In a well-known verse Swedish eighteenth century writer Anna Maria Lenngren advise her fictive daughter to avoid reding, since it might distract her from her household chores. This paper intends to examine attitudes towards women’s reading in eighteenth century Sweden, using different kinds of sources: Satirical verses, conduct books for girls and young women and genre paintings by Swedish painter Pehr Hilleström, depicting bourgeoise and aristocratic interiors. In my analysis I make use of the public-private distinction formulated by Jürgen Habermas. Habermas describes the literary public debate as a first step towards a political public debate. The private sphere, in which women a supposed to remain, is in Habermas version divided in an economic and an intimate part, centered on the family and the home. In the satirical verses reading and books aren’t a prominent topic but is mentioned as one of many vices connected to conspicuous consumption and a life “à la mode”. The verses like to contrast the vane, modern woman to the ideal of the good householder. The conduct books give a more nuanced picture of reading as a part of an aristocratic or bourgeoise woman’s life. Reading can be seen as a useful pastime, preferable to playing cards or making idle gossip. According to the conduct books the main purpose of reading should be to inform and educate the reader, not just to entertain her. The paintings confirm the impression that reading was a well-established part of domestic life for women of the leisured classes, but some of them still allows for a more critical view, like the one seen in the verses. The written sources are consistent in the conviction that women’s reading shouldn’t lead to their participation in any public debate. Reading and the fruits of reading are seen to develop and expand the readers personality, and possibly make her more attractive to a future husband, but it is meant to be kept in the private, intimate sphere of the home.

In this thesis the Oceania collection of Anders Sparrman is examined and discussed. Anders Sparrman, who was a disciple of Carl von Linnaeus, participated on James Cooks second voyage around the world. During this voyage, Sparrman assembled the collection that today is stored at the museum of Ethnography in Stockholm. The collection is complemented by Sparrman’s own journal from his travels, providing his perspective on the items he collected and the islands he visited. The items in the collection are analyzed through the aspects of hybridization, colonial herit-age and repatriation together with how collections of this type, with a dual cultural heritage, can be exhibited in a way so that both a national and international audience can take part of it. A rel-evant question is also what further research that can be done on collections of this type. With this thesis I argue that a digital exhibition would be the best way to make collections of this kind available on a national and international level. Also research projects over country- and institutional- borders on these types of items would extend the knowledge about them and elabo-rate the whole history around these objects that both have a cultural value in Sweden and in the South Pacific.

The poet Hedvig Charlotta Nordenflycht (1718–63) wrote extensively on the subject of love. Often, her texts discuss love in relation to Enlightenment subjects, such as female emancipation and education. Her works bear traces of so-called précieuse ideas – an adjective sometimes used to pack together learned French aristocratic women who frequented the Parisian salons in the mid seventeenth century. The précieuses have become famous for their original and radical thoughts on the role of women. This thesis examines the view of love expressed in a selection of pastorals, fairy tales and lyric poems by Nordenflycht, bringing the précieuse protofeminist heritage into focus. Nordenflycht was an extremely assured debater who, throughout her life, consistently advocated practically the same ideological messages. Her advocacy of female emancipation runs through nearly all her texts in some form and is, as this thesis demonstrates, apparent even in her pastorals, fairy tales and lyric poems. In this respect, she bridges differences of genre. Nordenflycht used the realm of fiction to create and promote an alternative to the traditional amorous attachments: tender, equal and spiritual friendships, inspired by Madeleine de Scudéry’s amitié tendre. She portrayed ideal love as a relationship between two free souls, helping each other reach true wisdom. Interestingly, this emphasis on ethereal affection seems to have led to the complete exclusion of sexuality from her writings. Furthermore, by depicting love as path to individual self-realisation, Nordenflycht heralded romantic love. This thesis provides a comprehensive picture of Nordenflycht’s philosophy of love and the way it relates to early modern protofeminist ideas.

