ABSTRACT
At the turn of the century one of the overriding principles in New York's high society to see and be seen. To provide a spectacle of wealth to overwhelm lesser mortals was to impose ones power and was a principle with a long history, going back to the court society of the ancient regime and beyond. In seeking to claim social distinction for themselves the nouveaux riches emulated both the lifestyle of old New York and that of the European aristocracy, their immediately superior reference groups. Over the period from 1870 to 1920, society women experienced both gains and losses with respect to their role in status maintenance or social advancement in the context of the family. The new places of entertainment created opportunities for spontaneity, self-expression, and social intimacy between married couples. At the same time, both the culture of display and newspaper publicity brought with them the disadvantages of sexual objectification and external surveillance.
