Post­Marxist perspective perceived consumption primarily as an instrument of alienation. Cultural studies offered a different view. Focusing on using and reconstructing (both symbolic and physical) of goods, they argued that consumption may be a mechanism of authentic expression, a way of articulating consumer’s personal meanings. Cultural studies also demonstrated that consumers, through the process of consumption, can actively manifest their resistance to the market (or any imposed ideology). The paper traces the development of reflection on consumption within cultural studies, deriving from the work of Stuart Hall and Michel De Certeau, through the writings on subcultural and popcultural (in the sense of John Fiske) consumption, to contemporary subversive activities. It reveals the broad application of the notion of consumption for the purpose of describing contemporary social reality. The text discusses the concept of tactics and strategy, incorporation, as well as various forms of subversion. The author illustrates these concepts with observed examples or cases obtained from desk research. The paper examines the opposition potential of consumption, considers the cultural and social changes resulting from certain styles of consumption. It also poses the question of the status of consumer in today’s market. It offers different ways of interpreting the above problems present in the area of cultural studies.

The laugh of Eve. Myth, history and female subjectivity in Carmen Boullosa’s novel El libro de Eva

This article offers a myth-critical analysis of the novel El libro de Eva (2020) by the Mexican writer Carmen Boullosa. Subversive reading of mythical narratives is one of the most interesting proposals of the post-structuralist criticism, centered on questioning the arbitrary determination of meanings. The analysed novel exemplifies the resistance to the hierarchical codification of symbols typical of the patriarchal ideology. At discourse level, the continuity between mythical and historical times underlines the importance of foundational narratives as part of collective memory and conceptual frameworks determining the course of history. The vindication of the figure of biblical Eve restores the right of the first woman to construct and articulate her own subjectivity.