Taylor—Upper Class Women of the Gilded Age
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Transcript of Taylor—Upper Class Women of the Gilded Age
TAYLOR BROWNGILDED ASHEVILLE MINITERM
Upper Class Women of the Gilded Age
The Role of an Upper Class Woman
The main role of a woman was to act as a hostess Receive calling cards and callers, as well as returning the calls Plan seating charts and menus Keep household running smoothly Plan parties and other events Make sure all of the servants of the house were properly cared
forA woman was to act properly
According to scholar Nan Johnson, in the Gilded Age quiet women were considered the “wine of life” ¹
A proper woman was to know when to speak and what to speak of, and most importantly, when not to speak
Women were discouraged from having strong voices
An Elite Woman’s Dress
A Victorian woman wore ² Drawers Camisole Shift Corset Petticoat Bustle Dress Gloves Stockings Shoes
She might also carry/wear Parasol Fan Gaiters (shoe covers)
Me in full Victorian dress
Proper Etiquette for Dining ³
Guests should be seated boy-girl at a table ⁴You must not speak to anyone other than the
people directly next to you You speak to the person on your right for one course, then
for the next course, the person on your left, and so onAll dishes should be passed to the leftTopics that should be avoided
Politics Religion “One’s own affairs” Anything that could cause controversy
Proper Etiquette for Dining, Continued ⁵
Modesty is stressed Do not laugh at your own jokes Do not mention influential acquaintances Do not speak of your “superior” education Control any desire to shine
Avoid any scenes or quarrelsAlso Avoid
Foreign languages Slang Interrupting others Whispering Volunteering information Intimate questions Lengthy anecdotes
Gilded Asheville Miniterm students observing proper
etiquette
Formal Dinners 6
Usually consisted of around 7 courses Each place setting had up to 15 different utensils (of which guests
must know the purposes) Lady of the house planned / approved menu At the Biltmore, dinners included
Truffles Sorbets Salads Cheese and biscuits Ice cream Fruit Club soda Coffee Grape brandy Sherry
Proper etiquette must be observedBiltmore’s Banquet
Hall
Women’s Pastimes at Biltmore ⁷
DancesFormal mealsParlor games
Chess Cards Mah-jongg
SwimmingBowlingCroquetPicnicsDrawing Playing music
A Game of Croquet
A Day in the Life of a Woman at Biltmore ⁸
8:30 Hot water brought upstairs for the pitcher and bowl in the bathroom9:00 Morning tea served in the bedroom, servants assisted in getting
dressed10:00 Breakfast in the Winter Garden11:00 Change into a walking outfit 11:30 A stroll though the gardens12:30 Change into a Luncheon Outfit1:00 Lunch in the Breakfast Room2:00 Change into riding clothes2:30 Horseback riding 4:30 Nap or rest in the bedroom5:30 Dress for dinner6:30 Aperitifs served in the Second Floor Living Hall7:00 Dinner in the Banquet Hall9:00 A string quartet plays in the Gallery11:00 A stroll on the Library Terrace11:30 Go to bed Biltmore Estate
Edith Vanderbilt
Married to George Washington Vanderbilt in June of 1898
Mother of Cornelia Vanderbilt Known for incredible grace and
exceptional hostess skills Bought Christmas presents
every year for all the children of Biltmore, even those of servants
Arranged for much of the Biltmore Estate’s land to be sold in order to keep the household running after her husband’s sudden death in 1914
Edith and Cornelia Vanderbilt
Groundbreaking Women of Gilded Age Asheville 9
Julia Wolfe Mother of writer Thomas Wolfe Owned boarding house Shrewd businesswoman In a time where women could not get loans from banks, Julia
Wolfe owned a house and ran a successful businessElizabeth Blackwell
First female doctor in the United States Worked as a nanny for a doctor and read his medical books at
night Was admitted to medical school because the students were given
a vote, and they thought it was a joke She graduated first in her class and went on to open the first
female-run hospital, along with the help of Florence Nightingale
Groundbreaking Women, Continued ¹º
Lillian Exum Clement First female attorney in NC
to practice without a man Elected to North Carolina
House of Representatives by a margin of 10,368 to 41
Introduced 17 bills, 16 of which were passed Allowed women who had
been abandoned to apply for divorce in 5 years instead of 10
Helped create private voting booths
Analysis
During the Gilded Age, women were seen as possessions, designed to look pretty and keep a household running smoothly They were expected to follow proper rules of etiquette and
manage a household Women had little influence in the world outside of the home
Upper class women of the Gilded Age were expected to appear perfect at all times They wore corsets to manipulate their figures, and never spoke of
their true beliefs or feelings, as it was considered poor mannersThis all suggests that a woman’s place was as the lady
of the house, always with the interests of her guests or family in mind, rather than her own
Endnotes
1. Johnson, Nan. “Reigning in the Court of Silence: Women and Rhetorical Space in Postbellum America.” Philosophy and Rhetoric. Vol. 33, No. 3 of On Feminizing the Philosophy of Rhetoric. Pennsylvania: Penn State Press. 2000. 221-42. Print.
2. Whitfield, Lisa. Smith McDowell House, Asheville, NC. March 2, 2011. Oral presentation.
3. Elder, Dana. “A Rhetoric of Etiquette for the ‘True Man’ of the Gilded Age.” Rhetoric Review. Vol. 21, No. 2. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. 2002. 150-69. Print.
4. Whitfield.5. Elder.6. “The Gilded Age at Biltmore Estate.” Asheville: The Biltmore Company. 1992.
Print. 7. Gilded Age at Biltmore8. Gilded Age at Biltmore9. Williams, Brenda. HerStory Tour. Asheville, NC. March 2,2011. Oral
Presentation.10. Williams.