The Political Basis of Dandyism in Edward Bulwer-Lytton's novel «Pelham, or The Adventures of a Gentleman»

Belyakov Nikolai Aleksandrovich ORCID: 0009-0007-7829-4589 student; Faculty of History; Samara State Socio-Pedagogical University 47 Lev Tolstoy str., Samara, Samara region, 443010, Russia belyakovnikolaschka@yandex.ru

Kutseva Elena Aleksandrovna ORCID: 0000-0001-6959-5215 PhD in History Associate Professor; Faculty of History; Samara State Socio-Pedagogical University 47 Lev Tolstoy str., Samara, Samara region, 443010, Russia kutseva@pgsga.ru

In historical and cultural scientific research, most often, emphasis is placed on the behavioral and externally attributive content of the dandy movement, and in the public consciousness it is inextricably linked with the history of fashion. A few studies on the value content of dandyism, some of them will be mentioned below, found the foundation of the dandy movement in the existential rebellion of a creative personality who is trying to assert his image in the material world. When studying some historical sources about dandies, as well as when analyzing the cultural background of the period of the origin and active formation of dandyism, one can notice in the philosophy of dandyism not only an existential, but also a political and social principle, which at the moment among most researchers has been practically ignored.

One of the sources for the study of dandyism of the XIX century is the novel by the English writer Edward Bulwer-Lytton "Pelham, or the adventures of a gentleman", published in 1828. The value of the novel as a dandyist source lies in the fact that dandies in it are not just mentioned as an outside cultural phenomenon, but the main character Henry Pelham himself is a dandy, periodically narrating readers will learn about the peculiarities of dandyism as a socio-cultural phenomenon.

Thus, the subject of this study will be the characteristic features, principles and values of dandyism described in the work of Bulwer-Lytton.

The basis for the research is the historical comparative method, which consists in identifying similarities and differences between the dandyist image described in the novel and historical examples of dandies, as well as between the ideological content of dandyism of the XIX century and European political and legal thought of the late XVII-first half of the XIX century.

Since dandyism finds its embodiment mainly in the appearance and clothing of a person, it is worth mentioning an important principle of the dandy style – "Noticeable invisibility". This rule was formulated by the English founding father of dandyism, George Brammel ^{[1, p. 61]}. In the portrait of 1805 by the English artist Robert Dayton, the first dandy is depicted in his classic attire: Hessian boots, beige trousers, a white shirt with a neckerchief, a white vest, a black tailcoat and a top hat. The hero of the novel Pelham adheres to the same style – "... dressed deliberately simply, without pretentiousness (by the way, a non–secular person would do just the opposite)..." ^{[2, pp. 311-312]}. In one of the chapters, Pelham himself describes his wardrobe – "I will wear a black tailcoat, a black vest, long trousers..." ^{[2, p. 419]}, which clearly resembles the Brammel style.

The laconic beauty of the dandy in the book is contrasted with vulgar, and often just awkward bombast. One example of anti–dandyism was the character of Henry Millington - "... the whole bill of lading, squeezed into a fashionable tailcoat and vest… The fact is that the poor guy that evening was not adapted to sitting – he was wearing that tailcoat in which he could only stand!" ^{[2, p. 315]}.

It is worth noting that the principle of naturalness should be observed by a person who is not vulgar, and a dandy is only such and can be, both in appearance and behavior ^{[3, pp. 179-188]}. The mother of the main character, Frances Pelham, in one of her letters to her son, argues that pretentiousness is not needed in high society, everything is kept natural and without pretentiousness ^{[2, p. 364]}.

