Tea at Trianon: Opening Doors

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Saturday, January 26, 2008

Opening Doors

Should gentlemen still open doors for ladies? There is a lively discussion on Modestly Yours. Share

8 comments:

Anonymous said...: Did things start going downhill when women stopped expecting men to be gentlemen?; January 26, 2008 at 3:22:00 PM EST
elena maria vidal said...: I think so.; January 26, 2008 at 5:20:00 PM EST
Alexandra said...: Men still open doors for ladies down here in SE Va. I expect it, or at least an offer.; January 26, 2008 at 5:24:00 PM EST
elena maria vidal said...: Most of them do here in central PA, too.; January 26, 2008 at 5:26:00 PM EST
Anonymous said...: I've had guys hold the door open for me whether I know them or not. If I'm walking a blind patron to the door at the library, I let him or her go first and follow after.; January 27, 2008 at 6:41:00 PM EST
elena maria vidal said...: Glad you mentioned that, Elisa. It is not only a question of men opening the door for women, but older people should always have the door held open for them by a younger person of either gender, as well as any person incapacitated in any way. It goes without saying that an expectant mother should always have doors held open for her, by whomever.; January 27, 2008 at 6:51:00 PM EST
Anonymous said...: So true, Elena. and for the most part, most places in the United States, to my experience, anyway, do practice this etiquette EXCEPT when it comes to pregnant women in the Washington DC area --I had the misfortune of living there when I was pregnant with our daughter, and I remember slipping and falling loading my grocery bags when I was well over 9 months pregnant--and people looked on, but not a single one helped. And I am short, so I showed my pregnancy from early on, and throughout the pregnancy, I was never treated with any sort of respect. I used to go out of my way to help other expectant moms, but no one else ever seemed to. Just horrible there.

I also experienced --and witnessed others who experienced--much rudeness in the DC area towards women with small children, or moms with a lot of children in tow. I really felt the heaviness of the Culture of Death (anti-Life, anti-child) when we lived there.

But not so, I should add, in Raleigh, NC. There, grandmas seemed to come out of the woodword to "oo and ah" over the little ones walking about with their moms in malls, parks, or any public places!!; January 27, 2008 at 9:24:00 PM EST
elena maria vidal said...: Yes, Georgette, the sight of a pregnant woman often seems to elicit either very positive or very negative reactions. I have found (when expecting) that some of the most negative behaviors came from other women, especially young women. Men, on the other hand, I usually found to be very helpful, at least the men around here.; January 27, 2008 at 9:37:00 PM EST