While arguably people have always liked to adorn themselves be it with river pebbles, if they couldn't find anything worthier, once they discovered gold, this precious metal has remained their material of choice for any ornament, be it for personal use such as jewelry, clothing or food or for a social one so to speak, in the form of coins or church or palace design.
But while its beauty and resistance might account for this preference, there are obviously other reasons for its longevity of use.
If we watch 'The Chronicles of Narnia: the Voyage of the Dawn Treader', we see Eustace in a kind of valley of golden death where the most beautiful gold jewelry is shining in the sun mixed with the most horrid skeletons and in the most arid sandy setting.
While obviously he should think about a possible trap, he couldn't because of his fascination.
With beauty? No, or not that much as with the richness and power possibilities contained in that sea of gold seemingly not belonging to anyone.
The same is experienced by Edmund who almost loses his mind and starts a fight with Prince Caspian because of his power inferiority complex and his desire to submerge in some deadly alchemical waters, transforming everything into gold.
Therefore, it may be jewelry we see, but after all gold is foremost currency in our minds, giving us wealth and status or wealth and freedom according to particular perceptions.
Such is the case with the treasure hunters Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn in Mark Twain's 'The Adventures of Tom Sawyer', who, in spite of the grimmest circumstances and most atrocious fears inspired by Injun Joe, would not stop till finding the dreamed treasure, be it finally just the loot of the said killer.
Back to contemporary reality, how else to explain the 15,000 tons of gold held in the Indian households or the 3,000 tons acquired by the Chinese ones just in the last five years or the central banks worldwide buying gold by the ton for that matter other than as an indication of people's fascination with gold, perceived as the trinity of beauty, wealth and power? While its owners may change over time, becoming as nowadays commoners that could not have been even imagined by Mrs.
Ferrars in 'Sense and Sensibility', eating with dignity her sweets in gold foil, the desire for acquiring and keeping it has remained the same over centuries, showing the enduring fascination with gold felt by humans.
But while its beauty and resistance might account for this preference, there are obviously other reasons for its longevity of use.
If we watch 'The Chronicles of Narnia: the Voyage of the Dawn Treader', we see Eustace in a kind of valley of golden death where the most beautiful gold jewelry is shining in the sun mixed with the most horrid skeletons and in the most arid sandy setting.
While obviously he should think about a possible trap, he couldn't because of his fascination.
With beauty? No, or not that much as with the richness and power possibilities contained in that sea of gold seemingly not belonging to anyone.
The same is experienced by Edmund who almost loses his mind and starts a fight with Prince Caspian because of his power inferiority complex and his desire to submerge in some deadly alchemical waters, transforming everything into gold.
Therefore, it may be jewelry we see, but after all gold is foremost currency in our minds, giving us wealth and status or wealth and freedom according to particular perceptions.
Such is the case with the treasure hunters Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn in Mark Twain's 'The Adventures of Tom Sawyer', who, in spite of the grimmest circumstances and most atrocious fears inspired by Injun Joe, would not stop till finding the dreamed treasure, be it finally just the loot of the said killer.
Back to contemporary reality, how else to explain the 15,000 tons of gold held in the Indian households or the 3,000 tons acquired by the Chinese ones just in the last five years or the central banks worldwide buying gold by the ton for that matter other than as an indication of people's fascination with gold, perceived as the trinity of beauty, wealth and power? While its owners may change over time, becoming as nowadays commoners that could not have been even imagined by Mrs.
Ferrars in 'Sense and Sensibility', eating with dignity her sweets in gold foil, the desire for acquiring and keeping it has remained the same over centuries, showing the enduring fascination with gold felt by humans.