Money, Culture, Class: Elite Women as Modern Subjects (Routledge Focus on Modern Subjects)

"Based on ethnographic research, this book explores the ways in which elite women use and view money in order to construct identities - of class, status, and gender. Drawing on their everyday worlds, it tracks the intricate and contested meanings they attach to money. Focusing on weddings, travel, and spirituality, Parul Bhandari delineates the entitlements and privileges as well as the obsessions and vulnerabilities that underlie the construction of class, the shaping of elite cultures, and the curating of femininity. As such, this book offers an innovative account of the interplay between money, modernity, class, and gender"-- Provided by publisher Based on ethnographic research, this book explores the ways in which elite women use and view money in order to construct identities – of class, status, and gender. Drawing on their everyday worlds, it tracks the intricate and contested meanings they attach to money. Focusing on weddings, travel, and spirituality, Parul Bhandari delineates the entitlements and privileges as well as the obsessions and vulnerabilities that underlie the construction of class, the shaping of elite cultures, and the curating of femininity. As such, this book offers an innovative account of the interplay between money, modernity, class, and gender. Cover 1 Half Title 2 Series 3 Title 4 Copyright 5 Dedication 6 Contents 8 Series editor’s foreword 9 Acknowledgments 17 1 Introduction 20 2 Fashion and travels 40 3 Weddings, opulence, and hospitality 64 4 Hindu glamour: of invitations, hierarchies, and snubs 87 Epilogue 107 Bibliography 112 Index 115