Asher.p2.t1.Enlightenment Synthesis Question

Asher.p2.t1.Enlightenment

by Calvin Chan, Christina Yang, Brianna Loo, Jane Lu (Asher Period 2, Team 1)

After the dominance of the elite social patronage during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, writers and artists began to target influential family connections through a scope of satire. These values, once held in high esteem, were considered of trivial value during the Restoration era. Philosophers, writers, and artists alike satirized the upper class and noble families in their work. The famous philosopher Voltaire criticized the wealthy nobles, satirically shaping his novel Zadig through the eyes of a wealthy nobleman who is never really happy. Rather paradoxically, the nobleman feels inferior to others, despite his abundant wealth and funds. By making a direct connection that associated wealth with the lack of happiness, Voltaire allowed even the most poorly educated readers to understand his satiric criticism of the poorly constructed zeitgeist of the wealthy. Voltaire’s delivery towards the less educated was important because it was crucial to not only target the educated, but also the less educated. At the same time, William Hogarth created a collection of six paintings titled “Marriage a la mode,” in which he satirically criticized the women and men of the time period who married into wealthy families purely based on monetary gains. Hogarth’s paintings existed as a linear storyboard; the first painting was normal, but the presence of exaggeration and satire was undeniable in the last painting. The collections satirized the families that were created through the monetary framework, heavily accentuating the jealousy and drama that plagued such families.