DP Summary: The Civilizing Process by Norbert Elias Social scientist, Norbert Elias, examines in part two of his book, The Civilizing Process, the development of manners and the subsequent ‘civilizing’ of Western Europe since the middle ages. This journey in time is an attempt to understand what actually happened to humanity during several transitional periods. Elias perceives the development of western civilization in three historical stages. (From the middle ages with a progression to the renaissance (extended to 1750) and finally to modern day society) Each society of the three stages had it’s own standards of behavior, which influenced the individual to act in a certain “accepted” way. A correlation was also found between the sudden appearance of words in a language and the transitional periods between each historical stage of the civilizing process.
Meaning, as people change and grow, so to does society. In essence, Elias is speaking of the maturity of a people. The usage of the word acquired its meaning from Western society during the middle ages. This concept gradually diminish in the upper class, while civility’ grew more widespread in France during the Renaissance.
The concept of civility was an expression and a symbol of a social formation, which was embraced by most nations. Civility owes its specific meaning to a short treatise by Erasmus of Rotterdam, (On civility in boys), which became socially accepted in 1530. Erasmus provided a fresh sharpness and momentum to the long established and commonplace word. Finally the concept of civilization expressed an entirely new form of self-consciousness, more polite and restrained then all-previous concepts.
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Our Society today is defined as an interdependent organisation in a stable community. Civility in our society is factored into law and order. Law of persons are further factored into subjective law and the rights and duties of society. We distinguish between two classes of legal persons; human beings and juristic persons entitying beings upon the law. Society functions on value and morality ...
Each concept addressed a specific society at a given time. One must keep in mind that “the process of the civilizing of speech may serve as a reminder that the observation of manners and their transformation exposes to view only a very simple and easily accessible segment of a much more far-reaching process of social change” (Elias 92).
Erasmus’s book was about the behavior of people in society. This treatise was a “symptom of change, an embodiment of social processes,” which left enormous amounts of information on socially acceptable behavior of that time to be studied (Elias 48).
The book, never equaled by another in precision, clarity, or frankness was used as a valuable resource to Elias.
Meant as instruction, Erasmus, (a guiding light of society at that time) coaches his audience (mainly the upper class) on dress, table manners, spitting, vomiting, bed room behavior, clothing and a host of many different things involved ones’ appearance in society. Certain modes of behavior would be consider barbaric to modern times, while other aspects in the treaties, due in fact draw a parallel to current social norms. During the Middle Ages the table setting consisted of drinking vessels, salt-cellar, and a “well-cleaned knife” on the right, with bread on the left (spoons used commonly, folks rare in standard home of the time).
Meat would be brought in, cut and taken in hand or on bread for consumption. Plates were uncommon. The social elite, the kings and Queens alike all followed suit and ate with their hands.
There was a catch, however. For the elite to be the “elite”, they needed some form of mannerism to distinguish them from the commoners (marks of distinction between classes).
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Look again at the extract on page 24 starting with “Do you want to come and play?” and ending with “now you say after me: ‘I will always defend my brother’.” With reference to the ways Russell presents the theme of social class in the extract and elsewhere in the novel in act one, show how far you agree that there is no escape from the effects of social class for the characters in the play. Willy ...
The elite usually possessed gold utensils and had table decorations to make clear their social status and level of wealth. “It is most refined to use only three fingers” when washing ones’ hands (Elias 50).
Erasmus himself makes explicit references to class; “To dip bread you have bitten into the sauce is to behave like a peasant…
.” is one example of a textual class distinction, prevalent of that time (Elias 50).
This standard code of behavior first showed its head around the great feudal courts. Noble and courteous often compared their behavior to “coarse manners” of peasants. Books (on etiquette) were expensive but disseminated vital information to the nobility, which had a need to know the socially acceptable codes of behavior at court. Seeing as the poor could ill afford such expenditures they were last to develop proper manners. Elias’s pursuit to understand the transformation of the concepts by which different societies have tried to express themselves has lead him to recognize human societal evolution or the civilizing process.
All people, from all times have had various rituals and mannerisms, which they find to be meaningful and necessary. The process of becoming civilized depends profoundly on the conditioning and internalizing of acceptable behaviors; society as a whole slowly and laboriously internalized developed mannerisms originating for the upper class, and spread them orally. “The close parallel between the “civilizing” of eating and that of speech is in this respect highly instructive. It makes it clear that the change in behavior at table was part of a much larger transformation of human feelings and attitudes” (Elias 99).
