Upon informing people I study literature, I feel the instinctive need to preface my words with a defensive comment like “I think Old English is an underrated skill in today’s job market” or “My parents think I should take up underwater basket weaving instead” and brace myself for their obligatory barista joke. Either/Or by Elif Batuman is remarkable for validating the study of literature as throughout 368 pages, protagonist Selin overanalyzes every single aspect of her sophomore year. This novel, as with Batuman’s preceding novel The Idiot, reveals burying your nose in a book is actually the best navigational strategy in life. Primarily, corporate firms take note: the English major is a highly employable asset.
Indisputably, literary studies can help you refine your decision-making abilities. Modern-day employers don’t have the time to train a confused lump of human clay, but fortunately, critical theory exists to shape undergraduates into perfect worker bees. Like many hapless students, Selin struggles to discern her identity before encountering Soren Kierkegaard in the bookstore and realises the differences between “the ethical and the aesthetic” can inform her college career. Kierkegaard reveals to Selin that every difficult decision can be broken down in a methodological, straightforward way. There is always one obvious choice. She describes her strategic choice, “I had a terror of being bored, so I preferred to take highly specific classes with interesting titles, even when I hadn’t taken the prerequisites and had no idea what was going on.” She also notes that following this approach, she does not want “a stable relationship” but “interesting experiences”, which indicates she will always prioritise work over relationships. Selin’s aesthetic approach reflects a willingness to take risks, which will set an admirable precedent in forming the workplace of the future.
Reading books is also the best way for young women to obtain inspiring mentors. Aiming to become self-reliant, Selin finds powerful female role models in characters such as Breton’s Nadja, James’s Isabel Archer and Pushkin’s Tatiana. They offer helpful advice like “Beauty will be CONVULSIVE, or it will not be at all”, which informs us of the importance of dressing attractively for the office. Another crucial reminder is “there are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea” which reminds us to set time aside for self-care. Obviously, the main takeaway is that regardless of how strong and independent we are, we need to respect the senior hierarchy of the predominantly male corporate order. Let the men climb the ladder first. Respect the plot conventions.
Another alluring trait is the ability to communicate in an increasingly digitised world. Selin’s journey in Either/Or is principally to get over Ivan, a brooding Russian graduate student who was her quasi-love interest in the first novel. Their relationship was characterised primarily by sending long emails full of existential angst. We can appreciate her character’s prowess with ‘90s cutting-edge technology. If Selin did not study literature, she would not be able to understand his online references to Shakespeare. Digital literacy certainly remains essential and Selin, diligently checking her messages to Ivan at 3am, should inspire us to dedicate the same flexible hours to checking Slack notifications and attending Zoom calls.
Speaking of communication, the ability to handle the modern workplace’s fundamental unpredictability is also essential. Selin’s experiences illustrate that literature is a tool for critical thinking your way through these situations. She experiences random events, including parties that are “all, in one way or another, sadomasochism-themed”, indicating unpleasant conferences and strange sexual encounters abroad that underline potential cultural barriers when networking. These events are also found in the books she reads. She realises “the emails Ivan and I had exchanged… now seemed to have been following some kind of playbook” set by Breton. When confronting time-sensitive challenges, don’t consult your boss for guidance. Instead, read surrealist literature and hope for the best.
Above all, the primary reason for pursuing an English degree is obviously financial. Selin illustrates her capitalistic impulse through her view of authorship. She notes, “You didn’t just write down a raw cry of suffering. It would be boring and self-indulgent. You had to disguise it, turn it into art… and then they would give you money.” Batuman’s career is a testament to the success of this pursuit; she has mined her experiences as an undergraduate for a Pulitzer nomination, a literary gold medal if I ever saw one. Forget the Wolf of Wall Street; behold the Bear of Harvard Square. Writers have a talent for exploitation; like coal to diamonds, we convert suffering to money.
Evidently, as Selin fully comprehends Either/Or (Kierkegaard’s version), I have fully comprehended the purpose of Either/Or (Batuman’s version). Employers need to hire more English literature majors in today’s corporate world. Or, to be more specific, one particular English literature major.
WORDS: Jayna Rohsalu
