This dissertation explores the evolution of English behavioral ideals from the publication of Lord Chesterfield's Letters To His Son in 1774 to the formalizing of professional status signified by the Medical Act of 1858. Between 1774 and 1830, these ideals found expression in conduct books. After 1830, they were embodied primarily in etiquette books and professional codes of behavior. This shift in the means of expressing behavioral norms is examined in order to illuminate the nature of and response to changes transforming English society during the early industrial period One of these changes was the rise of distinct classes. Conduct books embodied a middle-class behavioral code grounded in moral principles and opposed to upper-class 'Society's' amoral code of etiquette. Differences between the codes are evidence of antagonism between the two classes. According to the traditional view, these tensions resulted in a victory for middle-class values. This study of behavioral ideals challenges that view. The success and development of etiquette books together with the rise of professional ideals based on ethics and etiquette suggest that a blend of middle- and upper-class values triumphed in Victorian England Behavioral ideals also shed light on the problem of influence. The growing commercialization and urbanization of society enhanced the power of remote, impersonal persuaders such as the press, cities, advertisements and 'Society'. That is, the potential for mutual persuasion among strangers increased dramatically. Such a change made deception more feasible, constituting nothing less than a crisis of social confidence Conduct book writers confronted this crisis by dispensing a behavioral code designed to render strangers' moral characters immediately recognizable. This study concludes that etiquette as opposed to conduct books succeeded because moral character was not a viable basis for achieving social confidence in an urban, industrial society. Threats to reliable human interactions posed by such a society were most effectively mitigated by the easily perceived identity indicators of etiquette and professional codes and credentials. In that the evolution of behavioral ideals from 1774 to 1858 is ultimately a story of reconciliation and resolution, it helps us to understand why the mid-Victorian period was an age of relative repose / acase@tulane.edu
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:TULANE/oai:http://digitallibrary.tulane.edu/:tulane_26056 |
| Date | January 1988 |
| Contributors | Morgan, Marjorie (Author), Bernstein, George (Thesis advisor) |
| Publisher | Tulane University |
| Source Sets | Tulane University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | Access requires a license to the Dissertations and Theses (ProQuest) database., Copyright is in accordance with U.S. Copyright law |
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