In reply to Tim Beals' question, CY seems to be by its end a refutation of American democracy--late 19th c. version of it--which began as a refutation of feudalism. The middle ages was a effective point for contrast. You'd want to read HNSmith's book on C Y, MTwain's Fable of Progress. Consider looking at H.Adams' Education (virgin and dynamo) and definitely at Whitman's Democratic Vistas. too. It's a very rich area. I think the point at least with T. during these years is not that after deeper analysis that the middles ages had it right and the 19th c had it wrong--that's too simplistic--but that, alas, the 19th c for all its opportunity to get it right still hadn't. There had been no progress. [log in to unmask]