French Literature Reviews - 2026
A History of Politeness in Quebec: Norms and Deviance from the 17th to the 20th Century
History, Politics and Society
Bibliographic reference: Une histoire de la politesse au Québec, Normes et déviances du XVIIe au XXe siècle, Septentrion, 2015. EAN13: 9782894488133.
From the 17th to the 20th century, politeness served as a marker of social distinction. Decorum, elegance, and refined conversation—or conversely, their absence and ignorance—allowed individuals to be hierarchically classified. Paradoxically, it was argued that good manners should help bridge social divides by refining classes (hence the term "politeness"), thereby avoiding offense to others and ensuring conformity to societal codes. Clearly, politeness is far more than a mere exchange: it reflects the foundations of society, its intrinsic values, and the avenues for social mobility it affords.
Une histoire de la politesse au Québec explores, among other topics, insults, honorary titles, dance, leisure, gender relations, and books on etiquette.
With contributions by Marise Bachand, Pascal Bastien, Annie Breton, Donald Fyson, René Hardy, Ollivier Hubert, Maude-Emmanuelle Lambert, Andréanne Lebrun, Denise Lemieux, Thierry Nootens, Peggy Roquigny, Jean-René Thuot, and Laurent Turcot
The study of manners, civility, and social conduct occupies a well-established place in cultural history and sociology, where the regulation of everyday behavior is frequently examined as an index of shifting hierarchies and moral frameworks. In the context of the history of New France and Quebec, questions of decorum and social distinction intersected with broader Atlantic traditions of polite sociability and institutional authority over several centuries. Scholarly inquiry in this domain typically traces how outward forms of expression adapted to changing economic conditions, urban development, and transformations in collective values across generations.
Readers interested in the history of social norms, cultural practices, and everyday life in Quebec may find this collective volume a relevant contribution. Une histoire de la politesse au Québec, Normes et déviances du XVIIe au XXe siècle addresses topics such as insults, honorary titles, dance, leisure, gender relations, and historical manuals of etiquette. The volume brings together essays by Marise Bachand, Pascal Bastien, Annie Breton, Donald Fyson, René Hardy, Ollivier Hubert, Maude-Emmanuelle Lambert, Andréanne Lebrun, Denise Lemieux, Thierry Nootens, Peggy Roquigny, Jean-René Thuot, and Laurent Turcot.