The dandy outfit stands out not only for minimalism, but also for individualism. Clothes for a true dandy become the subject of his life creation, a dandy does not blindly follow fashion, but creates his own image. On the contrary, the anti-dendish behavior will be subservience to other people's tastes. In one of the chapters of the book, Lord Vincent talks to Pelham, assessing the wardrobe of a certain baron – "He will not dare to put on a vest of a new style until this style is legalized by some authoritative person" ^{[2, pp. 332-333]}. Illustrative historical examples of dandyist individualism from the first half of the XIX century are the notorious George Brummell, whose monochrome style was new to conservative English society at the turn of the XVIII-XIX centuries, the English poet George Byron became famous for his romanticism in clothes, in many portraits he is depicted in a half-unbuttoned shirt, over the collar of which a neck scarf is tied in a loose knot, French The dandy and the artist Alfred D’Orsay was able to distinguish himself by a harmonious combination of bright colors in his clothes.

The principles of naturalness and individuality of the costume are interrelated, Pelham voices them to his tailor when he suggests that the hero improve the cut of the coat and line it with cotton wool – "Please do not put anything anywhere, do not tighten my waist one iota… And in general, deign, in your infinite mercy, to adhere as precisely as possible to the style that was given to me by the Lord God" ^{[2, pp. 440-441]}. In the philosophy of dandyism, it is not a person who is created for a costume, but a costume for a person, an outfit should adorn, and not shackle a free personality.

The culture of individualism is quite possibly already embedded in the etymology of the word "Dandy". In Johnson's English dictionary of 1836, it is assumed that this word comes from the phraseology "Jack-a-dandy" (Vain guy) ^[4].

The peculiarities of the dandyist style are complemented when John Rushton appears on the pages of the novel, under whose name George Brummell is hiding. Discussing tailors with Henry Pelham, Sir Rushton criticized the tailor of the Chair, whose tailcoats are of the same type, too recognizable and do not take into account the individuality of a person. We can finally understand that Brummell himself is involved in this scene, but under a different name, when Sir Willoughby tries to support the conversation between Pelham and Rushton by praising his new tailcoat. Rushton responds to him with a sarcastic remark from Brummell ^{[3, p. 61]}, addressed to the Duke of Bedford – "In your opinion, does this object represent a tailcoat?" ^{[2, p. 390]}.

In addition to the principle of "Noticeable invisibility", Brammel founded the dandy code of conduct: "Do not be surprised at anything", "Keep impassive, surprise with surprise", "Leave as soon as an impression has been achieved" ^{[3, p. 19]}. Henry Pelham perfectly adheres to these principles: the main character of the book does not hesitate to accept a challenge to a duel, is not surprised or afraid of it ^{[2, p. 371]}; At a dinner at Lord Bennington's, in order to attract attention and shock the guests, he claimed that carrying a watch is a bourgeois and "Plebeian" habit ^{[2, p. 312]}; At social events, the protagonist does not stay long – "I managed to make a favorable impression, and in such cases I strictly observe the rule to leave as soon as possible" ^{[2, p. 378]}.

Speaking in more detail about the principle of "Keeping dispassion, striking with surprise," Pelham does this all the time. The main character often shocks the audience, starting with how he told a fictional story at the notorious Bennington dinner to the question "How do you like our streets?" as an answer, allegedly he fell into a ditch, and instead of a simple attempt to get out, he began to scream for help ^{[2, p. 313]}, ending with the case when he He deliberately set off two dogs on a visit to Lord Chester ^{[2, p. 523]}. The desire to attract attention is caused by the same desire of the dandy for everyday and cultural individualism. If you look again at the dandyist personalities of the first half of the XIX century, then Brammel especially loved, as a way to stand out, the method of noble scandal, interacting with people with caustic statements made with theatrical snobbery ^{[3, pp. 59-64]}. French existentialist philosopher Jean Paul Sartre in his 1946 work "Baudelaire" revealed in more detail the mechanism of shocking dandies, so defiant behavior and outfit, pre-planned, anticipate the reaction of the audience, disarm scoffers and acquire a vivid memorable image in the public eye ^{[5, p. 102]}.

