The Generative Economy of Agony: Latent Structures of Meaning and Resilience Mechanisms in the Lyrical Work of Taylor Swift

This article employs the methodology of Objective Hermeneutics to reconstruct the latent structures of meaning and resilience mechanisms within the lyrical oeuvre of American songwriter Taylor Swift. Moving beyond intentionalist and biographical reductionism, the analysis identifies a generative case logic structured around four sequential dimensions: the dialectic of emotional staging and drive structure, the somatization and material reification of psychological trauma, the establishment of a generative economy of agony, and the ultimate transition toward absolute indifference. Drawing on the sociology of emotion and theories of emotional capitalism, the study demonstrates how the lyrical subject converts vulnerability, powerlessness, and rage into highly liquid aesthetic and emotional capital, culminating in a structural resilience defined as a "sequin armor". Furthermore, the paper integrates the Aristotelian concept of catharsis to illustrate how this autofictional narrative serves as a therapeutic script, facilitating collective emotional regulation, purification, and empowerment within transnational fan communities. Ultimately, the work is analyzed as a late-capitalist protocol of emotional labor, where private suffering is systematically economized and transformed into a globally resonant resilience framework.