Introduction: The Object identified
If there is one item that is with nearly all women, it is a handbag. In our dynamic world, the gender boundaries are becoming increasingly blurred, and therefore it is possible to meet one or two men who carry handbags too. But this can only be the exception. For women in society, carrying handbags is the rule. This is true for my teacher. Her handbag stands out in my view and it is going to be the object of discussion in this essay.
My teacher’s handbag is brown in color. I have never taken time to do a thorough analysis of the color but I believe what my teacher says about her handbag. She believes that it is the brown that results from a combination of black and white.
At one point, I pointed out that the color of her of her handbag was golden. She looked at me with a wide smile and thanked me for my suggestion. She then proceeded to tell me that whatever I choose to call the color is my decision. It was not going to affect her since she was fully aware that her handbag’s color is brown. I have since stopped wondering about the color of the handbag. I am now trying to unravel the mystery behind her attachment to the handbag.
The handbag is thirty seven years old. My teacher is fifty years meaning that she got it when she was thirteen years. It is made of pure leather and has a one and half meter strap by which it is suspended from the shoulder. The open top is secured by a buckle that locks to the inside, meaning the side that is in contact with the body while the bag is on the shoulder. On both sides, it has the letter L and V that are close together.
The texture of the leather is smooth and it is not easy for one know that this handbag is as old as it is. Before my teacher told me its correct age, I thought it was around three or four years old given that I joined this institution two years ago and found her with it. But I later discovered that the bag is actually thirty seven years old. I was shocked at first but when I considered the type of person my teacher is, I realized why it appeared intact. She is extremely careful with whatever she handles meaning that it is not possible for the handbag to be mishandled while it is in her possession.
Leaving the above a side, opening the handbag is something I have always been tempted to do despite the fact that it reflects badly on me. I can remember carrying it as I was assisting her carry items from the lecture room to her office. I asked her how she had managed to let me carry her handbag, something she had never done ever since I arrived in the school from Hong Kong. She jokingly told me that she had attained mysterious powers that allowed her to get into my system and carry the bag through me.
Therefore I was not the one carrying it although I thought that I was carrying it. I laughed off her joke when she suddenly promised to tell me the history behind her bag. I knew as I still know today what handbags are used for. In a general sense, I can point out the fact that women use handbags to carry their personal items. That means my teacher’s handbag serves that function too. But what was the history behind my teacher’s handbag? I had to hear her story so as to be able to answer this question.
The Handbag as a Social Message than a Class Symbol
The case is very different with teacher’s handbag. The L and V that are on both sides of the bag mean so much to my teacher. They communicate a sense of class going by the prestige that is associated with Louis Vuitton as a company (Dittmar 1992, pp.16). When the bag was given to my teacher as a present from her father, he did not tell her that he had spent so much money on it. She however discovered that a few years later, long after her father his death.
The only thing my teacher tells me she remembers hearing from her father was that the handbag meant more than the money that was used to purchase it. As a young girl, my teacher says that she did not take so much time trying to figure out what her father was referring to. She carried her new possession around and showed off in front of friends who had gotten handbags long before she did. What she learnt later about the bag created the attachment she has to the bag. It is something more than the fashion message that is communicated by the L and the V (Belk 1998, pp.139-141).
The Message in the object (the handbag)
My teacher’s father had told her to take care of the handbag. This was before he died. He then told her that the brown color is a representation of what is good for Australia. My teacher clearly explained to me the message from her father that the racial tension between the races that exist in Australia will die when the color separation dies out. She further reveals that her father’s wish was for her to marry someone from a different race as a means of giving their children the color of the handbag and therefore contributing to the unity of Australia. More information from my teacher regarding the bag is that the solution is not being black or white.
The ultimate solution is a blend of the diversity as it is availed to us by God; so that at the end of it all, the color of the handbag becomes the ideal. This gift of a handbag from a father to his daughter represents the balance (Schwartz 1967, pp.1-3).
From the above revelation I was able to understand the origin of the respect my teacher has for her handbag. The earlier thinking that it would be because of its apparent superior design is not featuring in my mind any more. It has a deep history that connects my teacher to her father. This history further connects them to the society in which they live (Osteen 2002, pp.16). This society is the multi racial Australia which has seen the worst scenarios of racial discrimination that has left both sides with deep psychological wounds. The descendants of the perpetrators are able to feel the weight after learning of what their forefathers did. They want to say sorry but they do not know how.
