NICE WORK by David Lodge

The second chapter of the novel is an introduction concerning the description of one of the main characters: Robyn Penrose. She is a Temporary Lecturer in English Literature at the University of Rummidge. The writer introduces the woman by stating right from the start her opinion about novels and capitalism. She makes the point of the periods of the literary genre of the novel, coinciding with those of the capitalism. The novelist is compared to a capitalist giving the consumers what they didn’t know to want until the manufacturer produced something new.

The chapter is focused on Robyn’s philosophy, it consists of a continuous comparison between capitalism and literature. According to the woman, as the writer says, every text is a product of intertextuality: it means that every text or literary work is made of more different texts.

After displaying Robyn’s way of thinking, the writer inserts a description of her awakening one day of January.

At the end of the chapter is introduced an other character, Charles, and the writer informs directly the reader he is going to talk about him.