Another time. Definitions of time in French encyclopedias, 1690-1835 The point of departure for this study is the common conception that the idea of time became "modern" in the late 18th century, meaning among other things a new, future-oriented and empowered individual. Such a view has been expressed by scholars like Lynn Hunt, Lucian Hölscher, François Hartog, Dan Edelstein as well as Reinhart Koselleck. This thesis investigates whether such a transformation is visible in eight French encyclopedias, published between 1690 and 1835. Definitions of time-related key-words are studied from a perspective of conceptual history and discourse analysis. The result of the study indicates a change in the notion of time. However, this change does not concur with the presumed breakthrough of "modernity". The dominant change is rather words that disappear during the period. The study argues that the dichotomy of time versus eternity was questioned, which changed the expectations. Definitions eventually turned away from a predetermined future, however they did not include an individual freedom to act. A new temporal consciousness is visible with the update of history, as pointed out by Koselleck. Mythology was mocked when definitions underlined rationality. The texts substituted religion with science. Diversity between individual definitions is visible mostly during the middle of the 18th century. Finally, the study discusses a possible time lag for encyclopedias used as witnesses of a discourse. / Autres temps. Les définitions du temps des encyclopédies françaises, 1690-1835 La notion de temps au sens moderne semble avoir pris forme vers la fin du 18e siècle. Cette conception du temps comme « moderne » implique entre autres choses que l'homme est conscient de la dimension temporelle, et de sa liberté de créer son propre avenir. Depuis les années 1960, plusieurs penseurs, dont François Hartog, Lynn Hunt, Lucian Hölscher, Dan Edelstein et Reinhart Koselleck, ont abordé ce décalage de la dite notion. Dans cette thèse sont examinés les changements de la notion du temps à travers les définitions de huit encyclopédies publiées entre 1690 et 1835. Au 18e siècle, les dictionnaires et les encyclopédies jouaient un rôle important quant au savoir et à la maitrise de la langue. Les analyses des définitions sont conduites à la lumière des théories conceptuelles et discursives. Les résultats de l'étude, dont le matériau s'étend sur 150 ans, confirment un changement de la notion de temps mais non pas celui dont a parlé la recherche antérieure. Les définitions témoignent d'un certain nombre d'effacements et de substitutions de différentes parties des textes. Les textes semblent avoir été plus homogènes au début et à la fin du 18e siècle et plus hétérogènes au milieu du même siècle. Les références religieuses s'y sont souvent substituées à des textes provenant des sciences naturelles, comme par exemple la mécanique. Successivement, les explications mythologiques étaient qualifiées de purs « mythes ». La dichotomie temps—éternité est remise en question et commence à disparaître. Selon d'autres chercheurs dans ce domaine, cela signifie une des conditions d'un futur non prédéterminé. Cependant, même au début du 19e siècle, les définitions parlent d'un futur contingent et non d'un homme maître de son propre futur. Pendant cette période (1690-1835), il y a aussi eu lieu un changement dans la façon de concevoir la notion d' «histoire », un phénomène qui a été souligné par Koselleck. Ce changement semble avoir entrainé une nouvelle conceptualisation de la temporalité. Dans la thèse sont discutées les encyclopédies comme étant des sources scientifiques et la possibilité d'un « time lag » dû aux définitions comparées au discours où celles-ci sont produites. Les résultats montrent l'introduction apparemment tardive d'un nouveau discours. / <p>Masterprogram i historiska studier, inriktning idéhistoria</p>

<p>The purpose of this paper is to examine how the arrival of class society is expressed in the social dance of high society during the second half of the eighteenth century. The study is based on the idea that culture and society develope in interaction; that changes in the economic, political and social life determine the cultural expressions as well. What I wish to examine is whether cultural themes from the developing bourgeois culture – individualism, to be precise – is expressed in the social dance during the second half of the eigthteenth century. // The study shows that public balls definitely gave people a chance to show off on the dance floor in spite of social rank. The assemblies were open to everyone, and there were no formal distinction between the estates. The equality was enforced furthermore in the bal masques. // In spite of this formal equality, there are also signs of public assemblies not being quite the arenas for individual triumph beyond the boundaries of estate that they could be. Comments about dance and individuals are for example way more common in connection to private gatherings than public. When writing about public balls focus is primarily on the attender’s social rang, and more seldom on the dance at all. It’s clear that the mixing of estates was a source of agitation, and also that it was hard for peasants and merchants to compete with the nobility on their home ground. In theory the dance culture was boundary-crossing, but in reality the rift between the estates was still wide.</p>

