Leaving the Peasant Behind: The Process and Experience of Social Elevation in Late 18th-Century Sweden

This article makes use of a remarkably expansive piece of life-writing in which a Swedish 18th-century peasant, Pehr Stenberg, depicted his social advancement in the early modern social order. For Stenberg, this entailed leaving the peasant estate to become a clergyman, taking on tutoring positions in aristocratic families along the way. Drawing on this material, a micro-historical exploration of the process and experience of upward social mobility is conducted, paying particular attention to the emotional dimensions of this process. The article focuses on three themes connected to social mobility which dominate Stenberg’s text: emotions related to social stratification and inferiority, codes of civility, and clothing and attire.