Restoration Celebrity Culture: Twenty-First-Century Regenderings and Rewritings of Charles II, the Merry Monarch, and his Mistress “Pretty, witty” Nell Gwyn

Charles II was a figure of controversy during his reign and continues to be one of the most iconic and well-known British monarchs; the portrayals of this King vary significantly from one author to the other and from one period to the next, but they invariably focus on his penchant for frivolity and his sexual liaisons. One of his favourite royal mistresses is Nell Gwyn, the oyster girl, turned orange seller, turned actress, turned mother of Dukes. The figure of ‘pretty, witty’ Nelly has fascinated biographers, filmmakers and novelists for centuries due to its Cinderella-like undertones and the natural fascination that the first female performers have exerted on the public imagination. This paper studies modern rewritings of Charles’s and Nell’s affair and of the two lovers themselves, to trace the attitudes towards the King’s illicit affair and towards the actress’s social climbing. The aim of this paper is to question the motivations for these re-imaginings and to help discover the reasons why the monarch and his “Protestant Whore”The name comes, legend has it, from Nell Gwyn herself and is an anecdote that has been recounted innumerable times. Granger explains that “the story [...] is a known fact; as is also that of her being insulted in her coach at Oxford, by the mob, who mistook her for the duchess of Portsmouth. Upon which she looked out of the window, and said, with her usual good humour, Pray, good people, be civil: I am the protestant whore. This laconic speech drew upon her the blessings of the populace, who suffered her to proceed without further molestation” (Granger 2010: 429). have become the focus of such varied re-writings and two of the most prominent characters of the British public imagination, surpassing the boundaries of their professions, to become part of popular culture.

SOCIAL CLIMBER IDENTITY AND MEMORY : POTRET DIRI SEBAGAI OBJEKTIVITAS HIPERREALITAS KEHIDUPAN DAN DEGRADASI MEMORI

This study examines the development of photographic technology that facilitates the development of the phenomenon of social climbing by highlighting the hyperreality of social media, thereby resulting in the emergence of a new identity for social climbers. Photography technology has evolved over time. Digital technology has created instant technology that makes it easy for camera users to operate cameras with automatic adjustment features, therefore the technology industry is constantly looking for ways to develop and make smartphones. Smartphones integrate image and communication technology into one device, making it easier for users to communicate. This smart phone supports online access to social media because of its features that can be connected to the internet. So anyone can share their photography using this tool and also social media. social media makes it easy for everyone to access information including personal activities that are shared, so that phenomena that are often referred to as social climbing phenomena are phenomena marked by social media users who are competing to improve their social status on online social media. The phenomenon of social climbing makes someone create a new identity for themselves on social media. Creating a life that is exaggerated from its original reality or also called hyperreality. This study aims to provide education related to the use of photography and social media, so that people do not fall into the phenomenon of false identities in social media.

Donna, che fosti tra le donne un Sole»: sui tentativi poetici giovanili di Paolo Paruta (metà XVI sec.)

During the mid-1560s, Paolo Paruta (1540-1598), future Ambassador of the Republic of Venice in Rome (1591-1595) and author of the three books of Perfettione della Vita Politica (Venice, 1579) wrote some poems: the canzone Donna, che fosti tra le donne un Sole, and three somnets. The former was then published in Dionigi Atanagi’s Rime di diversi nobilissimi et eccellentissimi autori, in morte della Signora Irene delle Signore di Spilimbergo (Venice, 1561), the latters were insert in Diomede Borghesi’s anthology for Cinzia Braccioduro Garzadori (then published in Padua, 1567, without Paruta’s somnets). Writing those juvenile poems and making them circulate among the Venetian literary circles (such as Domenico Venier’s), Paruta was looking not only for artistic approval, but also for social visibility: the canzone and the somnets were part of his wider strategy for social climbing inside Venetian patrician ruling class.

The “Supplementary” Historian? Li Zhao’s Guo shi bu as Mid-Tang Political and Social Critique

This article examines the Tang dynasty anecdote collection Guo shi bu 國史補 (Supplement to the History of the State), compiled by Li Zhao 李肇 (?-after 827) in part as a critique of imperial government and elite social mores of the early decades of the ninth century. A quantitative analysis of topic frequency and distribution in the collection reveals Li Zhao’s techniques for depicting the corruption or political brilliance of the reigns of Tang emperors, as well as his admiration of powerful aristocratic clans, and his disdain for social climbing, perspectives that likely stemmed from his experiences as an official in Xianzong’s court and his elite family background. Understanding the organization, underlying themes, and structure of individual anecdotes of the Guo shi bu allows us to see the ways that anecdotes and “miscellaneous” histories ultimately shaped official accounts of the Tang dynasty. Cet article examine la collection d’anecdotes d’époque Tang Guo shi bu 國史補 (supplément à l’histoire de l’Etat) compilée par Li Zhao 李肇 (?-après 827), et la considère en partie comme une critique du gouvernement impérial et des mœurs des élites au début du ixe siècle. Une analyse quantitative des thèmes traités, dans leur fréquence et leur répartition au sein de l’ouvrage permet de révéler les techniques mises en œuvre par Li Zhao pour décrire la corruption ou le rayonnement politique des règnes des empereurs Tang successifs, son admiration pour les grands clans aristocratiques, et son dédain pour les parvenus et l’ascension sociale. Li hérite certainement cette vision de son expérience en tant que fonctionnaire à la cour de Xianzong ainsi que de son ascendance au sein des élites. Une telle compréhension de l’organisation du Guo shi bu, de ses thèmes sous-jacents et de la structure des anecdotes prises individuellement nous permet de mieux saisir comment les anecdotes et les miscellanées ont fini par déterminer le contenu des histoires officielles de la dynastie des Tang.