E-Book Overview
A nation’s standards of private cleanliness reveal much about its ideals of civilization, fears of disease, and expectations for public life, says Kathleen Brown in this unusual cultural history. Starting with the shake-up of European practices that coincided with Atlantic expansion, she traces attitudes toward “dirt” through the mid-nineteenth century, demonstrating that cleanliness—and the lack of it—had moral, religious, and often sexual implications. Brown contends that care of the body is not simply a private matter but an expression of cultural ideals that reflect the fundamental values of a society.The book explores early America’s evolving perceptions of cleanliness, along the way analyzing the connections between changing public expectations for appearance and manners, and the backstage work of grooming, laundering, and housecleaning performed by women. Brown provides an intimate view of cleanliness practices and how such forces as urbanization, immigration, market conditions, and concerns about social mobility influenced them. Broad in historical scope and imaginative in its insights, this book expands the topic of cleanliness to encompass much larger issues, including religion, health, gender, class, and race relations. (20100809)
E-Book Content
FOUL BODIES
This page intentionally left blank
FOUL BODIES Cleanliness in Early America
Kathleen M. Brown
Yale University Press New Haven & London
Disclaimer: Some images in the printed version of this book are not available for inclusion in the eBook.
Society and the Sexes in the Modern World Christine Stansell, Series Editor Published with assistance from the foundation established in memory of Philip Hamilton McMillan of the Class of 1894, Yale College. Copyright © 2009 by Yale University. All rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, including illustrations, in any form (beyond that copying permitted by Sections 107 and 108 of the U.S. Copyright Law and except by reviewers for the public press), without written permission from the publishers. Set in Postscript Electra type by The Composing Room of Michigan, Inc. Printed in the United States of America. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Brown, Kathleen M., 1960– Foul bodies : cleanliness in early America / Kathleen M. Brown. p. cm.—(Society and the sexes in the modern world) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-300-10618-3 (cloth : alk. paper). 1. Hygiene—United States— History—18th century. 2. Hygiene—United States—History—19th century. I. Title. II. Series. [DNLM: 1. Hygiene—history—United States. 2. Cultural Evolution— United States. 3. History, 17th Century—United States. 4. History, 18th Century— United States. 5. History, 19th Century—United States. 6. Human Body— United States. QT 11 AA1 B878f 2008] RA780.B76 2008 613⬘.40973—dc22 2008022131 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. This paper meets the requirements of ANSI/NISO Z39.48 –1992 (Permanence of Paper). It contains 30 percent postconsumer waste (PCW) and is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). 10 9 8 7 6 5
4
3
2
1
For Ted, William, Owen, and Emily
Jaques: Invest me in my motley; give me leave To speak my mind, and I will through and through Cleanse the foul body of th’ infected world, If they will patiently receive my medicine. William Shakespeare, As You Like It
CONTENTS
List of Illustrations ix Acknowledgments xi A Note on the Text xiv Introduction 1
Part I Atlantic Crossings o n e Caring for the Early Modern Body 15 t w o Skin 42 t h r e e Corruption 58
Part II Genteel Bodies f o u r Empire’s New Clothes 98 f i v e Gentility 118 s i x Virtue 159
Part III Transforming Body Work s e v e n Reimagining