ABSTRACT
The prevailing image of the cultural practices of the European petite bourgeoisie is unambiguous. The Marcelin biography suggests a culture that was not only more complex than the stereotype of imitation would lead people to expect, but also more argumentative. A contestatory independence had long marked out the role of village shopkeepers and artisans within the rural community, and not only in those agrarian regions such as eastern England and the Paris basin where large landowners and farmers allowed less scope for independent action by agricultural workers. The urban setting was becoming more difficult as economic and social pressures forced many petits bourgeois towards a limited emulation of the larger bourgeoisie. An exploration of petit-bourgeois culture must also distinguish between artisans and shopkeepers. A group of common themes gave shape to petit-bourgeois culture through the nineteenth century.
