Amoureuze scène voor elke dag van de week 1833

Jules David created this lithograph, "Amorous Scene for Every Day of the Week", in France. The print depicts love as a series of social rituals; from flirtation at a ball to marital disputes, love is expressed through established social codes. Fashion plays a key role here; we can date the print to around the 1840s by the styles of dress. It also highlights how the fashions of the time were used to signify social status, and therefore, the possibilities for love. Notice how money and class structure these relationships. For example, a couple argues over money on Tuesday. By Wednesday, the woman is being tended to in bed. We can use sources like fashion plates, etiquette manuals, and popular novels to learn more about the way love and marriage were shaped by social expectations in 19th-century France. This print reminds us that even our most intimate feelings are shaped by the social and institutional contexts in which we live.