Social Conduct Literature

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Social Conduct Literature Criticism

Social conduct literature has served as a mirror reflecting societal values and norms since the Middle Ages, aiming to shape the moral, domestic, and social lives of its readers. Emerging robustly in Great Britain by the 1570s alongside rising literacy and the print trade, these texts initially targeted young women of marriageable age but were also crafted for men, children, and the aristocracy. Predominantly authored by men, these works prescribed behavior on matters such as court etiquette, social interaction, household management, marital choices, and domestic roles. By the late seventeenth century, periodicals began to surface, focusing more on women and crafted often by female authors, as discussed in ‘Fair-sexing it’: An Introduction to Periodical Literature and the Eighteenth-Century Construction of Femininity. These periodicals continued the tradition of promoting virtuous female behavior, yet marked a shift as women became more involved in their production.

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