Now that we have established the characteristics of a dandy in the style of appearance and behavior indicated in the novel, we should move on to the socio-political foundation of dandyism. In The Adventures of a Gentleman, Bulwer-Lytton describes through the story of the protagonist the internal political situation, social struggle and social thought of the British Empire. One of the political leitmotivs of the work shows the struggle of the parliamentary parties Whigs (Liberals) and Tories (Conservatives).

First you need to understand the political views of the protagonist of the novel. The very first thing we learn about the main character, or rather, about his family, is that his father was "A moderate Whig and gave luxurious balls" ^{[2, p. 282]}. That is, Henry Pelham grew up clearly in a liberal family environment and could adopt a worldview from his father. A "moderate Whig" is a very characteristic political position for an Englishman who lived in the second half of the XVIII–early XIX century (the alleged period of Pelham's father's life). The late period of the Enlightenment in England is specific for its internal contradiction, because the beginning of Enlightenment and classical liberalism was given by the British themselves through the Glorious Revolution of 1688 and its Bill of Rights of 1689, through the ideas of the scientist Isaac Newton, the educator John Locke, the publicist Joseph Addison and others; But the British stood at the head of the anti-French conservative bloc after the Great the French Revolution of 1789-1799, the ideological roots of which lead to the Enlightenment that the British began. On the one hand, the English liberal wants to defend the gains of his revolution and the fruits of the labors of his thinkers, but on the other hand, he is incredibly scared by the radicality of the neighboring revolution, which drew most of the ideas from his own culture, which is why a "Moderate Whig" or a conservative liberal appears in England, such as the philosopher Edmund Burke or the politician William Grenville.

Despite his penchant for hypocrisy, Pelham is also close to liberalism, like his father. In a dialogue with Lord Vincent, he scolds an unprincipled member of the Whig Party, whose remarks clearly contradict the party's program, Lord Lincoln, who said that "... no matter how terrible the calamities of the people may be, they will never be alleviated at the expense of any of the privileges of the aristocracy!". Pelham says about his political opponents: "They combine complete ignorance of the basics of legislation with complete indifference to everything that concerns the welfare of the people...". When Vincent asks the protagonist about the reason for his concern for the common good, Pelham replies, he realizes that he is part of the nation and "... if I harm them, I will thereby hurt myself", the desire to grant well-being to the people, thus promises well-being to himself ^{[2, pp. 482-484]}. Some of Henry Pelham's views were described a little earlier, namely in the scene of a walk in France in the Faubourg Saint-Germain. The hero describes the streets of the suburb with retrograde enthusiasm: ancient architecture, manners and manners untouched by innovations, "... slightly arrogant, although very courteous people, on whom the Revolution did not impose the seal of democratic plebeianism..." ^{[2, pp. 351-352]}. Thus, Pelham, like his father, also fits the "Moderate Whig" type.

References to literature and authors whom Pelham read or quoted throughout the novel can add details to the description of the main character's views. Pelham's ideological inspirations are mentioned in the chapter in which the protagonist's uncle prepares him for a political career. First, my uncle presents Pelham with an article by the English liberal utilitarian philosopher John Stuart Mill on public administration ^{[2, pp. 411-412]}. In order to understand the thinker's ideas, you can refer to a later book in 1861, "Reflections on Representative Government." In Mill's work, he discusses the functioning of representative authorities in the state, their relationship with the executive branch, the structure of the electoral system, but, most importantly, in Mill's work he proclaims all forms of government and types of political regimes as a consequence of social relations, and if the state was created by man, then people, based on their legal awareness and states of the general spirit can change it. The philosopher calls the combination of order and progress the main criteria for a good state structure ^{[6, pp. 7-37]}.

