Selections from the Writings of Kierkegaard 97

and is still devoting himself, as high-priest in this idol wor- ship? No, there is not a distinguished assemblage which does not mention my name first and last ; and there is not a middle-class gathering where my name, whenever men- tioned, does not inspire sacred awe, like that of the king; and there is no dress so idiotic but is accompanied by whis- pers of admiration when its owner proceeds down the hall — provided it bears my name; and there is not the lady of gentle birth who dares pass my shop by, nor the girl of humble origin but passes it sighing and thinking: if only I could afford it! Well, neither was she deceived. I de- ceive no one ; I furnish the finest goods and the most costly, and at the lowest price, indeed, I sell below cost. The fact is, I do not wish to make a profit. On the contrary, every year I sacrifice large sums. And yet do I mean to win, I mean to, I shall spend my last farthing in order to cor- rupt, in order to bribe, the tools of fashion so that I may win the game. To me it is a delight beyond compare to unroll the most precious stuffs, to cut them out, to clip pieces from genuine Brussels-lace, in order to make a fool's costume — I sell to the lowest prices,' genuine goods and in style.

You believe, perhaps, that woman wants to be dressed fashionably only at certain times ? No such thing, she wants to be so all the time and that is her only thought. For a woman does have a mind, only it is employed about as well as is the Prodigal Son's substance; and woman does pos- sess the power of reflection in an incredibly high degree, for there is nothing so holy but she will in no time discover it to be reconcilable with her finery — and the chiefest ex- pression of finery is fashion. What wonder if she does dis- cover it to be reconcilable; for is not fashion holy to her? And there is nothing so insignificant but she certainly will know how to make it count in her finery — and the most fa- tuous expression of finery is fashion. And there is noth- ing, nothing in all her attire, not the least ribbon, of whose relation to fashion she has not a definite conception and concerning which she is not immediately aware whether the