The purpose of this paper is to examine how the arrival of class society is expressed in the social dance of high society during the second half of the eighteenth century. The study is based on the idea that culture and society develope in interaction; that changes in the economic, political and social life determine the cultural expressions as well. What I wish to examine is whether cultural themes from the developing bourgeois culture – individualism, to be precise – is expressed in the social dance during the second half of the eigthteenth century. // The study shows that public balls definitely gave people a chance to show off on the dance floor in spite of social rank. The assemblies were open to everyone, and there were no formal distinction between the estates. The equality was enforced furthermore in the bal masques. // In spite of this formal equality, there are also signs of public assemblies not being quite the arenas for individual triumph beyond the boundaries of estate that they could be. Comments about dance and individuals are for example way more common in connection to private gatherings than public. When writing about public balls focus is primarily on the attender’s social rang, and more seldom on the dance at all. It’s clear that the mixing of estates was a source of agitation, and also that it was hard for peasants and merchants to compete with the nobility on their home ground. In theory the dance culture was boundary-crossing, but in reality the rift between the estates was still wide.

This paper examines the painter Peh Hilleström (1732–1816) as a participant in the eighteenth century, Stockholm art market, according to the model used by Michael Baxandall in his study of Italian Renaissance art. The art market of the eighteenth century was expanding and included new groups of buyers, outside traditional patrons of art as court and aristocracy. The main purpose of the paper is to find these new art consumers. I use probate inventories from Stockholm, from the years 1735, 1775, 1795, and 1815, in which I search for annotations of paintings. The results are examined from an economic perspective, based on wealth, and a social, based on occupation and titles. Examining these four years I find a rather extensive, bourgeois, market for art, including the less well of households, and fairly independent of social status. The sources give few if any, details of the paintings listed. Hence it is not possible to connect any of the annotations in the probate inventories to Hilleström, since artists’ names are never mentioned. From some of the clues given, there is nevertheless, possible to reconstruct the outlines of what an art collection might have looked like. The wide scope of Hillestöm’s production, illustrated by the artist’s own list of his paintings, might be interpreted as a way to cater for this new market, illustrated by e.g. the frequent repetition of motives. Finally, I examine a few of Hilleström’s own paintings in the light of the previous investigation. Together the sources give a picture of a – fairly widespread – ideal of interior decoration, in which paintings are an important part.

Polulärvetenskaplig sammanfattning Uppsatsens undersökning är en kartläggning av lagstiftning och reglering gällande gaturummen i Stockholm 1650-1750. Syftet är att se på hur myndigheterna försökte komma tillrätta med nattliga ordningsproblem, samt vilka ideal och motiv som låg bakom reglerna. Källmaterialet består av förordningar och kungörelser utgivna av Kungl. Maj:t och Stockholms magistrat i det tidigmoderna Stockholm 1650-1750. Metoden till analysen består av diskursanalys, där fasta tas på samhälleliga diskurser som kan avläsas i källmaterialet, och då utifrån kategorier som kön, klass och makt. Undersökningens resultat visar på en kristlig ideal av ordning för de offentliga miljöerna och nattlivet. Lagstiftningen följer även den internationella utvecklingen för tidigmoderna städer, med gatuplanering, införandet av gatubelysning och en förskjutning av dygnsrytmen. Det materiella ordnandet, samt idealen av ordningsamma goda kristliga medborgare sammanfaller även med Sveriges stormaktsideal. I källmaterialet finns även spår av förhandling mellan myndigheter och medborgare. Lagstiftningen anpassas utifrån medborgarnas klagomål och påtryckningar, det sker en förhandling av statens våldsmonopol och medborgarnas individuella rättssäkerhet. I det tidigmoderna Stockholm är individuell rättssäkerhet kopplat till samhällsställning.       Undersökningen visar även på att medborgarna fungerar som lagens förlängda arm, med en angivarkultur som uppmuntras. De ur högre stånd hade traditionellt fungerat som förmyndare och beskyddare för de med lägre samhällelig ställning, och i och med införandet av stadsvakten bestående av medborgare ur de lägre ständerna, ställs denna ordning ur spel - vilket resulterar i en del konflikter.

