Fame or fortune – which would you choose?
I agree with
Susan and Rachel that this conditional question allows me to choose only one of
the two options on offer, and, assuming “fortune” means pots and pots of dosh
(money, lolly, lucre, cash, spondoola, bread, dough, bucks), I would unequivocally choose fortune over fame.
Fame is capricious
and depends on others; fortune can be managed, overseen, curated.
Fame means
nothing except maybe annoyance to those who share your life; fortune can be
shared with those about whom you care.
Fame becomes
a burden; fortune can offer freedom.
Fame feeds
the ego; fortune can feed the soul.
Fame cannot
be kept from those you meet; fortune can be private, so you’ll be more likely
to be able to have “real” human relationships based upon “real” responses to
you as a person, rather than as some sort of icon.
For those
who gain fame, for whatever reason, often the opportunity to amass a fortune
follows, so you might think I’d prefer fame so that I'd, ultimately, have more of a chance of
access to a fortune. But that’s not a choice on offer here. In any case, honestly, I’d rather be a completely
unknown millionaire, able to live the life I choose without a worry about money
for myself or those I love, than have to constantly pander to the fame-granters
whose criteria for allowing me to be “famous” would shift in any case. I should add, in case you're wondering, that I'm not afraid to work hard to amass my fortune in any field where fame doesn't have to be a part of the achievement system involved - for example, so long as there's no photo on the jacket, a book that garners millions of dollars doesn't have to make one famous, as such...so let's go with that as an option, eh?
Or, yes, let
me win the lottery, anonymously, and I’ll be as happy as Larry (assuming Larry
had anonymously won the lottery).
Cathy Ace writes the WISE Enquiries Agency Mysteries (book
#2 THE CASE OF THE MISSING MORRIS DANCER will be available in trade paperback on August 31st in the UK, and in November in the US/Canada, and the Cait Morgan Mysteries (book #7 THE CORPSE WITH THE GARNET
FACE was published in paperback in April). Find out more about Cathy and her
work, and sign up for her newsletter at http://cathyace.com/
11 comments:
Such a thoroughly thought-out answer! Great points!
Thanks Art....so, come on, which would you choose???
As a private citizen I would choose fortune. As a writer, I would choose fame. People who are talking about you are reading your work, at least that's how I see it...
I understand your point, Christopher....but I'd be happy for people to be enjoying my work while I swanned around the world unrecognized because of no photos, and unheard of because of a pen name ;-)
I'm with you on the fortune, Cathy. Good post.
I'm not sure which way I'd go, but your post swayed me. : ) Fortune it is.
I think that your assessment of all this is very compelling, though like you, Susan, and Rae have mentioned, it does seem a slightly artificial either-or here--the two somewhat interwoven at least in terms of writing careers. At its highest levels, could you imagine that Stephen King's fame arrived without fortune? Or J.K. Rowling's? ...though maybe some aspects of this could also be discussed in terms of lasting legacy too? Van Gogh died a pauper or close to it, didn't he? And yet there are few more famous painters today, so is it better to get fortune where we can actually spend it? At this point, I just want enough money from a book to buy a beachhouse, you know? And fingers crossed that my work has some longer-lasting legacy. ;-)
MoneyMoneyMoneyMoney...who needs fame? It's a nuisance, unless you're desperate for attention.
When I was a child I loved Disney's Uncle Scrooge comics, which often featured Scrooge in his money bin using a bulldozer to shift mountains of cash. I'd hire someone to run the 'dozer and enjoy the spending.
The problem is...so far I don't seem to have the option of either one :(
These conversations remind me of the delicious time between when I buy a $1 lottery ticket and the deflating time when they announce someone else's numbers. In the interim, I am Lady Bountiful, Queen of the Manor, Jet-Setting Adventuress, and everybody's favorite grandmother....
Fun post, Cathy. Love the back and forth thoughts.
Thanks for all the comments, folks....I'd have preferred an alternative, but I was stuck with one or the other :-)
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