Interaction as Transaction in Jonathan Franzen’s The Corrections Anonymous College

The Lambert family, the protagonists of Jonathan Franzen’s The Corrections, view the world through a lens which attaches monetary value to people, objects, and actions. Money is a constant presence in their lives, whether there’s plenty or not enough. Alfred, Enid, Gary, Denise, Chip, and other characters, seem only to exist in relation to someone or something outside themselves. They seem to evaluate their own worth according to that someone or something. The traditional ideal of family interaction becomes a series of transactions, as the Lamberts coldly communicate through a wall of imagined currency; constructed to protect their emotional vulnerability.

Each member of the Lambert family is valued for their occupation in the corporation of the family. Enid chooses her husband, Alfred, because he is an “earner” and “she intend[s] to be comfortable in life as well as happy” (265). When she first meets Alfred, Enid studies the outer packaging of Alfred, whom she views as a product. She concludes Alfred’s “…suits were themselves luxuriantly pleated wool beauties.” (265). Enid bases her value of him on her evaluation of his packaging. In the end, when Alfred is put in a nursing home, Enid admits to always just wanting his body. He...