As a woman "was ranked according to the specifically female virtues she possessed" (p.75, Armstrong), conduct manuals were essential. They were an important element of most young women's education; they taught her how to concentrate on the "finer points of conduct necessary to secure a good marriage" (p.142). The focus of these manuals lies in the cultivation of manners and civility, rather than of the minds and esteem of young women.
These books tend to show society's preoccupation with marriage, chastity, modesty, social improvement, and accomplishments. Simultaneously they showed young women how to create themselves as objects of male desire and to cultivate their own natural femininity.
These pieces of advice show the qualities a young woman must exude during the time of courtship. In some instances, especially when dealing with matters of chasitity, woman were advised to behave as though chaste, even if they weren't. There are some contradictions in these manuals, specifically as the writers try to convey the importance of a woman's appearance and how it can easily develop into vanity.
How much energy is one supposed to put into the maintenance of her feminine facade?
There is some consensus that one's appearance should not be a primary occupation, but they should not be neglected.
These manuals empowered women with domestic responsibility and obligation, and gave them power through their own femininity. But this same feminine nature deems women docile and reticent; society perceives that she needs no opinion, that she should be as obedient as a pet, and that she should be submissive to any of her husband's wishes. It is here where the feminist opinions of Mary Wollstonecraft and Jane Austen come into play.
"early marriages are...a stop to improvement" (p.54, Jones).
"Dignity of manners, too, and proper reserve are too often wanting" (p.
55).
"Principles of religion should be fixed, and the mind not left to fluctuate
in the time of distress" (p. 56).
"In all points of decorum, your conduct must be the law to" your
guests (p. 134, Austen).
These feminists do subscribe to some of society's rules, but the majority of their effort was put into changing the stereotypical expectations placed on women. On many occasions Jane Austen uses these mannerly standards to poke fun at her characters and society at large for adhereing to them. Mary Wollstonecraft, on the other hand, very directly attempts to effect change.
See the feminist
reaction to these conduct manuals and education practices.
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