Iconic clothing has been secularized. . . . A guardsman in a dress uniform is ostensibly an icon of aggression; his coat is red as the blood he hopes to shed. Seen on a coat-hanger, with no man inside it, the uniform loses all its blustering significance and, to the innocent eye seduced by decorative colour and tactile braid, it is as abstract in symbolic information as a parasol to an Eskimo. It becomes simply magnificent.
Interpretation
The quote reflects on how the meaning of clothing, particularly uniforms, changes when detached from their context and human identity.
Angela Carter's quote explores the transformation of iconic clothing, particularly uniforms, from symbols of aggression and power into mere aesthetic objects devoid of their original significance. When a uniform is removed from its wearer, it loses its context and militaristic meanings, becoming a mere decorative item that may be appreciated for its beauty rather than its historical implications. This shift invites a contemplation of how perceptions can change based on context and the essence of an object, illustrating the tension between form and purpose.
In practice
During a discussion on fashion design, this quote can illustrate how garments can transform in meaning.
She stands and moves within the invisible pentacle of her own virginity. She is an unbroken egg: she is a sealed vessel; she has inside her a magic space the entrance to which is shut tight with a plug of membrane; she is a closed system; she does not know how to shiver.
Cities have sexes: London is a man, Paris a woman, and New York a well-adjusted transsexual.
Those are the voices of my brothers, darling; I love the company of wolves.
For most of human history, 'literature,' both fiction and poetry, has been narrated, not written β heard, not read. So fairy tales, folk tales, stories from the oral tradition, are all of them the most vital connection we have with the imaginations of the ordinary men and women whose labor created our world.
To pin your hopes upon the future is to consign those hopes to a hypothesis, which is to say, a nothingness. Here and now is what we must contend with.
I haven't changed much, over the years. I use less adjectives, now, and have a kinder heart, perhaps.
For me personally, Elliott Carter was and remains one of the most meaningful composers of the late 20th and early 21st centuries because he represents substance. He was the living proof of uncompromising, complex music, which at first seems inaccessible. But it becomes accessible if one digs in and sees the development through.
The goal of art was the vital expression of self.
Generally, literary prizes are significant not for who the winner is but the discussion they create around books.
If I have any regrets, I could say that I'm sorry I wasn't a better writer or a better singer.
I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn't say any other way - things I had no words for.
That's the reason why I'm making albums. That's the reason why I love hip-hop: It's a challenge every time.
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