HIS230H5 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme, White Lion, Nutmeg
Document Summary
Europe"s economy suffered quite a bit in the 16th and 17th century and population was growing. Some townspeople were able to grow richer, despite the challenges. Some people would try to purchase their way into a higher class. It is a parody of people who want to buy their way into a higher status. Critics believe that the play may have been focusing on the transition of the aristocratic culture into the bourgeoisie population. It may be a commentary on the emphasis of extreme manners in the court. This suggests that those who are hired are not to be trusted, as they tell you what you want to hear. In the netherlands, the middle class took on a positive light. The dutch commercial eet was much larger than that of many other european ones combined. The shipwreck of the white lion (1613) can offer insight into what was traded.
