Elizabeth Childs
Materialism is often a trait attributed to those who are found in wealthy and exclusive groups, but those who admire these groups and yearn for their acceptance may also contain this trait within themselves. They often see exclusive groups and try and find ways to put themselves “above” this group, as they may want to feel better about not being accepted but do not even acknowledge their own biased participation. In Donna Tartt’s The Secret History, Richard feels like an outsider due to his financial status and academic past and chases acceptance by his college’s Greek student group. Observing this group shows that Richard is inherently materialistic, despite his socioeconomic background, through how he describes his fellow students and their possessions and projects his thoughts and feelings about them.
The way that Richard views the new people he interacts with comes from a very materialistic standpoint highlighted when he spots Bunny and the twins studying in the library. This passage shows how Richard views items regarding academia and wealth with respect and intimidation; for example: “The bottles of ink I remember particularly because I was very charmed by them and by the long black straight pens, which looked incredibly archaic and troublesome” (Tartt 19). The words “charmed” and “troublesome” are used to get this point across, as these words carry a feeling associated with them: attraction and intimidation, respectively. This suggests that Richard admires this group and their intelligence, but is intimidated, especially due to the heavy exclusivity of this group coupled with their wealth and academic superiority. This idea of respect and intimidation going together is brought back multiple times, including the discussion in one of the class meetings about beauty and terror (39). This intimidation is a product of Richard’s financial status and his previous academic failures; the admiration comes from his love of studying Greek. His feelings towards these items are connected to his materialism as it shows the importance he places on inanimate objects.
Richard keeps his observations attached to physical items when describing the characters in the library, only drawing attention to their words after describing their clothing. Charles and Camilla were dressed in country-club-esq clothing with light colors in contrast to the dark ambiance set by the library. The white described in their clothing symbolizes cleanliness and contrasts his description of Bunny’s stained and ripped jacket. The line, “He was leaning on his elbows on the table, hair in his eyes,” presents Bunny to be more of a mess compared to the twins, in a way foreshadowing how Bunny may be the center of a conflict (20). The materialistic nature is expressed in this quote because the worn down clothing is relating to issues and the clean and wealthy clothing, displays worthiness of respect.
Richard’s materialistic nature is shown through specific passages and often referenced throughout the novel. He finds that he will only be accepted if he were to put on a persona full of academic appreciation and riches despite his past. While this idea of judgment greatly inconveniences Richard, such as when he almost froze to death or had to purchase a whole new wardrobe, he still participates in this culture. His participation is spotlighted through the symbolism brought by the cleanliness of Charles’ and Camilla’s clothing contrasted with Bunny’s jacket and messed up hair showing that he admires the twins far more than Bunny. He describes academic materials with some kind of beauty and intimidation, admiring it being used in an academic context where he could thrive. While it can be argued that Richard’s peers also possess a materialistic mindset, these students come from a background that was constantly associated with wealth and status. Richard’s materialism stems from a completely different mindset, showing that everyone possesses the ability to be materialistic.
Above is a photo of three needle-felted objects that were used by Richard to make judgments. There is an ink bottle, a dollar bill, and Bunny’s stained jacket.