Manners, Wealth and Status in Rebecca Rush's Novel Kelroy
"A novel of manners" this is how the novel Kelroy is described by Kathryn Derounian in her article "Lost in the Crowd: Rebecca Rush's Kelroy (1812)." Throughout the novel, characters such as; Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Manley, Mr. Kelroy, and especially the Gurnet family, show how people are treated differently regarding their wealth, status and mannerisms. Kelroy shows us these relationships and how one is viewed solely on the way in which they present themselves.
Culture, at the time Kelroy was written, was much different than culture today. Most women in the early eighteenth century served an ornamental function rather than a domestic function. Most of the women in Kelroy were the ornamental type. The men in the eighteenth century married, not for someone to cook and clean for them, but to have someone pretty and proper to attend social gatherings with. Rush shows some of this culture when she describes Lucy and Emily at a gathering hosted by Mrs. Hammond:
The two sisters were dressed exactly alike in white satin and silver. Their fans, gloves and shoes were also white; and
the delicacy of their complexions, contrasted with the simple elegance of their attire, and heightened by the glow
of youthful animation, rendered them lovely beyond description. (Rush 15)
This shows the importance of appearance in this time period. It was typical for wealthy women to dress so elegantly at parties or other social events. This description of attire also shows, to some extent, the practice Mrs. Hammond used in the exaggerated display of her daughters.
Not only did the young ladies need to dress elegantly to obtain a wealthy husband, they also had to have appropriate manners. Mrs. Hammond, after the death of her husband, devoted her life to educating her daughters in how they are to properly conduct themselves. Her reasoning for this was a typical one: to make others believe they were an established family of wealth.
Mr. Marney's story is a bit different although his goal was similar.
The English attitudes towards gender are reflected in the literacy works of Margery Kempe and Elizabeth I’s letter to Sir Walter Raleigh. Within these two works, the women, especially, challenge the attitudes towards gender roles. First of all, women were expected to be domesticated, meaning all their duties lied within the home and the marriage. The women were responsible for taking care of the children/family and being obedient to their husband.
In the Victorian era, in New York City, men and women roles within the society were as different as night and day. A man regardless of his extra curricular activities could still maintain a very prevalent place in society. A woman’s worth was not only based family name which distinguished her class and worth, but also her profession if that was applicable.
In this day and age, women have liberties that are often taken for granted. Women have the freedom to choose which university they will attend (if they plan on attending college), what career they wish to pursue, and also whom their mate in marriage will be. In early American days, liberties of women were looked upon from society as being wealthy and holding high social status. Many did not have the opportunity to pursue a career, much less decide what university they preferred to attend. They were fortunate to even have the opportunity receive a higher education beyond reading! Choosing the right men for their futures ensured them the luxuries they wished to maintain. If they were not already included in "upper society," their chances of upward mobility were slim to none. If the family lost their fortune, their only salvation was to be married back into wealth, another slim to none chance. This is the reality Rebecca Rush clearly paints in Kelroy. Rush projects her judgment on early American society and the role of women and marriage. Using the creation of two main characters, Mrs. Hammond and Emily Hammond, Rush is able to project her disapproval of society's ways through their opposing views and personalities.
Jane was born into a rich family and could have very easily become a housewife with few worries. As a little girl, she once tried on a beautiful coat and asked her father, John Addams, if she could wear it to church. Jane’s father advised her to wear an old cloak instead, which would keep here warm without making the other girls at Sunday school feel badly about their own clothes. He added that, "it was very stupid to wear the sort of clothes that made it harder to have equality even (in church.)"
How were young women of all classes dressing to be modern in the nightclubs and dance halls of the 1920s and 1930s? Focusing on the middle-classes, yet considering women of both the upper and working classes, discuss what were the influences in their fashion choices.
Most people that read Kelroy incorrectly view Mrs. Hammond. She is labeled an evil person who is out for her own gain. Most people doubt that she even cares about her daughters Lucy and Emily. Mrs. Hammond is said to be vicious and sneaky, and will do whatever is necessary to accomplish her agenda. They believe Mrs. Hammond is so greedy she will sacrifice her own daughters' happiness so she can live out the rest of her life comfortably. These are all misconceptions of Mrs. Hammond. Mrs. Hammond is not the loathsome enemy in this novel. The enemy in this novel is society itself for allowing Mrs. Hammond's actions in this story toward her daughters and Kelroy to be largely viewed as acceptable behavior.
