the Versailles of the middle-class

"At the court of Versailles, the royal presence brought the exquisite sensibilities of refined behavior to the highest pitch. No effort was spared to enhance the king's glory and to beautify his environment. His very presence demanded perfection of manners and gave a point to the necessary self-discipline. Back in their parlors, middle-class people had to subject themselves to the discipline of genteel conduct without the compelling presence of a monarch and with only the vaguest idea of court life. But a faint light from the court still shone in their rooms. Genteel behavior always reflected the belief that somewhere a glorious circle existed where life was lived at its highest and best, where fashions were set, where true gentility was achieved, where perfect harmony, grace, and beauty could be found."

-- The Refinement of America, Persons, Houses, Cities, Richard L. Bushman, 1992, p. 37.