In this blog piece, the term
“flesh” will be used to describe both human and animal bodies. The question of
whether flesh and money are inextricably linked appears to require the answer
“yes” as throughout history they have been. Not only is there the obvious value
in human sexuality through prostitution, which has been prevalent for hundreds
and hundreds of years, but also the value of a dead body is important. I am
going to discuss three pieces of literature here which discuss the issue of the
value of flesh in the 1600s in England, the 1800s in America and the Second
World War in Germany. The temporal and spatial spread of these texts allows for
some recognition of the universality of the flesh trade.
Firstly, Thomas Middleton’s play A Chaste Maid in Cheapside examines the
importance of the value of flesh in a time at which the consumption of meat had
been banned. During Lent at this time people were not allowed to buy or sell
meat unless it was for someone who was pregnant or very ill and therefore
needed it. Thus not only was animal meat incredibly valuable, but also
incredibly hard to find. Another level of value was attributed to the meat as a
result of the corruption of the officers who were controlling the consumption
of meat: bribery was not unheard of. There is an irony in this play in the
comparison between animal meat and children. A child is unfortunately
misrecognised as being a piece of meat and thus is seized by the officers. The
mother, willing to get rid of the child, gladly hands it over to them. Thus,
the corruption of the officers resulted in flesh losing them money rather than
making them some. Children are valued as being a negative type of meat for some
and a positive type for others. For example, for Allwit “his” children are a
source of revenue as they allow for his luxurious lifestyle. On the other hand,
Touchwood is too fertile and has too many children which are draining his
income and so he values them much less. Kix is unable to produce children, and
has a lot of money and land which he needs an heir for to pass them down onto
and thus children for him are worth more than any kind of physical wealth.
On the other hand, Cormac
McCarthy’s Blood Meridian does not
value flesh in terms of food or children, but in terms of death. The Glanton
gang, which includes all of the main characters in the book, are hunting Native
Americans and scalping them to earn their income. There was no difference in
value between the scalp of a man, woman or child and so they did not allow for
any sympathy for the defenceless women and children of the tribes. In fact,
they were an “easy kill” and thus had a greater value to them because they took
less time to kill. Indeed, as the book progresses there is a great deal of
confusion between the Natives, the Mexicans and even towards the end, the
blacks because not only does a dried scalp look the same regardless of race,
but the gang kill both Natives and Mexicans without prejudice. Moreover,
towards the end there is a great deal of emphasis placed upon the value of
flesh in a sexual manner. The mention of “whores” becomes highly prevalent and
surrounds the last few chapters of the book. Also, the kid/the man uses a whore
for the first time, thus connecting women with value, as well as being raped
himself. Once the judge has committed this atrocity to him he finally kills him
as his flesh has no value anymore.
A third and different approach to
flesh and value comes in the form of Art Spiegelman’s graphic novel Maus. This records his father’s memories
of the atrocities committed against human flesh in the Second World War in
Poland and in particular in Auschwitz. Vladek, Art’s dad and the main character
of the text, was a Jew living in Poland. He emphasises throughout his telling
of the events which happened to him the fact that bribery was incredibly
important in his survival of the war. He bribes members of the enemy to ensure
his survival in Auschwitz, he bribes people to hide him before he is finally
captured and he even bribes members of his family to help him. The last point
is questioned by his son who can’t understand why one would not save the flesh
of a member of his family without requiring payment, but Vladek states that his
cousin needed the money to survive. Flesh and money were inextricably linked.
Moreover, there is the obvious link between the members of the Nazi party who
earned their wages by reducing living human flesh to nothing. This links to the
devaluation of flesh in the Second World War as human beings who did not cohere
with Hitler’s idea of an Aryan race were made to be worthless. They were
treated as though they had no value and came to realise that this was how
people thought of them.
When cross-examined, these three
texts highlight how human beings are only valued as being worth something in a
subjective way. There is no objective value for human flesh. People are worth
however much money you lose or gain from their birth or death.
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