Closer view at a parvenu

[chornedsnorkack]

Parvenus are common in society, as well as common topics of literature.
But there seem to be certain limited points of view for them...
Some works end with Happily Ever After - the hero/ine gets rich in the very end, and that´s the Happy End with no problems reported after. Often, getting rich is accompanied by being exposed as a changeling born noble all along, and thus a suddenly suitable suitor for a love interest.
In other works, Status Quo is God, and for that reason, fool and his new money are soon parted - easy come easy go must return him to the previous condition within one episode.
In yet other works, parvenus exist - as side figures. They are ridiculed, contrasted with old money and poor, but without going inside their motivations and problems.

But surely, there are a lot of real problems being a parvenu? It is not "living happily ever after".
When he was poor, people used to despise him and laugh at his face.
Now he has wealth, political power, or superpowers.
People no longer laugh at his face... because now they have reasons to be afraid of him. And resent and hate him, instead of despising. Now they laugh at him behind his back, and flatter him in face.
Some really like him. Now that they have a reason to deal with and get along with him, one sensible way to get along with him is genuinely liking him.
But it is not the only way. Others flatter him but despise and hate him behind his back.

He has not previously had an occasion to tell apart flatterers from honest people, because no one wanted to flatter him before. Can he tell apart a flatterer from a honest person now, given a general suspicion?

Are there any works which give a closer view of a parvenu and his or her relationships over longer time?

 

[Arkalest]

I think The Great Gatsby does a pretty good job of creating a fairly cynical but interesting- And lasting- Picture of what a parvenu would've felt like in a certain time period. It's not trying to do so out of anthropological interest as much as in service to Fitzergald's own experience.

 

[chornedsnorkack]

I think The Great Gatsby does a pretty good job of creating a fairly cynical but interesting- And lasting- Picture of what a parvenu would've felt like in a certain time period. It's not trying to do so out of anthropological interest as much as in service to Fitzergald's own experience.

Click to shrink...

Hm, yes, but we do not get that close. The narrator looks at Jay Gatz from outside. And while the guests accept Gatsby´s invitations to his parties, they are still rich independent of Gatsby, and do not depend on him for livelihood and status - they can afford to offend him and not be invited again. They do not have a strong reason to, but they can. Despite Jay´s wealth he does not get the girl - Daisy can afford to stay with Tom Buchanan, who is still rich and independent of Jay, and Daisy sacrifices nothing but love by so doing.
We don´t see Jay´s relations with people who actually do depend on him, like his employees. And those relationships are not important for Jay. We are told that Jay could easily find women once he was rich (only a couple of years, he needed time to get rich from Volstead Act January 1920 to Summer 1922, and he was about 30 then), but he only wanted Daisy.

 

[xa na xa]

I think Rastignac is pretty much the ultimate wannabe parvenu treatment in literature.

 

[chornedsnorkack]

I think Rastignac is pretty much the ultimate wannabe parvenu treatment in literature.

Click to shrink...

Wannabe but not then actual. We only get a close view of him when he wants to become a parvenu.
Later we hear that he did become a parvenu - but from a distance, we no longer get a good view of him.
We actually get a better view of Bel-Ami, for the matter.