Women of Quality: Accepting and Contesting Ideals of Femininity in England, 1690-1760 (Studies in Early Modern Cultural, Political and Social History, 1)

An examination of the interaction between ideology and experience in the lives of English women during a period of great social and intellectual change. Focusing on the complex relationship between discourse and experience, Women of Quality examines the role of gender in aristocratic women's daily lives during a period of significant cultural change. In the years followingthe Glorious Revolution, didactic writers and other social critics responded to a perceived crisis of gender relations by creating a new discourse of 'natural' feminine behavior in opposition to the luxury and decadence of fashionable women. Modern scholars have often portrayed this agenda as representing the rise of a middle-class ideology, but Ingrid Tague argues that the new rhetoric held enormous appeal for those women who would appear to be its greatest targets: wealthy, fashionable 'women of quality'. Using the correspondence and diaries of these women, Tague traces the ways in which they adopted, adapted, and exploited ideals of femininity. In their hands, feminine values could become powerful tools that enabled them to compete for status and reputation. Ironically, by identifying femininity with private, trivial concerns, these ideals created unique opportunities for elite women. Female participation in informal social and political activities placed women at the heart of aristocratic power in the early eighteenth century, even as they employed the language of wifely subordination and domesticity. Ingrid Tague is Assistant Professor of History at the University of Denver.

Focusing on the complex relationship between discourse and experience, Women of Quality examines the role of gender in aristocratic women's daily lives during a period of significant cultural change. In the years following the Glorious Revolution, didactic writers and other social critics responded to a perceived crisis of gender relations by creating a new discourse of 'natural' feminine behavior in opposition to the luxury and decadence of fashionable women. Modern scholars have often portrayed this agenda as representing the rise of a middle-class ideology, but Ingrid Tague argues that the new rhetoric held enormous appeal for those women who would appear to be its greatest targets: wealthy, fashionable 'women of quality'. Using the correspondence and diaries of these women, Tague traces the ways in which they adopted, adapted, and exploited ideals of femininity. In their hands, feminine values could become powerful tools that enabled them to compete for status and reputation. Ironically, by identifying femininity with private, trivial concerns, these ideals created unique opportunities for elite women. Female participation in informal social and political activities placed women at the heart of aristocratic power in the early eighteenth century, even as they employed the language of wifely subordination and domesticity. Ingrid Tague is Assistant Professor of History at the University of Denver.

CONTENTS 6 LIST OF FIGURES 8 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 9 NOTE ON THE TEXT 10 INTRODUCTION 12 1. Ideals of Femininity 29 Seventeenth-century conduct books 35 Modesty, chastity, and feminine conduct in the early eighteenth century 41 Marriage 46 Praise of femininity 55 Conclusion 58 2. The Attack on Fashionable Society 60 Fashionable dress 61 Fashionable diversions 66 Femininity and consumption 78 Conclusion 80 3. Marriage 83 Marrying well 84 Living the ideal? 87 Marital breakdown 97 Conclusion 106 4. Household Management 108 “Women of business” 110 Good credit: domestic economy and financial restraint 117 Mistress and servant 122 Estate management and hands-on labor 134 Conclusion 142 5. Consumption and Fashion 144 Appropriate consumption 151 Rejecting fashionable consumption 164 Conclusion 171 6. Politeness and Sociability 173 A polite education 178 Sociability and reputation 185 The politics of politeness 193 Sincerity and sentiment 200 Conclusion 204 7. Public Life, Influence, and Politics 205 Christianity and charity 209 Influence at court 212 Influence and politics beyond the court 219 Influence and femininity 224 Conclusion 228 CONCLUSION 229 BIBLIOGRAPHY 235 INDEX 257