The pleasurable culture: Sex, media, enlightenment, 1715-1789

This thesis looks at sexual metaphors in Enlightenment popular media as a way to view social discontent amongst the third estate. It analyzes both plays and erotic novels, which were used as Enlightenment propaganda, as a way in which to show both how accessible and wide spread the ideologies of the Enlightenment actually were during this time. Ultimately this thesis views the sexual metaphors visible in these media forms as a tool of control for the third estate. In a time when socio-economics was failing the people, these outlets gave the third estate a way to voice and control their narrative of discontent.