Victorian Dinner Parties :: Victorian Era

Victorian Dinner Parties Victorian dinner parties where associated with the upper class, not usually the middle class, and were attended by eminent guests of status. Lord Steyne, a character from the novel Vanity Fair, would have been invited to many such parties were he a real person who lived in that Era. The Victorian hostess had to consider three main things: The Guests At Victorian dinner parties, the hostess invited guests from the upper class of society. Typically, she invited one guest of honor, an eminent gentleman (Margetson 73). She also looked to invite some guests with musical skills or entertaining abilities. The number of men and women had to be equal, since every gentleman was given charge of a single lady of similar rank whom he was to accompany into the dinning room. During the course of the night, he made sure that she had a pleasant time (Ferguson). Pairing men and women into such couples was easy for the hostess when her guest had a spouse -- since she was required by etiquette to invite the spouse of her guest in addition to him - but pairing was more difficult when she invited unmarried persons. When she had a single man at her party, the hostess had the duty of finding him a single woman to entertain; though this task was difficult because ladies did not accept invitations unless they had an escort already, for fear of being call ed "fast" (Margetson 73). The Setting Pairing the guests was not the sole concern of the Victorian hostess. She had to make sure her house was in order, in particular, her parlor and dinning room, since the party was set in those two areas. First, guests would assemble in the parlor, where the pairing took place. Then, starting with the highest-ranking guest, each man escorted his lady into the dinning room, which the hostess decorated with opulence. After dinner, the ladies went back into the parlor for tea or coffee, while the men stayed at the table, talking, drinking and smoking. Next, the men went to join the women in the parlor. The ones who were too inebriated stayed behind. During this final part of the occasion, guests amused themselves with card games, magic tricks, and musical entertainment (Ferguson) . The Dinner The Victorian hostess had a primary goal in mind when she held a dinner party, and that purpose was to flaunt her status. She aimed to impress her guests with elaborate dishes. Victorian Dinner Parties :: Victorian Era Victorian Dinner Parties Victorian dinner parties where associated with the upper class, not usually the middle class, and were attended by eminent guests of status. Lord Steyne, a character from the novel Vanity Fair, would have been invited to many such parties were he a real person who lived in that Era. The Victorian hostess had to consider three main things: The Guests At Victorian dinner parties, the hostess invited guests from the upper class of society. Typically, she invited one guest of honor, an eminent gentleman (Margetson 73). She also looked to invite some guests with musical skills or entertaining abilities. The number of men and women had to be equal, since every gentleman was given charge of a single lady of similar rank whom he was to accompany into the dinning room. During the course of the night, he made sure that she had a pleasant time (Ferguson). Pairing men and women into such couples was easy for the hostess when her guest had a spouse -- since she was required by etiquette to invite the spouse of her guest in addition to him - but pairing was more difficult when she invited unmarried persons. When she had a single man at her party, the hostess had the duty of finding him a single woman to entertain; though this task was difficult because ladies did not accept invitations unless they had an escort already, for fear of being call ed "fast" (Margetson 73). The Setting Pairing the guests was not the sole concern of the Victorian hostess. She had to make sure her house was in order, in particular, her parlor and dinning room, since the party was set in those two areas. First, guests would assemble in the parlor, where the pairing took place. Then, starting with the highest-ranking guest, each man escorted his lady into the dinning room, which the hostess decorated with opulence. After dinner, the ladies went back into the parlor for tea or coffee, while the men stayed at the table, talking, drinking and smoking. Next, the men went to join the women in the parlor. The ones who were too inebriated stayed behind. During this final part of the occasion, guests amused themselves with card games, magic tricks, and musical entertainment (Ferguson) . The Dinner The Victorian hostess had a primary goal in mind when she held a dinner party, and that purpose was to flaunt her status. She aimed to impress her guests with elaborate dishes.