Karen Halttunen. Confidence Men and Painted Women: A Study of Middle-Class Culture in America, 1830-1870.
Introduction | Overview | Social Conditions | Reactions | Outcomes | Commentary
Commentary
Confidence Men and Painted Women provides us with a way to make sense of the sentimental culture of the nineteenth century, as well as the resulting consequences. Halttunen includes detailed, rich descriptions of the culture in her study, leading us to a better understanding of the period. Going a step beyond, Halttunen explicitly links the social history to a broadly-framed meta-narrative of traditional history, demonstrating that it is possible to integrate the two successfully.
Perhaps due to the many threads that Halttunen weaves together, the work can be somewhat confusing, at least until the reader looks closer to see the interplay of small and large patterns.
As an example of confusion on the way to understanding, read my initial attempt to write a review in traditional paper form. I eventually became so frustrated in my attempts to make sense out of the paper that I gave up, and started over with this web-based review. While much has been left out of this discussion, it can, I hope, serve as a roadmap for understanding the work.