The year 1987 – Ronald Reagan is president of the United States, Huey Lewis and Madonna dominate the charts, and the sleeves of salmon pink sport coats need to be rolled-up. The epicenter of fashion, beauty and power is situated in the financial sector, or more precisely, on Wall Street. To survive in this shark tank, you have to be a predator, and if anyone exemplifies this instinct, it is Patrick Bateman from Bret Easton Ellis’ novel American Psycho and Mary Harron’s same-named movie adaptation, which I will mostly refer to. His life revolves around the accumulation of status symbols and the exploitation of other people with the goal of being part of Manhattan’s high society. Interestingly, the characteristics of this fictional character reflect a real-life historical figure, building a bridge between 1980s New York and the English court of the early 1800s. Ultimately, as this paper demonstrates, Patrick Bateman is a stylized version of George “Beau” Brummell, the father of dandyism.
Both the dandy’s “highly stylized, painstakingly constructed self” (Garelick) and his concealed true self have much in common with the psychological profile of a modern psychopath. As such, Brummell provides the perfect model for the protagonist of American Psycho, who early in the film states, “[t]here is an idea of a Patrick Bateman, some kind of abstraction. But there is no real me. Only an entity, something illusory” (Harron). The more disturbing one’s dark inner personality, the more impenetrable the public image. Bateman is a master of sustaining such a façade, and so was Brummell.
Table of Contents
1. A Bridge Between New York and London
2. Time and Space
3. Fashion, Routines and Art
4. The Words of a Psychopath
5. Women, Sexuality and Narcissism
6. The Satisfaction of Psychological Needs
7. The Logical Successor
Objectives and Topics
This paper examines the connection between 19th-century dandyism, represented by George "Beau" Brummell, and the modern psychopathic protagonist Patrick Bateman from Bret Easton Ellis' American Psycho. It explores how both figures utilize meticulously constructed public façades to mask their true selves and navigate their respective high-society environments.
- The historical and social parallels between London's 19th-century aristocracy and 1980s New York's yuppie culture.
- The role of fashion, physical aesthetics, and self-care as performative tools for maintaining social status.
- The psychological overlap between the dandy's performative nature and the behavior of a modern psychopath.
- The function of language and charisma as methods of manipulation and social integration.
- The influence of aestheticism and commercialism on the characters' perception of art and individual identity.
Excerpt from the Book
A BRIDGE BETWEEN NEW YORK AND LONDON
The year 1987 – Ronald Reagan is president of the United States, Huey Lewis and Madonna dominate the charts, and the sleeves of salmon pink sport coats need to be rolled-up. The epicenter of fashion, beauty and power is situated in the financial sector, or more precisely, on Wall Street. To survive in this shark tank, you have to be a predator, and if anyone exemplifies this instinct, it is Patrick Bateman from Bret Easton Ellis’ novel American Psycho and Mary Harron’s same-named movie adaptation, which I will mostly refer to. His life revolves around the accumulation of status symbols and the exploitation of other people with the goal of being part of Manhattan’s high society. Interestingly, the characteristics of this fictional character reflect a real-life historical figure, building a bridge between 1980s New York and the English court of the early 1800s. Ultimately, as this paper demonstrates, Patrick Bateman is a stylized version of George “Beau” Brummell, the father of dandyism.
Both the dandy’s “highly stylized, painstakingly constructed self” (Garelick 3) and his concealed true self have much in common with the psychological profile of a modern psychopath. As such, Brummell provides the perfect model for the protagonist of American Psycho, who early in the film states, “[t]here is an idea of a Patrick Bateman, some kind of abstraction. But there is no real me. Only an entity, something illusory” (Harron 06:22). The more disturbing one’s dark inner personality, the more impenetrable the public image. Bateman is a master of sustaining such a façade, and so was Brummell.
Summary of Chapters
A Bridge Between New York and London: This chapter introduces the comparison between 1980s Wall Street yuppies and the 19th-century English dandy, establishing Patrick Bateman as a modern successor to Beau Brummell.
Time and Space: This chapter analyzes how both characters create exclusive, "golden" environments to separate themselves from perceived societal "dirt" and maintain an elite status.
Fashion, Routines and Art: This chapter examines how both figures use extreme body maintenance, fashion, and superficial consumption of art to construct a social "artwork" rather than engaging in productive labor.
The Words of a Psychopath: This chapter investigates how charisma and manipulative use of language allow both figures to disarm others and maintain social power despite their underlying instability.
Women, Sexuality and Narcissism: This chapter discusses the dysfunctional, objectifying nature of both men's relationships with women and their profound self-obsession.
The Satisfaction of Psychological Needs: This chapter explores the tension between the need to uphold a public image and the internal struggle with boredom, vanity, and the lack of a meaningful self.
The Logical Successor: This concluding chapter posits that because Bateman successfully masks his true nature through a perfect, impervious façade, he remains an untouchable and logical evolution of the dandy icon.
Keywords
Dandyism, Psychopathy, American Psycho, Beau Brummell, Patrick Bateman, 1980s, Yuppies, Social Façade, Narcissism, Aestheticism, Consumption, Identity, Masculinity, Performance, Social Status.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this academic paper?
The paper explores the thematic and psychological parallels between the 19th-century historical figure Beau Brummell and the fictional character Patrick Bateman from American Psycho, framing Bateman as a modern incarnation of the dandy.
What are the central thematic fields discussed?
Key themes include dandyism as a social performance, the intersection of psychopathic personality traits with elite social standing, the importance of superficial aesthetics, and the construction of identity through public image.
What is the core research question?
The paper seeks to demonstrate how Patrick Bateman functions as a stylized, modern version of the father of dandyism, George "Beau" Brummell, within the context of 1980s capitalist society.
Which scientific methodology is employed in this study?
The author uses a comparative literary and cultural analysis, drawing on psychological profiles of modern psychopathy and historical perspectives on the dandy to interpret the protagonist's actions.
What does the main body of the work cover?
The main body systematically analyzes how both figures interact with their environments, their use of language, their obsession with appearance and status, their treatment of women, and their reliance on façades.
Which keywords best characterize this work?
The work is defined by terms such as Dandyism, Psychopathy, Identity, Social Façade, Narcissism, and the specific cultural context of both 1800s London and 1980s Wall Street.
How does the author connect the concept of the "golden cage" to both eras?
The author argues that both Brummell and Bateman create elite social bubbles to distance themselves from a public they deem inferior, comparing London's upper class to the yuppie culture of New York.
In what way does the author suggest Bateman is a "logical successor" to Brummell?
The author suggests that Bateman represents the final, perfected version of the dandy, where the façade is so flawless that it allows him to commit acts of violence without social consequence, unlike the historical Brummell.
- Citation du texte
- Yannick Brauner (Auteur), 2017, From the English Court to Wall Street. "American Psycho" and the Legacy of Beau Brummell, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/375791