Secondly, it goes on to say – "We have studied all the truly excellent articles of the Encyclopedia..." ^{[2, p. 413]}. The Encyclopedia, or Explanatory Dictionary of Sciences, Arts and Crafts, published in 1751-1772, contains many articles on social and humanitarian topics authored by French enlightenment philosophers of different political views, from the moderate liberal Anne Jacques Turgot to Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who dreams of returning to the primitive Golden Age. Unfortunately, the personalities or titles of the articles are not mentioned, which makes it impossible to determine which particular enlightenment encyclopedians influenced Pelham. However, the main character quotes the philosopher-educator Claude Adrian Helvetius ^{[2, p. 442]}.

Thirdly, the English conservative-liberal thinker Jeremy Bentham is mentioned, but again without specifics about the works he read ^{[2, p. 413]}. In general, since both Bentham and Mill belong to the utilitarian trend, their positions on the state and the common good are approximately the same. It can be noted that since Pelham was preparing for a career as a parliamentarian, he could read The Tactics of Legislative Assemblies of 1816. This work of Bentham is not political and philosophical, but rather reviews positive and traditional ways of regulating lawmaking, in addition, in it the scientist deduces the central principle of publicity, on which the people's trust in their representatives is based. Glasnost presupposes the competitiveness of parties and politicians in parliament, freedom of speech and transparency of the legislative process ^{[7, pp. 10-33]}.

Fourthly, we can return to the moment when Pelham justifies his interest in the common good. The conclusion about one's belonging to the people, and, accordingly, the benefit of the people's well-being for oneself, is built in accordance with the idea of virtuous selfishness of the Scottish educator-economist Adam Smith, which he described in detail in a 1759 treatise. "The theory of moral feelings" ^[8]. Pelham's opportunity to familiarize himself with this thinker is confirmed by the lines from the book that he read political economists ^{[2, p. 413]}, and Smith was just one of the founders of classical political economy.

Now that Henry Pelham's political views have been described in general terms and his ideological inspirations have been identified, it is necessary to identify the connection between dandyism and liberalism reflected in the novel.

It is worth mentioning, in addition to Sartre, the French existentialist philosopher Albert Camus and his work "The Rebellious Man" in 1951. The thinker in his work considers dandyism as a way of rebellion, linking it, by no means, with a rebellion against outdated socio-political orders, but with the struggle against universal oblivion and personal mortality, which dandies adopted from the culture of Romanticism ^{[9, pp. 154-159]}. But in this case, we need to consider Camus's idea of stylistic rebellion. The artist rebels with his works of art and opposes reality itself – "Art is a demand for the impossible that has taken shape" ^{[9, p. 331]}, and in the case of a dandy, the subject of art is the personality itself, dressed in carefully selected clothes and manners. If you pay attention again to the portrait of George Brummell by the artist Dayton, and in general to male portraits of the early 19th century, and before that look at English portraits up to the end of the XVIII century, you can find a display of rebellion in a minimalist costume invented by a dandy. The semiotics of the dandyist "Conspicuous invisibility" is manifested in the denial of clothing as a way to show one's position in the feudal system: the rejection of richly decorated jackets, embroidered with complex patterns of camisoles, shirts with large collars or lace frills and cuffs, powdered wig and hats with feathers, replacing them with tailcoats, plain vests, tied with a neat a neckerchief knotted around the collar of a shirt, a short–cropped hair and a top hat on his head - is not all this a confrontation with what has long been considered symbols of hereditary nobility and monarchy, signs of wealth originating from the lowly worship at the royal court and the exploitation of the oppressed classes? What is this but a rebellion aimed at destroying the Old Order in the field of aesthetics?

The process of men's fashion striving for minimalism described above, which began at the turn of the XVIII-XIX centuries, is commonly referred to in historical and cultural literature as the "Great Male Rejection" ^[10]. The male refusal is dictated not only by Brammel's personality, he rather definitively formulated it, but to a greater extent by the philosophy of the Enlightenment, the Great French Revolution, the Napoleonic Wars of 1799-1815. In addition to the change in the wardrobe, the way to take care of themselves has also changed: men stopped using blush, whitewash, powder, false flies, a wig, replaced strong-smelling perfumes with the natural smell of a clean body, washing and washing more often.

