Karen Halttunen. Confidence Men and Painted Women: A Study of Middle-Class Culture in America, 1830-1870.
Introduction | Overview | Social Conditions | Reactions | Outcomes | Commentary
Outcomes
The inherent contradiction embodied in sentimental culture led to the vicious cycle of preoccupation over hypocrisy, codified behavior, and de facto hypocrisy. By the 1850s the unsustainable cycle collapsed, and the concern about sincerity that characterized sentimental culture melted away, leaving empty social forms and customs behind, which were then accepted by society as “a theatrical performance of gentility.” (p. 196)
Another outcome of the elaborate codes set out in various types of advice manuals was “an unconscious strategy for middle-class Americans to distinguish themselves as a class while still denying the class structure of their society.” (p.195)