Western Civilization
European history is full of examples of changes and developments of different countries at different times. Each period brought along specific features that shaped societies and peoples. Perhaps one of the most interesting and influential centuries in Europe's lifetime is the eighteenth century that brought about new changes in this continent's culture, politics, economics, and almost any field of its society. The history textbook The West: Encounters and Transformations written by Brian Levack and others provides a bountiful source of information regarding this time, since it includes many primary sources from this historical time such as paintings, travel journals and documents that depict characteristics of the society as well as some intellectuals' criticism about it. Paintings like William Hogarth's Marriage a la Mode, Joshua Reynolds' Mary, Duchess of Richmond, and written documents such as Denis Diderot's Rameau's Nephew and Other Works, and Daniel Defoe's The English Tradesman provide a realistic view of the western European eighteenth century society, its values, and its culture. The first source, Marriage a la Mode, found in page 556 of Levack's book, is a beautiful work of art created during
Hogarth was not the only one who knew and showed others what the aristocracy was made of. He also questioned his religion's morality based on the fact that Christians were going over to new lands trying to colonize them with the good intention to improve them, but if they were not better than others, they could not possibly do that. in short trade in England makes gentlemen. Each one of them makes a case and provides supporting bases for others that show the real side of social classes and social changes that were taking place during the time. However, lifestyle was not the only aspect of European society that was criticized by contemporary artists and philosophers. This whole deed takes place in a heavily decorated, luxurious, aristocratic house that overlooks an unfinished mansion that probably drained most of the earl's heirloom. a time in England when the impoverished nobility and the newly enriched bourgeoisie were finding ways to benefit from the changes in the economy and politics brought by trade expansion and colonization. After Diderot rejects Orou's offer to sleep with one of the women of his house because his religion, moral standards, and decency would not allow it, Orou tells him "I don't know what this thing is that you call "religion", but I can only have a low opinion of it because it forbids you to partake of an innocent pleasure to which Nature. In the cited passage he continues to write " . It is no wonder then that the highest social class, the aristocracy would want to relate to the bourgeoisie, considering that this social merge was becoming very common. Literary and art works of a certain time period can reveal a lot of information regarding the social developments of the population, which was the case for these four sources from the eighteenth century. Whether they left room for individual opinions like paintings do, or worded the authors' criticism on social issues, they all managed to take the message across and influenced the culture, mentality, and even enlightenment of their people.
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