The dandy is an individualist in everything from the costume to the behavior model. Dandyist personalism largely originates from the culture of the Enlightenment. If enlightenment philosophers wrote about personal freedom from the point of view of political, social, and economic relations, then the dandies transferred the idea of human legal personality and freedom of will to everyday culture. The importance of the idea of the natural right to freedom is much more than just a guarantee of the absence of arbitrary violence against a person in the legal doctrine, because if a person is born free, then he is free to dispose of himself as he pleases, and is equally free to resist attempts to deprive him of freedom. As Rousseau wrote, "Man is born free, and yet everywhere he is in fetters" ^{[11, p. 10]}, the dandy breaks these fetters, like a revolutionary. The dandy breaks the chains of the shackles of public opinion, deliberately shocking society and attracting attention to himself, he destroys traditional ideas about clothes as a sign of class status, making the costume the embodiment of a sense of beauty of a free personality, he overthrows the class structure itself, refusing to recognize its authority. Dandyism and Enlightenment do not accidentally have common English origins, the dandy continues the revolution that began against King Charles I in 1640, but now the uprising is not against the Old social order, but against its form in culture; The triumph of the revolution is expressed not in state laws, and not on the pages of opposition pamphlets, but on the streets cities, gentlemen's clubs and balls.

Bulwer-Lytton himself notes the socio-political origin of dandyism in the novel. In one of the chapters, Henry Pelham talks with John Rushton, we recall that the dandy George Brummell is hiding under this name. Rushton, like Brummell, turned into his own shadow by the end of his life, he is in exile and almost nothing remains of his former glory –"I introduced starched ties in England and end up tying my own tie in Calais, looking into a three-inch mirror." Rushton made fun of the English society of his time, finding most of it slaves to old prejudices – "... the English cringe to the nobility and succumb to audacity" ^{[2, pp. 393-395]}. Accordingly, if he is not a representative of the privileged nobility, then for the sake of realizing ambitions it is necessary to behave defiantly and get closer to the nobility, thereby blurring the class-class framework. By the way, the real Brammel was proud of his non-aristocratic origin and at the same time was a friend of Prince Regent George of Wales (the future King George IV) ^{[3, p. 66]}, thereby demonstrating, perhaps unknowingly, the imminent death of the Old Order in society and culture. Next, Rushton directly states his motives, they are hidden in what is the main reason for any revolution and free–thinking - social dissatisfaction. The character says with undisguised hatred: "The balm for my soul, full of bitterness and malice, was to contemplate how those who would have rejected me if they dared, squirmed under my whip, which I, on a whim, punished and pardoned… I live in a world of memories, I again trample underfoot ducal crowns and ermine robes – the pride of the insignificant "Great of this world"" ^{[2, p. 396]}.

Speaking of the character of Rushton in the novel, we know from the memoirs of the navigator William Jesse "The Life of George Brummell", published in 1844, that Brummell read the book Bulwer-Lytton. The founder of dandyism was dissatisfied with his own image in the work, calling it "The grossest caricature" ^{[12, p. 186]}. The first dandy considered his behavior model depicted in the novel to be hyperbolized, and the attempt to display his style of clothing in the book, which Captain Jesse himself tried to imitate, rather "... looks like a magpie" ^{[12, pp. 67-68]}. Perhaps the dissatisfaction with the novel is also due to the way Bulwer-Lytton took off the mask of dandyism from Brummell, under the Apollonian guise there was a resentment of the little man for his insignificant role in the traditional state-class structure, from which he was so desperately trying to free himself.