This thesis examines the relationship between booksellers, medicine for sexually transmitted diseases, and advertising in eighteenth-century London. The analysis is based on trade cards, prints and advertisement in newspapers and periodicals. The results of the thesis show that booksellers were an active part of the medical marketplace and came to influence the sale of patent medicine in both the capital and in other parts of England during the eighteenth century. The study thus shows that booksellers had a much more important role in the English medical marketplace than previous research has shown. Sex and sexually transmitted diseases regularly featured in advertisement, demonstrating that both sex and sexually transmitted diseases were part of everyday life in eighteenth century London. / I den här uppsatsen undersöks förhållandet mellan bokhandlare, medicin mot könsjukdomar och reklam i 1700-talets London. Analysen baseras på handelskort, tryck och reklam i tid- ningar och tidskrifter. Resultatet av undersökningen visar att bokhandlare var en aktiv del av den medicinska marknaden och kom att påverka försäljningen av patenterad medicine i både huvudstaden och i andra delar av England under 1700-talet. Studien visar därmed att bok- handlare hade en mycket viktigare roll i den engelska medicinska marknaden än vad tidigare forskning har visat. Sex och könssjukdomar förekom regelbundet i reklamen från London och demonstrerar att både sex och könssjukdomar var en del av vardagen i 1700-talets London.

Sällsynta, vanliga kvinnor - Genremåleriets skildringar som kunskapskälla kring 1700-talets arbetande kvinnor i Sverige. The aim of this essay is to study whether genre paintings portraying lower and middle class women in the 18th century Sweden can act as a source of information and knowledge regarding these women ́s types of work and way of life and if so, what in the the motives can be used as a source of information and thus contribute to traditional historical research. The essay focuses on Sweden and the years between 1770 - 1810 since this was a time of rapid political, economic and cultural development which all effected the art market. These years were also the productive years of the artist Pehr Hilleström who was the most formative contributor to Swedish genre painting at the time. In this essay three motives have been analysed with attention to repertoires of work, ways of performing work and social hierarchies within work among the portrayed women. Research on aspects of economic history, material culture, work, family and gender, dress history as well as pictures as historical evidence puts the depicted women in relation to their context. The conclusion is that with knowledge of the time period and culture, special knowledge of what is displayed and thereby the adequate ability to critically evaluate the source indeed makes genre painting a useful source of information. / Sällsynta, vanliga kvinnor - Genremåleriets skildringar som kunskapskälla kring 1700-talets arbetande kvinnor i Sverige. Uppsatsen fokuserar på perioden 1770-1810 och det som då var Sverige eftersom samhälle och kultur utvecklades snabbt under denna tid vilket gynnade konstmarknaden och en ny typ av motiv då blev populärt - genremotiv. Uppsatsen undersöker om dessa kan användas som källa till kunskap och i så fall vad i motiven som kan utgöra detta. Tre motiv målade av Pehr Hilleström under den aktuella perioden valdes ut för verksanalyser. I motiven föreställande kvinnor ur ett lägre samhällsskikt och som utför någon typ av hushållsrelaterat arbete undersöks om kunskap och information kring dessa kvinnor och deras arbetsliv kan erhållas. Resultatet av undersökningen visar att med tillräcklig kunskap om aktuell tid och kontext, rätt specialkunskaper kring vad som avbildas i form av föremål, interiörer och klädedräkt samt adekvat källkritik så kan genremotiv användas som en källa till information och kunskap.