The Formal Sitting Room

Victorians knew how to separate the public from the private. They had to. All socialization was face-to-face unless waiting for months to receive a letter was an option. You had to invite people into your home to have just about any interaction with them. So they created very clear distinctions between what was for the viewing of others and what was kept to themselves.

There was a well defined barrier between the two. The private space was modest, comfortable, and familiar. It was lived in. The public space was built for show - Gilded and impressive. It was the Facebook of home decoration: Putting your best parts of display to make your life seem better than it truly was.

New Orleans has mastered this concept. The decadence that is associated with the city is the ultimate public parlor, the formal reception room that you're invited into to keep you out of its private spaces. The city holds your attention so you don't go wandering off into its real life. It takes reality and amplifies it, creating a gaudy pantomime of itself to sell to the world. This is how it stays alive, by presenting a parody for mass consumption.

It's very purposeful. The decision was made for the survival of this place. The city knows what you want to see, what you expect, and it will provide that. For a fee, of course. But is it really any different from what we all do every day? We pick which traits to amplify and which to keep hidden based on the image we want to project. We try so hard to become what we assume others want us to be. The payment is more abstract - Companionship and acceptance rather than money (usually). But the sentiment is the same. In the end, we're all just selling ourselves to others and desperately hoping that someone, anyone, will buy us as is.