In journalism, the French dandy Barbet d was one of the first to reflect on the political foundation of dandyism.'Orevilli in the 1845 work "Dandyism and George Brummell". The writer is also looking for the roots of dandyism in the English Revolution of 1640-1660, but not from the Enlightenment that emerged from it, but from the collision of English Puritanism with hedonism inspired by French influence during the reign of Charles II ^{[1, pp. 39-41]}. However, the influence of Enlightenment in the formation of dandyism'Orevilli admits: "Like philosophers who oppose more supreme obligations to laws, dandies, by their personal example, establish other rules over those that prevail in the most aristocratic (apparently, the author did not mean in a spiritual, but in a class sense), the most traditional circles." Philosophers who put certain rules above positive law and customs were clearly understood to be enlightenment philosophers who postulated the existence of natural rights in man, one of whom was the notorious English educator Locke or the French thinker Helvetius, also previously mentioned, whom Pelham read; Very funny, d'Aurevilly sees similarities between George Brummel, who refused to powdered wigs and bright caftans, and the Russian educator Ekaterina Romanovna Dashkova, who refused blush ^{[1, p. 44]}.

The desire for elitism originates from the individualism of the dandy. It's not just about the general pathos of the dandy image, it was quite difficult to get into the dandy community itself, remembering their closed gentlemen's clubs. The main criterion for selection to the club was the presence of good manners and good breeding, and the last thing they looked at was the financial situation or class ^{[3, pp. 201-203]}. It is also worth noting that the Brooks dandy club gathered members of the Whig Party, which also confirms the connection of dandyism with Voltaire ^{[3, p. 201]}. The special elitism of the dandies became a reaction to the destruction of the former class-class orders at the turn of the XVIII-XIX centuries: when the bourgeoisie did not fully strengthen, and the nobility did not completely weaken, then the dandies offer their social model in the form of spiritual aristocracy. The idea of creating an aristocracy of the spirit, contrasting it with both the peerage hierarchy of the Old Order and the radical demand for full equality, strongly intersects with the philosophy of the Enlightenment. Taking the example of the German philosopher-educator Paul Henri Holbach, despite criticism of tyranny, absolute monarchy, ancestral aristocracy and feudalism, he believed that the power of the masses is unable to preserve freedom and law and order – "The love of equality ends up destroying the building that was erected by virtue and maintained by it for some time"^{[13, pp. 145-146]}, and "Unenlightened and devoid of morality people are created in order to sooner or later become slaves" ^{[13, p. 148]}. Pelham himself is equally unpleasant to be in the company of both the feudal aristocracy and the nouveau riche, because both of these classes do not meet the enlightened requirement of the aristocracy of reason and taste – "Then, with an air of extreme fatigue, I took my hat and parted with a buffoonish cross between fashionable rabble and vulgar nobility" ^{[2, p. 429]}, or you can recall his remark about Hyde Park - "But here the arrogance of the nobility ... falls on you like a hail storm, and the adulation of the bourgeoisie can cause a sudden attack of nausea" ^{[2, p. 570]}.

And so, since dandyism clearly has educational roots and is, in essence, an aesthetic struggle of the individual for his freedom, it is not surprising that Pelham and many real-life dandies of the XIX century joined the liberal ideology: Charles James Fox, who initiated the prohibition of the slave trade in England in 1807, a man-the scandal of George Byron, his friend and poet Thomas Moore, the writer Charles Dickens, who raised the problem of social inequality in English society in his works, and Edward Bulwer-Lytton himself was a member of the Whig Party, other examples. Classical liberalism aims to build a political and economic order in which the state will minimally interfere in people's lives, and individuals will receive freedom of thought and action ^{[14, p. 102]}, including freedom of self-expression and creativity, which is what the dandies wanted. Not only was Henry Pelham a liberal dandy in the novel, the author hints at this, for example, when Lord Doughton tells Pelham about the unenviable position of the Whigs in the House of Commons, the main character threatens to send "A whole legion of dandies" to the doors of parliament ^{[2, p. 486]}. Another supporting example from the book will be the description of Lord Vincent, in which Bulwer-Lytton himself connects liberal views and spiritual aristocracy – "Semi-liberal in his views, and, of course, an aristocrat by nature" ^{[2, p. 319]}.

