Les faux-monnayuers is the 1925 Novel by French Author Andre Gide that was written as a form slice of life novel that was well known for its many characters and crisscrossing plotlines. The novel’s main theme is that of an original story then a copy of the same and how they are different from each other. The external story of the counterfeiting of gold coins and the internal story of portraying the characters’ feelings and their relationships.
The novel gained attention because of its style of being a novel within a novel Another reason it was famous was the use of an omniscient narrator that spoke to the readers directly to discuss Gide’s outlook and ideas with them which made it a precursor to the nouveau roman style. Still more things that made it famous was the large number of bisexual and gay male characters including Oliver who was just an adolescent and the closet homosexual friend of his Bernard. Gontran and Philippe were also closet homosexuals along with Comete de Passavant and the benevolent Eduard. Their large number and the depictions of homosexual relationships is one of the reasons the book was originally held as Pariah but later became famous. Today the book is a famous piece of Western literature.
The plot itself revolves around Bernard and Oliver, Bernard is preparing for college when he discovers that he is an illegitimate child. This gives him the pretext to run away from home. Bernard then goes off to visit Oliver in his bedroom where they discuss sexuality and recount a not so enjoyable visit to a prostitute. Bernard becomes Eduard’s secretary after he is caught stealing Eduard’s suitcase and instead of being arrested he is condemned to become Eduard’s secretary. Oliver becomes jealous and soon finds himself in the hands of the evil Comte de Passsvant who takes him to the Mediterranean.
Bernard and Eduard soon realize that they are not fit to be a couple as they originally thought. Bernard chooses to leave his newspaper job and return to his father. Oliver replaces him as Eduard’s secretary. Oliver actually ends up in Eduard’s bedroom and fulfilling the attraction that they have felt for each other all along.
A separate plotline exists where Georges, Oliver’s younger brother, is involved with counterfeiters, which is the superficial reason for the book’s title. His brother Vincent is also involved with a married woman named Laura. Finally, Boris commits suicide after learning that he is an illegitimate child. The plot’s oftentimes scandalous interactions of adolescents who appear to speak in a way that is too advanced for their years make it sound a bit unreal. The focus of the paper is showing how the gift is seen as prestigious in the book. Another focus will be how an economy of regard is displayed in the course of the book.
Goods and Services continue to be transferred without the benefit of markets or prices, to be exchanged as gifts(Offer 450). This suggests that not all things given require a monetary value. Instead of receiving a monetary equivalent of what is given prestige may be derived from the items. In gift-giving Reciprocity is usually delayed. Both the value of the reciprocal gesture and its timing is left to discretion, though often regulated tightly by convention and custom (Offer 451). Such that it is not immediately apparent what the gift-giver expects to receive from the gift-receiver.
An example of this was the relationship between Bernard and Eduard which was originally one where Eduard granted Bernard a gift of freedom by not immediately taking him to the authorities. Instead, Eduard makes him his secretary and soon begins to make advances towards him. The gift is not immediately reciprocated, instead, there is a delay in the form of Eduard not immediately asking for the gift returned and letting Bernard be his secretary instead. However, later on, Bernard can not properly resist Eduard’s advances because he owns the older man a debt of gratitude. Regard is seen as a transactional benefit (Offer 454). In this case, Bernard ultimately has to have high regard for Eduard for what he did even if he did force him into servitude.
In Japanese industrial culture, it is underpinned by a gift economy of secure employment and overt rituals of mutual obligation between workers and corporations (Gmelch and Miskin Productivity teams). By paying proper respect to the Client in an often elaborate and ceremonial style, for example, it is very disrespectful to immediately keep a calling card instead one must look at it for a long time as if studying it, one expects to do business again. The increasing competitiveness of the Japanese business world makes it imperative that the relationship of regard is strengthened at every step especially since replacement employees or service providers are easy to find.
Comte de Passsvant is another person who is famous in the book for using gifts to earn prestige. Ultimately his gift-giving amounts to blackmail. He ‘economizes on love’ (Roberson ‘what does the economist economize’) to get what he wants out of people. Even if it includes pedantry that some of them don’t quite approve of.
A person who gives other valuable gifts or bestows important services makes a claim for superior status obliging the receivers to him. If the receivers return benefits that adequately discharge their obligation, they deny his claim to superiority (Blau 108). However, he did not allow them to disclaim his superiority for example Oliver was taken to the Mediterranean with him.
Boris is another example of a person who denies a claim of superiority. After being in the care of his parents for a long time, when he discovers that he is a bastard he decides to commit suicide never mind that his parents invested considerable attention in him, the pain of not being a real child is too much for him to bear.
People who do not accept the claims of superiority are often called ungrateful. Being labeled as ungrateful carries a heavy stigma in all societies but most especially in Asian countries which are heavily influenced by Confucianism. For example, in China family values are still held in such regard that someone who disobeys the will of their parents can soon find himself stigmatized and cut off from his family contacts, which are often also his business contacts. In Korea, it is unthinkable to marry someone without their family’s approval. The same is true with ethnically Chinese people living in the Philippines where one can find himself treated like a Pariah if they marry someone their family does not approve of. In many Chinese-oriented movies in that country, those who do are branded as “Walang utang na loob” or ungrateful and debased by their relations. The plot will often revolve around the prodigal child trying to restore his or her standing with the family.
