Pleasure in Work

Where it surfaces

• VI: A Little Shopping

  The old man's and Dick's incredulity at the historical 'disease of Idleness' underscores the utopian belief that work is inherently enjoyable and fulfilling.

• VII: Trafalgar Square

  The road-mending gang works joyfully, laughing and talking, and Dick describes pick-work as 'good sport' and 'pleasant work'.

• X: Question and Answers

  Hammond emphasizes that people now 'have plenty to do, and on the whole enjoy doing it,' living amidst beauty without fear of becoming effeminate.

• XII: Concerning the Arrangement of Life

  Hammond notes that many people find joy in making things and in administration, contrasting with the drudgery of commercial work in the past.

• XV: On the Lack of Incentive to Labour in a Communist Society

  Central to the chapter: Hammond argues that all work is now pleasurable, either from the hope of gain in honour, as a pleasurable habit, or as conscious sensuous pleasure by artists.

• XVIII: The Beginning of the New Life

  The chapter discusses how art, or 'work-pleasure,' became a necessary part of labor, with people taking delight in making their work excellent and ornamenting their wares.

• XXI: Going Up the River

  Dick describes the hay-harvest as pleasant work, especially in fine weather, and the women are depicted as graceful and happy in their labor, contrasting with the Guest's memory of mechanical, joyless toil.

• XXII: Hampton Court and a Praiser of Past Times

  Dick's delight in rowing and his anticipation of mowing grass, along with Ellen's reference to building beautiful structures, emphasize the joy of productive physical labor.

• XXIII: An Early Morning by the Runnymede

  The haymakers work 'deliberately but well and steadily' and are 'noisy with merry talk,' illustrating the ideal of joyful, voluntary labor.

• XXVI: The Obstinate Refusers

  Philippa and the other builders find deep satisfaction in their craft, choosing it over the festive haymaking, illustrating the intrinsic joy of skilled labor.

• XXVII: The Upper Waters

  The chapter contrasts the old view of work as drudgery with the new understanding that work can be a source of pleasure and artistic expression.

• XXXI: An Old House Amongst New Folk

  Ellen describes the new life as 'repose amidst of energy; of work which is pleasure and pleasure which is work.'

• The Feast's Beginning … The End

  Dick explains that skilled workers stand aside during haymaking to let others enjoy the work, emphasizing that labor is a source of joy and communal participation.