Those lovable far-left loons at The Guardian have recently started an “In Theory” series on their book blog in which they highlight important developments in literary theory. Their first was on Barthes’ and the death of the author; their most recent is on Rene Girard and the concept of mimetic desire:
Girard’s premise is the Romantic myth of “divine autonomy”, according to which our desires are freely chosen expressions of our individuality. Don Quixote, for instance, aspires to a chivalric lifestyle. Nothing seems more straightforward but, besides the subject (Don Quixote) and object (chivalry), Girard highlights the vital presence of a model he calls the mediator (Amadis de Gaule in this instance). Don Quixote wants to lead the life of a knight errant because he has read the romances of Amadis de Gaule: far from being spontaneous, his desire stems from, and is mediated through, a third party. Metaphysical desire – as opposed to simple needs or appetites – is triangular, not linear. You can always trust a Frenchman to view the world as a ménage à trois.
So, fun right? ‘Cause it suggests that the linear movement of narrative is a movement of the protagonist towards an idealised version of herself – or, as I phrase it, that the subject is moving toward the real of itself – through a mediator who almost works as a catalyst: crucial, but who doesn’t get used up in the equation.
Perhaps more interesting though is the notion that mimetic desire is also at work in Facebook and other SM. To wit, “the whole concept of viral, word-of-mouth marketing follows Girard’s principle according to which the strongest desires are those influenced by an admired third party.” Not mind-blowing, but definitely worth a ponder, particularly if we think of social media as the place where we produce, rather than reflect, ourselves.