On a Macro-level, the idea of gift-giving resulting in receiving regard can be seen in the actions of the World Powers in the modern era and the tributary system of the Chinese Empire. China and the cultures in influence consider everyone with a level of filial respect. In other words, how one is related to another determines how he or she respects another. In fact, in the Old imperial court of China, high-ranking officials were called by the Emperor as his relatives from his father’s side while lesser officials were called relatives from the mother’s side. In male-oriented China being a relation from the paternal line is considered higher than a maternal relation. The ego-centric Chinese court considered itself the great father of all nations and addressed all nations as children. The tributary system was established where the ‘children’ were to give gifts to obtain the respect of the ‘father’ while they also received other gifts in return. This is the basis for the system of trade in that era. Gift-giving not only resulted in the exchange of goods between the nations but also established the system of respect and obedience that would be the basis of international relations between the states.
After World War Two, the two major power blocks both worked very hard to cement their positions in their areas of influence. One example is the Marshall plan, which provided aid to war-torn nations. However, it was actually a form of blackmail since the nations were required to follow the NATO line. The U.S.S.R. also had its own system of giving aid to war-torn nations in the Warsaw Pact which also helped crystallize the antagonistic relations between the two power blocs. Those who received aid were often left with little choice but to follow the party lines since they had already taken the Aid money.
A similar modus operandi is found with the I.M.F., the International Monetary Fund or I.M.F. is an aid-giving organization. However, many have accused the I.M.F. to be an organization the promotes neo-colonialism because many of its recommendations often have stipulations that involve some sort of legislation. For example, to avail of a loan from the I.M.F., the prospective country must first pass legislation such as privatization of public utilities or laws that liberalize the countries economy. While often packaged as efforts to help a country modernize and keep up with current world standards such coercive aid packages are means to make a country more pliable to the whims of the vested interest of the I.M.F.
Gift exchange has two elements: the gains from trade, and the satisfaction of regard. (452). The gain from trade aspect can be seen in the book in the respect Eduard gained from the boys for hiring them on as his secretary. In the real world, gift-giving becomes a means of coercion and control because the person who receives a gift believes he owes something to the person who gave him a gift.
A person who is perceived as ungrateful suffers a heavy stigma. For example, many people had a poor view of Shaquille O’ Neil when he decided to move to the Suns after watching his then Miami Heat got destroyed by near-constant losing. People viewed him as someone who was only after a championship and had a ghoulish opinion of him.
Families remain the wellspring of regard (Offer 458). When the people in the story learn to disregard their families either by reason of finding out that they are illegitimate children or because they simply don’t get along this is when they begin to fall apart and go down the path of Homosexuality. While not always presented in the book in a negative light the ultimate consequences end up being negative or at least divergent from what was originally expected of them. For example, when Bernard finds out he is not a legitimate child he begins to tread the path that eventually leads him to Oliver’s bed.
In the modern world, a lack of parental regard or family love is usually traced as the core of teenaged delinquency and misbehavior. The stereotypical “mommy didn’t love me” or “daddy abused me” spiel that many serial killers and other social plagues tend to give out. However, it is because people will learn to regard others by learning to regard their families that people who do not grow up in a nurturing family environment later become delinquents in later life.
The economy of regard is an attempt to impute market forces and the rules of economics into the world of regard. Regard or respect is often difficult to quantify because the value of the gift given is different for the person receiving the gift and the person giving it. Lacking a ‘price tag so to speak, a gift and the regard that comes with it can at times be at variance. Such misunderstanding results in conflict and misunderstanding.
The basic principle of supply and demand comes to mind here. A person will part with the gift if they feel the regard they will receive is at least equal or greater to the cost of the gift for them. A person will receive a gift if he feels the regard he will later be required to return is less than or equal to the value of the gift he is receiving. It is the leveling of expectations that will often lead to misunderstanding of being called ungrateful or being a user.
One example of this is the so-called ‘Indian Gift’. When the first settlers came to North America they were woefully ill-equipped to survive the winters. When the natives saw this they gave them blankets to help tide them over. When the winter ended the natives demanded the blankets back much to the chagrin of the Settlers who believed that the gifts were meant to be kept.
In conclusion, an economy of regard is an attempt to put economic principles into the area of respect and regard. While the theories of equilibrium and balance can be applicable in the case of regard. However, in the book the economy of regard is best seen as a coercive element. In the act of gift-giving, the necessary need to show gratefulness is twisted into forcing people to do things against their will.
Works Cited
Bienenstock, Elisa and Bianchi, Alison. Activating Performance Expectation and Status Differences Through Gift Exchange.
Offer, Abner. Between the Gift and the Market: The Economy of Regard.