An Examination Of North American Courtship Analytical Essay by Top Papers

The paper discusses how in the early nineteeth century, young middle-class men and women possessed a degree of autonomy and privacy that permitted them to develop a level of closeness in their relationships with each other. The paper describes how in this era, candor became both a sign and a safeguard of intimacy and, as such, those individuals immersed in the excitement of a relationship would feel free to express their feelings, open in what they said and how they behaved. Yet, the paper asserts that in order to understand courtship during this time, we must separate sex and romance as two distinct entities. To evaluate the evidence drawn from diaries, letters and other personal documents, the paper shows how it becomes apparent that individuals during this time had a greater opportunity for education, material security and professional achievement than most young Americans did almost one hundred years later. The paper discusses how with the nature of social circumstances being what they were in these different generations, the nature of courtship was subsequently affected.