'My adored girl': Prescribed politeness strategies on courting for the Victorian working class in nineteenth-century letter-writing manuals

In the nineteenth century, people belonging to the middle class made use of letter-writing manuals to ensure that their language use adhered to the expected social norms and to portray themselves as respectable. These manuals provide an insight into expected and prescribed language at the time. Some of these letter-writing manuals provide model letters for people of the working class as well, which is interesting as these manuals were typically marketed and advertised for the middle class. Wieman (2021) found that there was a clear gap in social status and social roles between middle-class women and men and that this gap could be traced back in the prescribed language found within the manuals. However, the working-class women and working-class men did not experience this same gap. Though there still was a divide in expected social roles, there are many aspects in which the man was expected to rely on the woman to survive. This thesis will research whether a similar gap in terms of...Show moreIn the nineteenth century, people belonging to the middle class made use of letter-writing manuals to ensure that their language use adhered to the expected social norms and to portray themselves as respectable. These manuals provide an insight into expected and prescribed language at the time. Some of these letter-writing manuals provide model letters for people of the working class as well, which is interesting as these manuals were typically marketed and advertised for the middle class. Wieman (2021) found that there was a clear gap in social status and social roles between middle-class women and men and that this gap could be traced back in the prescribed language found within the manuals. However, the working-class women and working-class men did not experience this same gap. Though there still was a divide in expected social roles, there are many aspects in which the man was expected to rely on the woman to survive. This thesis will research whether a similar gap in terms of prescribed language can be detected in the prescribed language for members of the Victorian working class.Show less

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'My adored girl' Prescribed politeness strategies on courting for the Victorian working class in nineteenth-century letter-writing manuals