Mortimer Jones watching him with open-mouthed wonder. So， what Dexter longs for from the bottom of his heart is the respect and admiration from elites like Mr. Jones， which means the equality in identity and status with the upper-class people. After he encountered Judy， his winter dreams naturally change from being golf champion to pursuing Judy who is a charming young girl typical of the careless manners and wayward disposition which are peculiar to upper class. After all， Dexter bears his winter dreams in his mind all the time， and Judy vitalizes his dreams best.

On the other hand， Judy is by no means the true love of Dexter. Though Judy is beautiful and sexy， she is an arrogant， selfish， and cruel. She only focuses on immediate enjoyment and monetary interests in her relationship with men. Judy showed her vulgar and cruel personality at her first appearance in the story.  At that time， she was angry for not having caddie， and vented her anger on the nurse “for further emphasis she raised the club again and was about to bring it down smartly upon the nurse's bosom.” （21） When Judy grows up， her wicked nature is more obvious. But Dexter drops in Judy's sweet trap willingly and cannot get himself out， even knowing that Judy does not take him seriously. She can maintain close relationships with a dozen of men at the same time， whats worse， “she had insulted him， and she had ridden over him， and she had played his interest in her against his interest in his work--for fun.” （63）

The basis of true love is loyalty and mutual respect， and Judy is not qualified for either of them. So， the reason for Dexter is in hopeless infatuation with her must be that Judy is far more than the embodiment of beauty and love. More importantly， Judy is the symbol for what he has been eager for that is the high status. Though Dexter seems to have achieved success and made his way up to the upper-class society in which his beloved woman-Judy belongs to. However， in fact， he still has a sense of inferiority from the bottom of his heart. His diligence can only make him equal with the upper class in terms of money， but when it comes to family origin， he is bound to be a common person. In Dexters eyes， he regards Judy as a kind of commodity nurtured by the upper class and believes that owning Judy means him truly stepping into the upper class not just in terms of money but also in terms of status. So， for Dexter， his love is neither pure nor true， but closely haunted by his desire for high status which he longs for all the time. His love is in nature the consumptive love with a disguise of true love.

Judys use of physical charm in exchange of mens infatuation

Consumptive love has a more obvious display on Judys socialization with different men. In Fitzgeralds depiction， Judy is energetic， vigorous， beautiful but never an ordinary girl. She will not stay for only one man， always being in contact with dozens of handsome and rich young men at same time. She enjoys maintaining the complicated relationships with men， viewing love as a game of haunting and her beauty as the lethal weapon. She always promises good words but never conducts good deeds. She has the wisdom to balance the chaotic situation and many men “Whenever one showed the sign of dropping off through long neglect， she granted him a brief honeyed hour， which encouraged him to tag along for a year or so longer.” （55） Judy might has never learned how to cherish others kindness and respond to others with sincere. But these are essentials in a true love， and maybe for that reason she never finds a befitting husband. Love for Judy is no more than a business of changing in which she uses her physical charm to exchange mens infatuation and false loyalty which serves a kind of special honor for Judy. Therefore， it can be concluded that Judy regards her body as a commodity to exchange for mens love.

Conclusion：

In Fitzgerald's view， consumptive love will never bring us real happiness. A glimpse from his own marriage is also the best illustration. It warns us that consumptive love is fragile， which will not bring us spiritual satisfaction for a long time and will collapse easily. Nowadays， consumption in love is unavoidable. Love without material basis will be consumed up in the trifles of our daily life. Therefore， we should establish a healthy view of love， which is based on the combination of physical attraction and emotional spirit.

Works Cited

[1]吳志荣.爱的哲学思考[D].武汉.华中科技大学，2007.

[2]宋雅琴.现代社会消费式爱情伦理困境及其应对[J].吉首大学哲学研究所，2018.

[3]F. Scott Fitzgerald. Winter Dreams / Sonhos de Inverno [M]. Publisher： Folha de Sao Paulo， 2018.

作者简介

冯宜然（2003—），女，汉族，河南省洛阳市人，学生，本科在读，单位：华北水利水电大学外国语学院，研究方向：英语专业。