The ideal of honesty proposed by civility treaties results from the social and political reorganization orchestrated by Louis XIV's desire to assert his authority and impose a court ritual. Court treaties, like Antoine de Courtin's Le Nouveau traite de la civilite qui se pratique en France parmi les honnetes gens (1671), pass on an ideal of social behaviour in which the appearances are meticulously planned. Based on the principle that the physical appearance is a reflection of the inner self, the body is of great importance in honesty. Propriety books codify gestures and indicate the best attitude, outfit, posture and gait to single out an "honnete homme" from the mass. In order to respect the social standards, he moulds himself an exterior image and, in doing so, he establishes a difference between the public character and the private man. The representation of the body necessarily affects the creation of the "honnete homme"'s personality, which presents many traits of a modern identity.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.99583 |
| Date | January 2006 |
| Creators | Comtois, Maud. |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | French |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Master of Arts (Département de langue et littérature françaises.) |
| Rights | © Maud Comtois, 2006 |
| Relation | alephsysno: 002596852, proquestno: AAIMR32511, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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