While the first sentence is mostly objective description, the second sentence is full of the affectation of a subjective point of view. Aunt Amy is described as wearing a “white collar [that] rose from the neck of her tightly buttoned black basque, and round white cuffs set off lazy hands with dimples in them, lying at ease in the folds of her flounced skirt.” Words like “tightly,” “lazy,” and “ease” seem to describe what would be considered the traditional concept of the Southern woman. The wealthy Southern female is conservative, pure, fragile, peaceful, and delicate. These descriptive words could be viewed as an alignment with the traditional Southern view of women; therefore Amy is “beautiful and charming” in the eyes of the Grandmother and “every older person” and “everyone who had known her.” However, within those same words there appears the rather opposite yet still highly subjective view of the young girls who are attempting to reconcile the new values and ideas of the present with the old traditions of the past. The words “tightly,” “lazy,” and “ease” could be seen from the young girls perspective as negative descriptions suggesting boundaries, confinement, limitations, and exclusion.
Female attire tended to fall into two categories: tailored suits and ball dresses, reflecting the way of life for the more wealthy. During this time, dresses tended to extend out in the shape of a bell where the end of the skirt was flared. To further describe how these dresses appeared, in an essay by James Laver, he remarks, “It is impossible to put a photograph of a fashionable woman of 1895 beside a photograph of a lamp of the same period without being struck by their close resemblance in every detail. The unmistakable sweep of the Art Nouveau line was completely parallel in the dresses of the time, in particular by the fall and swirl of the skirt.” The characters Gwendolen and Cecily are wearing ball dresses like the ones described in the Victorian era in my sketch. Their dresses are shown to be tighter in the waste (flattering their body shape) and become much wider toward the end. On the shoulders of the dresses, it fluffs up to add a decorative
In the first few chapters Gaskell offers various examples of what the traditional woman of England is like. Margaret’s early descriptions in Chapter 7, characterize the beautiful, gentle femininity so idolized. Margaret is beautiful in her own way, she is very conscious of her surroundings. She is privileged in her own way by being in a respectable position in the tranquil village of Helstone. Throughout the beginning of the novel it is eluded that Margaret has the onset of a mature middle class mentality. During the planning of her beloved cousin Edith Shaw’s wedding, Margaret comments on Edith seemingly oblivious demeanor, as the house is chaos in preparations. Edith tries hard to please expectation of her social class. She is privileged and beautiful; angelic and innocent, she is the perfect idyllic, ignorant child bride, designed to please. For Margaret, “...the prospect of soon losing her companion seemed to give force to every sweet quality and charm which Edith possessed”(Gaskell, 7). It is in this passage that the readers familiarize themselves with Margaret’s keen ability to see and perceive the differences between her and her cousin’s manor. Edith poses the calm demure and angelic tranquility a woman is decreed to posses. Unsurprisingly at the brink of commotion Margaret observes that, “the whispered tone had latterly become more drowsy; and Margaret, after a pause of
Although Kelroy is a novel of manners, the story contains more plot than the other nineteenth century novels in its category. The story begins with Mrs. Hammond finding herself a widow at the age of thirty. She realizes that she is incapable of supporting her family in the men's business capital of Philadelphia, where they live. She devises a plan to find wealthy suitors for her daughters, Lucy and Emily. With good intentions, Mrs. Hammond began throwing numerous parties for her daughters. However, Mrs. Hammond's true motive is to guarantee her own well-being and influence in society. Lucy , the oldest daughter, is very similar to her mother. Although she is physically attractive, she is shallow and realistic. She mee...
The physical and social setting in "Mrs. Dalloway" sets the mood for the novel's principal theme: the theme of social oppression. Social oppression was shown in two ways: the oppression of women as English society returned to its traditional norms and customs after the war, and the oppression of the hard realities of life, "concealing" these realities with the elegance of English society. This paper discusses the purpose of the city in mirroring the theme of social oppression, focusing on issues of gender oppression, particularly against women, and the oppression of poverty and class discrimination between London's peasants and the elite class.
Walsh, Lawrence E. Firewall. The Iran- Contra Conspiracy and Cover Up. W.W. Norton & Company. New York -- London. 1997
who had been told that they had it all - nice houses, lovely children, responsible
Mrs. Bennet’s behavior during the book can be seen as a common representation of women in a 19th century society and as a way to research marriages during this time period. Readers are often exposed to Mrs. Bennet while she is interacting with her peers socially. "' If I can but see one of my daughters happily settled at Netherfield,' said Ms. Bennet to her husband, 'and all the others equally well married , I shall have nothing to wish for'" (Austen 10). Ms. Bennet's quote shows how little power women in higher classes have in deciding their own future. They are unable to inherit any wealth and it is socially frowned upon for women to work, so women rely simply on their mannerisms and physical appearance to find them a spouse that will financially support them for the remainder of their life. This...
The constant topic among the majority of the women in the Bennet household was marriage and future suitors. Mrs. Bennet prides in the hope that someday all her daughters will be married off to wealthy individuals who can even help support the Bennet family and increase their social status: “The business of her life was to get her daughters married...” (9). Mr. Bennet, on the other hand, only cares to see his daughters happy and content with themselves. Although Mr. and Mrs. Bennet’s estate is endowed to Mr. Collins, Mr. Benn...