The Modern Interior

ideo logical assumption within western, capitalist society. Reinforced as
it was by the visual, material and spatial differences between the interiors
in the two spheres, it also became a physical reality that, in turn, confirmed
those distinctions. 9
The simple idea that two different versions of the modern inter -
ior emerged in the middle years of the nineteenth century – one linked
to the idea of ‘home’, and the other associated with the worlds of work
and commerce – lies at the heart of this study. Both the structure and the
key themes of this book have been determined by it. No sooner was this
dualism articulated, however, than it was immediately challenged and
the boundaries between the spheres became blurred. That instability
was largely driven by the reluctance of what were understood as fixed
categories of gender and class to remain in place. Firstly, like its middleclass
female occupants, the domestic interior refused to be confined to
the home. The advent of factories had put an end to much domestic
manufacturing – the bottling of fruit and the making of clothing, for
instance. Those goods remained domestic necessities, however, and
women were compelled to purchase them outside the home. For the
14 Christmas window-shopping in turn-of-the-century New York.