Waste of MoneynKrantz’s Marionettesnin a PuddlenJudith Krantz: Scruples;nCrown; New York.nSeventh Avenue symbolizes Americannfashion the way Hollywood symbolizesnthe American cinema. At the oppositenends of the continent both are pivotal innmolding aesthetic choices, dreams andnaspirations. Fashion’s ideological organ,nthe New York based Women’s WearnDaily, perverts popular preferencesnthrough manipulation of marionettes,nmost of which happen to be real people.nBoth centers affect our way of spendingnmoney, the manner in which we live,nand with whom (and how) we fall innlove. Whether it was the curvaceous,nwise-cracking blonde and her strong,nsilent companion of the thirties, or thensexually ambivalent, verging on androgynousnprototypes of the seventies, theninteraction of these fashion centers isnpronounced. Fashion—in its broadestnsense—as a purveyor of lifestyle has nevernbeen stronger. And this is all Ms. Krantz’snnovel is about.nAs an exemplar of today’s trashy popnovel,nScruples is as good a guide to whatnthe country—or a chunk of it—wants asnany other. As incarnated in its heroine,nBilly Winthrop Ikehorn Orsini, it wantsnit all: sex, money, career, love, powernand to eat Lucullan feasts and remainnpleasantly gaunt. Billy, an ugly ducklingnturned swan who marries first for money,nthen for love, creates Scruples, thenworld’s most lavish boutique, whichncombines the tastes and style of bothnNew York and California in a mecca fornthe frantic, never satiated consumer. Asna tribute to both sex and money—thenexclusive concerns of both Scruples andnScruples—the book indulges in extravagantndescriptions for a reader bent onnvicarious pleasures. As a roman a clef,nboth the inhabitants of the New Yorknfashion and Hollywood movie worlds arenSOinChronicles of Culturenenthusiastically—if crudely—limned. Innspite of all their forays through the wonderlandnof sin-and-excess, however, thenmajor characters ultimately find happinessnin straight arrow sexual orientationnand the delights of monogamy. InnThe American ScenenThe Midyear’s Great LossnMax Ascoli died on January 1, 1978.nHe was the founder and editor of ThenReporter magazine, a journal of couragenand distinction. He came to Americanfrom Italy, a young liberal scholar andnanti-Fascist, and fell into a life-long lovenaffair with the country. He became PresidentnRoosevelt’s ardent supporter, butnthrough the years he evolved a keen pro-nAmerican instinct which, blended withnhis intellectual powers and European experiences,nled him away from liberalndogmatism. He saw the civilization henvenerated and loved eroding in the’60s.nHe perceived the paradox of degenerationnto be the result of self-injected venom.nLong before Senator Jackson, he said,nduring a friendly discussion: “I am anliberal but not a fool . . .” He supportednthe war effort in Vietnam, and this wasnenough to render him a non-person fornthe liberal Establishment. A great editor,nwho introduced in The Reporters wholengeneration of journalists, publicists andnwriters, he lived to see his opinionsnblackballed by the New York liberal press.nLet’s hope that, proud and sensitive asnhe was, he did not die disenchanted, bitternat having loved a reality which did notndeserve so much devotion. DnChange of Heartn”If a SALT treaty is defeated and annarms race ensues, if detente collapsesnand ideological war begins, if the UnitednStates becomes sufficiently aroused tonmobilize its economic resources for fullnnneffect, they all live happily ever after,nwhich suggests that Judith Krantz, annenergetic lady writing a sure-fire bestnseller, knows a lot about how to jumpninto a puddle of existential filth and comenout relatively clean. Dnscale competition with the Soviet Union,nthe United States almost certainly willnprevail. Our economic output is twicenthat of the Soviet Union. We have thencapacity to force the Soviets into a militarynspending race that would depriventheir urban middle classes of consumernitems, and their lower classes of food,nwith unpredictable consequences for thenstability of Soviet society.”nNicely put—a clean, meaty, logical,nflawless, robust, impeccably substantiatednby reason and fact program of geopoliticalnstrategy. Morally and politicallynsound, to boot. Who is demandingnit.’ Philip Crane.-^ Daniel Moynihan.’nSolzhenitsyn.’ That old cold-warriornHarry Truman during a seance.’ No, itncomes from the July issue of The NewnRepublic, the same liberal organ that forn30 years has ironically sneered at anynconcept of coercive showdown with thenSoviet Union.nThe American UniversitynIn an essay entitled Ten Years On,nDavid Riesman, the renowned Harvardnsocial scientist, remarks on “the highernlearning in America since the events ofn1968.” We can read there a sentence:n”The parents of the protesters werengenerally liberal or even radical. Severalnstudies have shown that many campusnactivists were acting on behalf of parentalnideals and with parental sympathy.”nWe can clearly see now, from thenperspective provided by time, that then
January 1975April 21, 2022By The Archive
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