Scholarly Analysis of Godey's Ladies' Book
The piece of primary prescriptive literature for women that I chose to examine appeared in the Godey's Lady's Book, which was a monthly publication that circulated from 1830 to 1898. The magazine was intended to entertain, inform, and educate the women of America. In addition to extensive fashion descriptions and plates, the early issues included biographical sketches, articles about mineralogy, handcrafts, female costume, the dance, equestrienne procedures, health & hygiene, recipes & remedies, etc. The magazine later became an important literary publication, with essays, poems, short stories, and articles by many famous 19th century authors. Today, the magazine provides a great deal of information on the ideal roles and social deportment of women in the 19th century. For this paper, I chose to focus on a letter that appeared in the February 1888 edition of the Godey's Lady's Book. This letter is a woman's response to her niece's request to have her present the young girl to society. Although the aunt explains that she would be unable to perform this request, she does give a great deal of advice to her young niece about how to make her "debut in society". The aunt takes many factors into consideration when offering the
young debutante advice on how to make her entrance into society, and the most important of all factors appears to be income. Today, women mostly establish social connections on their own, and there is little need to formally introduce them to society. Therefore, the debutante ball or party has now lost one of its major functions, which was to introduce the young woman to marriageable men. ------------------------------------------------------------------------**Bibliography**References:"Home and Society Manners: LETTER FIRST - Aunt Amanda to her niece, Charlotte Morse," Godey's Lady's Book, February 1888. Along with this adult status, the young woman enters the market for marriage. A woman is also expected to present herself in a "feminine manner" to her peers, which is made clear in the aunt's letter by her recommendations for the young girl's dress and manner of greeting guests. A white tea-gown would, I think, suit you very well. After the young woman "comes out", she is allowed to participate in more adult activities and social functions. A woman is expected to know how to host a social event, and every detail of the event should be carefully planned for in advance. Today, very few young girls participate in social events such as the debutante ball or party. This admonition clearly points to the significance of the young woman's social status in such social situations. The admonition that the aunt gives to her niece about how to represent her social standing to her peers is obviously important since the young girl is basically advertising her status to interested young men. The custom of a debutante ball or party in order to present a young woman to society performs a couple of functions. The specifics and detail that the aun!t provides in describing such a party demonstrates the social significance of the event.
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