RETURN TO MIMETIC GLOSS INDEX - ARTICLES
There is only one basic purpose for the miniaturization of a real-life object, and that is the purpose of MASTERY. Freud wrote a lot on the topic, theorizing the importance of potty-training in the successful integration of an id-driven child with a structured and civilized community. Miniaturization follows this theory, as a continuation of the desire for mastering internal impulses not accepted in society, but more importantly as the individual grows from infancy and childhood and joins society, external events which seem beyond his or her control. Miniaturization is a skill, as the smaller the scale of a replica, the more difficult it is to achieve the details of the original which alone create the resemblance to the original. It is this verisimilitude that is the expression of successful mastery.
As miniaturization is a skill, it cannot be considered bad or good, immoral or moral, but solely a means to an end which might be deemed bad or good, immoral or moral. Whether or not one believes mastery is an artificial goal buttressed by the propaganda of a repressive State or society or a necessary step for the successful development of a society of individuals is a moot point, and will not be debated here.
For the doll maker, on the other hand, the question of miniaturization can be a difficult one, as the object being replicated can conceivably be construed as another individual (as evidenced in the use of such dolls in therapy sessions with children, for example). This raises the specter of mastery over fellow human beings, particularly in the case of miniatures of "real-life" persons. The scenario is akin to the creation of "icons" which can then be used to manipulate the pattern they are meant to represent ("voodoo dolls").
Another interesting possibility, however, comes to us because of the circumstances we now find ourselves in regarding the kind of society we inhabit and have built for ourselves through mastery of our environment.