In "The Adventures of a Gentleman" there is also an antipode to the dandy liberal, here you need to remember the character of a certain baron, whom Pelham and Vincent discussed. In addition to the fact that the baron is afraid to put on "... a vest of a new style until this style is legalized by some authoritative person," the protagonist gives him a characteristic - "This soul is gloomy and full of confusion, it is disturbed by vague visions of the Old system; It is like a bat circling around the cells of an ancient castle. Pathetic, old-fashioned soul!" ^{[2, p. 432]}. A conservative conservationist is more likely to become a routine person, recognizing already generally accepted phenomena and things for granted, since the very essence of traditionalism is to preserve social orders and maintain customs ^[15]. However, there is an exception here in the person of the English dandy and politician from the Tory party Benjamin Disraeli.

But is Henry Pelham a dandy in the full sense of the word? The question is quite complicated, because, on the one hand, we see similarities between the style of clothing and almost complete similarity with the code of conduct of the dandy, and the correspondence of Pelham's political views with the dandy ideology is added. But, despite all the previous points, the protagonist is distinguished from a true dandy by hypocrisy. We are not talking about theatricality and the ability to try on different roles, which the hero also does throughout the novel, chameleonism is quite consistent with dandyism, meaning mercantile hypocrisy. The protagonist was distinguished by his many faces since the beginning of the novel, since his main goal was to gain recognition in secular society, his mother became the main mentor in this ^{[2, p. 318]}, but the apogee of his enthusiasm reached after Pelham began to pursue a political career. The most memorable example of hypocrisy is described when Henry Pelham agitates to vote for himself in the elections of the residents of Baymol: firstly, his "Appeal to all independent voters of the town of Baymol" is a caricature-populist text, expressing nothing ^{[2, p. 402]}; Secondly, when communicating with the priest Combermere St.Quintin Pelham pretends to be a traditionalist of the feudal aristocratic type, and in a conversation with the wine merchant John Briggs, he becomes a liberal of the bourgeois-democratic type ^{[2, pp. 404-409]}. Such behavior clearly contradicts dandyism, because in the worldview of dandies who adopted the ideals of Enlightenment and inclined to liberalism, all people are born free and equal in rights, and special treatment is permissible only with people from their narrow circle of aristocracy of reason and taste. That's why, for example, George Brummell attacked everyone equally with ridicule, and Alfred d’Orsay was equally polite and kind to everyone, both lords and lackeys, because there is no nobility or commoner for a dandy, but there are definitely people "Comme il faut" and people "Vulgaires". This egalitarian approach played a cruel joke with Brammel, since Prince George of Wales could not tolerate such an attitude for a long time, later breaking off his friendship with the dandy ^{[3, p. 73]}. Henry Pelham, for the sake of political pragmatism and maintaining his position in society, neglects equal treatment of others.

To sum up, Edward Bulwer-Lytton's novel Pelham, or the Adventures of a Gentleman, displays the dandyist canons of appearance (minimalism and individualism) and behavior (outrageous, theatricality, a certain restraint). In addition to the external characteristics of dandyism, the author left data on its intrinsic content, on its possible connection with the political sphere of society's culture. Dandyism is thus, in a sense, an aesthetic continuation of the revolutions and philosophy of the Enlightenment, especially its original English tradition, expressed in the art of everyday life. Dandyism transfers the liberal values of personal inviolability and freedom from the political plane to the cultural and everyday one. In the philosophy of dandyism, an individual fights for freedom of self-determination and self-expression against the despotism of public opinion and socio-cultural restrictions, less often, in the case of dandies among political figures, against the state and its laws, destroying outdated dogmas by personal example. The whole life, from the style of the costume to the manner of speech, turns for the free-thinking dandy into a manifestation of his ideas, into a triumph of his personal taste, the banner of which the rebel aesthete carries in spite of everything: ossified prejudices, society and the state.