This is the category where my teacher’s father belonged. He sought to make amends before his death through his advice to my teacher. The victims’ descendants on the other hand cringe when they read and view the gruesome historical accounts of what their forefathers went through. They definitely feel that someone owes them an apology but I guess they do not know who. What does my teacher think about the whole issue of her father’s message through the handbag?
It is not by accident that this handbag is tenderly cared for. My teacher intends to give it to her daughter one year from now. The message will be the same as it was given to her by her father. But this time round, it will be a message converted into practical reality. The psychological impact on my teacher for not obeying the words of her dying father has not been easy. This is why she was extremely excited upon the realization that my sister is getting married to a man from a different race.
In addition the above, my teacher has found peace and the bag is the symbol. When it eventually lands on her daughter’s shoulders, she will have arrived. To her it is not just a bag. It cannot be equated to the bags that are carried by high class women who want to tell the world how much they have achieved. It is also not for the conventional use of carrying personal items. It is a message that she was given but decided not to follow due to what she calls the folly of youth.
Her intention for reparation is clear and her gladness is evident given that fact that she never had to work hard to get it accomplished. It just happened on its own even before she would make either her daughter or my son sit and listen to long persuasions and explanations as to why they need to be not only open minded but inclusive. What else does it mean to my teacher? Is this all there to the bag?
Psychological Attachment and the Handbag
Psychological attachment can be described as the sense of togetherness that develops between a human being and an object or another human being (Karen 1998, pp.87). It comes with staying with an object over a long period of time. This element clears out the idea of how much the item cost at the time it was obtained. The fact that the item has been with the person for a good part of his or her life creates a tight bond which can lead to mental disturbances if the item is suddenly lost or handed over to another person without the heartfelt willingness of the owner or the person who has stayed with it for long (Karen 1998, pp.47).
This is the case with the handbag. My teacher ‘s attachment to the handbag is not something anyone can doubt given that as mentioned elsewhere in this essay, she has been with the handbag for thirty seven years. She confesses that it has become part of her identity and people who are close to her have come to associate her with the brown handbag. The attachment is so intense that any time she leaves the house without the handbag, she feels like part of her is missing.
The comparison that can be made here is that of a child who enters the world and immediately gets into contact with the mother. If the child and the mother are separated after a period of ten to fifteen years, the child will always feel the violence of the separation. The vacuum that will result from the separation will be a source of grief for the child, and the main reason for this is the amount of time spent with the mother. This cannot be the case if the separation is done immediately after birth before the child has time to connect with the mother (Blurton-Jones 1972, pp 217-219).
Conclusion
From the above, it is evident that my teacher’s handbag is more than just a bag. It is true that it is highly fashionable and this contributes to her liking for it but it is not the major attraction. The message that accompanies the handbag is the main concern. Her father bought it for her as a symbol of unity in Australia. The message is a blend of the diverse groups of people into what to me appears to be golden but my teacher insists is brown.
She blames the folly of youth for not being able to accomplish her father’s mission. But all hope is not lost since her daughter has decided to fulfill the wishes of my teacher’s father. She has made the decision to marry someone from a different race and my teacher thinks this is a step in the direction that her late father wanted. This makes her happy and her decision to hand over the handbag to her daughter is based on this. Thus the handbag is not just a handbag but a message that she has taken care of for a long time as she was waiting for a moment when it would be fulfilled.
Also, my teacher is psychologically attached to the handbag because of the long period it has been in her possession. Like the attachment infants develop to their mothers as they spend time with them, she has developed a bond with her handbag, which will undoubtedly make it emotional when she will be handing it over to her daughter. But she will have compensation for her grief through the joy of living to see her father’s wish fulfilled. The guilty of having failed to do it herself will be cleared and her conscience will be crystal clear. It will be a source of internal peace for her. This is the interesting life of my teacher’s handbag.
References
Belk, R. W. 1998, “Possessions and the Extended Self.” Journal of Consumer Research, Vol.15.4. 139-68.
Blurton-Jones N., 1972. Ethological Studies Of Child Behaviour. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Dittmar, H., 1992. The Social Psychology of Material Possessions: To Have Is to Be. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Karen, R., 1998. Becoming Attached: First Relationships and How They Shape Our Capacity to Love. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press.
Osteen, Mark, ed., 2002. The Question of the Gift: Essays across Disciplines. London: Routledge.
Schwartz, B., 1967. “The Social Psychology of the Gift.” American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 73.1. 1-11.