Perspecitves

Current issues

The short story “Baglady” by A.S. Byatt touches on several current issues.

One of them is consumerism and living in a materialistic society. Consumerism promotes the acquisition of goods and services in ever-increasing amounts. The characters in the story have everything they need, yet they feel very excited at the prospect of acquiring more “prezzies for everyone and all sorts of little indulgences for ourselves” (p. 9, ll. 4-5). People like Daphne, who are not even sure they like shopping (p. 10, l. 37), feel pressured into buying various items they do not really need or want just because this is the social norm. At the end, she only ends up with several items which she does not need, definitely not in her current situation.

A feature of the Mall whic...