Hypocrisy and the Politics of Politeness
Manners and Morals from Locke to Austen
1st Edition
Published on 11. June 2006
978-0-511-19257-9 (ISBN)
Description
In Hypocrisy and the Politics of Politeness, Jenny Davidson considers the arguments that define hypocrisy as a moral and political virtue in its own right. She shows that these were arguments that thrived in the medium of eighteenth-century Britain's culture of politeness. In the debate about the balance between truthfulness and politeness, Davidson argues that eighteenth-century writers from Locke to Austen come down firmly on the side of politeness. This is the case even when it is associated with dissimulation or hypocrisy. These writers argue that the open profession of vice is far more dangerous for society than even the most glaring discrepancies between what people say in public and what they do in private. This book explores what happens when controversial arguments in favour of hypocrisy enter the mainstream, making it increasingly hard to tell the difference between hypocrisy and more obviously attractive qualities like modesty, self-control and tact.
Reviews / Votes
'... is a model of its type - a timely, tightly argued and restlessly provocative monograph.' The Times Literary SupplementMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Cambridge University Press
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
Worked examples or Exercises; 1 Halftones, unspecified
File size
2,22 MB
ISBN-13
978-0-511-19257-9 (9780511192579)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Book
11/2007
Cambridge University Press
€61.20
Shipment within 15-20 days
Book
05/2004
Cambridge University Press
€129.30
Shipment within 15-20 days
Person
Jenny Davidson is Assistant Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University. She has published articles in Studies in Eighteenth-Century Culture and Studies in Romanticism. She is the author of a novel, Heredity (2003).
Content
Acknowledgements; Introduction: the revolution in manners in eighteenth-century prose; 1. Hypocrisy and the servant problem; 2. Gallantry, adultery and the principles of politeness; 3. Revolutions in female manners; 4. Hypocrisy and the novel I: Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded; 5. Hypocrisy and the novel II: a modest question about Mansfield Park; Coda: politeness and its costs; Notes; Bibliography; Index.
