Architectures of Sacrifice: Ruskin, Bataille, and the Resistance to Utility.

This essay examines the association and possible lines of influence between John Ruskin's work on Gothic architecture in "The Stones of Venice" and Georges Bataille's recasting of economy in "The Accursed Share." Bataille explores an association between the squandering of economic resources and a resistance to reification, while Ruskin emphasizes the redemptive significance of Gothic architecture. The association of these works may seem implausible, and at worst contradictory. Bataille's religious commitment was short-lived, while Ruskin looked to the Christian cultural legacy of feudal Europe.