I Queue, Therefore I Am
Splendeurs et Misères of Waiting in Line in Nineteenth-Century Paris
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 11562003 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Gal Ventura (0000-0002-6362-8204) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 97 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 810-859 |
| Publication date | 2025-12-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Journal of Modern History (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0022-2801 • E-ISSN: 1537-5358 |
| Publisher | University of Chicago Press (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1086/738137 |
| OpenAlex | W4417002015 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 29 |
During the second half of the nineteenth century, visual and textual representations of Parisian individuals voluntarily queuing for entertainment gained popularity in France. Manifestly, a queue is a simple means to generate the order and efficiency imperative in an overpopulated, industrialized, and thriving metropolis. Yet, I argue, rather than simply externalizing a gap between supply and demand, queuing for entertainment became a form of recreation, and lining up became an end in itself, with its own intrinsic rewards and satisfactions. As the anticipated goal in images of queueing is, in fact, an imaginary event, the sense of spectacle and excitement derives entirely from the line’s structure, length, and human characteristics of age, gender, and social standing. By denoting status through the availability of free time and disposable income, queues for entertainment became autonomous marks for consumption; the longer the wait, the better the end goal must be
Entertainment · Popularity · Queue · Queueing theory · Spectacle · The Imaginary · Decadence, Literature, and Society · Historical Studies and Socio-cultural Analysis · Literature and Culture Studies
Work and Leisure in Late Nineteenth-Century French Literature and Visual Culture
The Frankfurt School, Leisure and Consumption
Why Veblen Matters
Flow Theory and Leisure
Marx, Alienation and Dialectics Within Leisure
Suspensions of Perception
Boring thoughts and bored minds
The Bourgeois Citizen in Nineteenth-Century France
Policing the Streets of Early Nineteenth-Century Paris
Response to intrusion into waiting lines
Benjamin's Literary History of Attention
The Crowd and Politics between "Ancien Regime" and Revolution in France
Looking Back
Crime and State Surveillance in Nineteenth-Century France
Queue Culture
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |