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Conduct Literature (redirected from Conduct Books)

Page history last edited by Hannah 7 years ago

 

 

 

Introduction

 

 

 

Image 1, Young Girl Reading by Jean-Honore Fragonard, 1770. [1] 

 

 

The Eighteenth century saw the rise of 'conduct books' for young ladies, writing designed to instruct women on proper manners and moral behaviour. At a superficial level these texts appeared to help improve womens' own character, however they were more invested in cultivating women for their male peers, namely fathers and husbands. The increasing popularity of conduct literature over the course of the century can be linked with the period's simultaneous social upheaval; the emerging culture of sociability which brought specifically upper-class women into the public plane of ball rooms and pleasure gardens, and and thus into more liberated contact with the opposite sex. It became more important than ever to govern these women on correct behaviour, which registers a male anxiety over women straying too far from the traditional ideal of subservient femininity.This study will look at why the conduct manual came to be seen as an authoritative piece of writing on human behaviour, and the relationship between the author and the recipient of the instructions. I will further explore how some of the key tenants of conduct writing, religious morality, paternal language, and public dress and conversation, appear and develop over the course of the century. Biblical morals for instance is one important basis for the writers of such manuals, yet this begins to give way to lived experience and examples as a way of enforcing proper comportment. 

One other crucial facet of conduct literature's development in this period is the emergence of novels and its connection with sensibility. Contemporary novelists such as Samuel Richardson argued their writing was intended to have a moralising effect on the reader, however critics were concerned that it did the opposite. The connection between conduct books, fictional books, and letter-writing, becomes clearer through analysis of instructional texts which seem to blur the boundaries between reality and fiction. Furthermore, conduct literature was not exclusively for the female sex. As later examples will show these texts also appeared in the eighteenth century aimed towards noblemen. Yet there is a noticeable difference in the content and teachings of these materials, which suggests conduct writing sought  to reassert the boundary between the male and female sex and their capabilities. Conduct books were ultimately another tool which could assist the era's patriarchy, however this is not to say that women did not respond to the genre and in some cases reiterate its teachings. Authors such as Hester Chapone illustrates a conservative approach to conduct which is infused with more radical ideas concerning female self-governance, which indicates the state of women's social position in the latter half of this period. 

The conduct manual not only reflected gender division but also class separatism, as many of these texts were aimed specifically at the upper classes. Arguably this is complicated by the fact that these treatises were in part responding to the class mobility occurring in this period: moralists perhaps sought to affirm the customs and etiquettes of the ruling classes, yet these were also texts which socially ambitious individuals could learn from as Samuel Richardson's Letters to and for Particular Friends shows. Ultimately the majority of conduct writing seeks, through a variety of examples, to cement difference  between the sexes and reiterate a false sense of woman as easily tempted and innately inferior.

 

 

 

Early examples of conduct writing

 

In order to examine the various purposes and meanings implicit in conduct literature, it is first necessary to define precisely what authors meant in this period by the term "conduct".

 

Image 2, Conduct Term Frequency[2] 

 

 

 

As the graph above depicts, the frequency of the term 'conduct' in print publications increased considerably towards the end of the eighteenth century. I believe this correlates with the social and political changes in the latter half of the period, which I shall later explore, which made individual conduct an increasingly urgent topic. 

 

Conduct:  

"The manner in which a person behaves, especially in a particular place or situation."-Oxford Dictionary.

 

1. "The action of conducting or leading; guidance, leading."

2.  "of the person or thing that leads. lit. and fig. (Now somewhat rare.)" -Oxford English Dictionary.

 

What is most striking through an analysis of contemporary pamphlets and books on conduct, is how varied and broad this term can be. In the Oxford English Dictionary's definition, it highlights the dual meaning of 'conduct' as describing the behaviour of the individual, but also in the sense of "leading" and managing another person. The relationship between the conductor, or the individual giving the advice, and the person being conducted is  intrinsic to our understanding of conduct literature. This writing exists because a particular author believes his or herself qualified to instruct others in behavioural, moral or spiritual matters. The power of the conduct writer and the implicit impressionability of the reader is crucial to remember when analysing these sources.

Conduct Books or Manuals were not a new concept to this period and had existed before for both sexes. Here is one example from 1675, The Gentlewoman's Companion ; or a guide to the female sex, by Hannah Woolly.

 

 

 

Image 3, The Gentlewoman's Companion by Hannah Woolly, 1675[3]

 

This book from the latter half of the previous century illustrates the connection between real-life and conduct writing: Woolly grounds her teachings in filial duty, personal accomplishments, and how a lower class person should act in the presence of a individual of higher status.  The text ambitiously seeks to advise all women, "in all relations, companies, conditions, and states of life even from childhood down to old-age; and from the lady at court to the cook-maid in the country." ( 3 ). While this book offers broad advice on all matters from table laying and cooking to choosing the correct songs to sing and instruments to play, it reveals a preoccupation with spirituality and the preservation of the soul which can be recognised in later conduct books. On the subject of music, Woolly writes: "To take delight in an idle song.. is a thing in my mind almost impossible; for wickedness enters insensibly by the ear into the soul." ( 75  ).The reference to sin, the "wickedness", which may corrupt a lady's eternal being, is a key theme of conduct writing in the eighteenth century. Religious subservience remains an important tenant of society, and as Woolly shows the way a lady should comport herself is linked with being a good Christian. On this pretence, writers such as Woolly could dictate an individual's actions, using religion to justify their authority in managing something so personal and internal as morality and behaviour. Conduct writing iterates a desire to elicit control over people's private lives: specifically of women. 

 It is important to note that Woolly is of an different class from the typical writers of the time. While little is known of Woolly's parentage, her knowledge of household management and the references she makes in her book suggests she had served in a noble household at some point. Woolly does write that she worked for "a person of Honour" (10), and has experience as a governess and a wife. Interestingly she says,"but that which most of all increast my knowledge was my daily reading to my Lady, Poems of all sorts and plays, teaching me as I read," (13). The author learnt the language and courtliness of the nobility from her mistress, a supposedly genuine event which seems to foreshadow Samuel Richardson's famous servant heroine Pamela. Woolly occupies a liminal position as a woman of distinctly humble origins who equally possesses the knowledge of noble accomplishments: namely literacy which was certainly not privileged to all classes in this period.

 

 

 

 

Image 4, The Gentlewoman's Companion by Hannah Woolly, 1675.[4] 

 

The Contents page from Woolly's book reveals the variety of her instructions, from advising young children to "Gentlewomans Civil Behaviour".

 

The author justifies her discussion of "gentlewoman's behaviour" by saying that she uses sources "most able" and from "here and beyond the seas" ( 5 ). Woolly's book is consequently quite unique in this respect, as the majority of later conduct manuals will be written by authors who are born into, and ingrained with, upper class sensibilities. The author's need to state the "sources" for her writing can be interpreted as her own class-awareness, yet it is also evidence of how conduct writing would come to rely on authenticity and familiarity later in the century, particularly through the use of letters. The concern with class propriety, and how figures of different statuses should behave with one another, indicates another important factor of this genre. Woolly is writing to the entirety of her sex, which perhaps raises the question of why she chose to combine in one volume lessons on household duties with lessons on gentlewomans' behaviour. This text at once confirms the boundaries of women in each wrung of society, whilst at the same time presumably outlining how a chambermaid could emulate a woman of genteel birth. In the section, "Good Instructions for a young Gentlewoman, from the age of Six to Sixteen",  Woolly writes this:"when your age adapts you for Society, have a care with whom you associate. If you tender your repute, you must beware with whom you consort, for report will bruit what you are by the company you bear." (16). These words on female reputation will come to be iterated by male conduct writers in the next century. A Father's legacy to his Daughters later implements a similar rhetoric, however as a male writer his concern for female reputation seems more rooted in protecting a masculine identity than Woolly's text. Perhaps The Gentlewoman's Companion or A Guide to the Female Sex can be read as a guide for aspirational individuals who wanted to learn the good and proper behaviour of the aristocracy. The unusual extensiveness of this conduct book becomes more narrowed towards ideal womanly behaviour in the eighteenth century. Finally, an important issue that The Gentlewoman's Companion introduces is the implication that all women require this type of guidance. 

 

 

 

 

Family conduct writing and education 

 

 

This piece of writing, entitled, Some short observations on the life of Sir Thomas Wharton, by Lady Jane Wharton. (ca 1700), appears at the turn of the century. Where Hannah Woolly's book was published for public consumption this short work was actually a private conduct guide written for the daughters of the Wharton family. This text is also written by a noble widow, suggesting that conduct writing was becoming more focused towards the upper classes in the eighteenth century, and was a topic the nobility themselves were invested in.

Lady Wharton's writing nevertheless exhibits similar moral concerns which characterise The Gentlewoman's Companion. The way in which Lady Wharton uses her husband's daily habits as the source of her instructions confirms the importance of conduct literature drawing on real experience. It is this aspect, as Woolly's writing suggests, which is essential for giving the moral lessons credibility for the reader. Later in the period personal conduct manuals would come to be published, further illustrating the desire for genuine experience in these literary morality lessons. Lady Wharton's account of proper family conduct for her "virtuous daughters" certainly brings later novels such as Pamela to mind. These moralising and instructive texts relied upon examples-

"But as I know example is more prevailing than dry instructions... I cannot set before you a more perfect example of a Holy life than your Dear Father"- examples which could be called characters in another genre. 

 

Image 5, Some Short Observations on the life of sir Thomas Wharton, by Lady Jane Wharton ca. 1700.[5].

 

 

 Lady Wharton begins with, "It was the design of your dear father to leave you some instructions for the better government of your lives, but his sudden death prevented it. I think myself therefore obliged to leave you some of mine, and though they come from a Weaker Head, yet being given by an affectionate mother...". The writer's self-deprecating style is symptomatic both of the attitudes towards women in the period, but also of the general style of novel writers, for whom the form was in its infancy. This can  be seen as a further link between conduct writers and later novelists.  

 

The focus in conduct writing is about influencing an individual's interiority, and the author might choose to do this through a number of ways. The "Example"  of her husband's life which Lady Wharton records in this book has a clear emphasis on the devoted faith. A strict routine of prayer and attending Church promotes internal improvement in the daughters, an aspect which becomes lost amidst the contradictory teachings in later conduct writing. This echoes the references to spirituality and sin in Woolly's book, arguably because of the parallel between the control exerted by the Church on the individual and the control which conduct books equally sought to have over female behaviour through their instruction. Lady Wharton portrays her husband as a sensitive man, one who enjoyed "meditations" throughout the day and reading to his wife. He is also described as kind and fair to his servants, and above all a pious churchgoer who always remembered that his experiences and trials in life were God's will. The writing ultimately describes a very traditional, patriarchal family structure typical of the era. The male figure in the role of moral and spiritual educator is something we might recognise in contemporary literature, for instance Frances Burney's Evelina and later Jane Austen's novels such as Mansfield Park and Emma. The writer as a paternal guide is a trope which male conduct writers exploit as the century progresses.

 

Lady Wharton's account further reveals the importance of familial honour and legacy. Lady Wharton is instructing her daughters upon how to lead wholesome Christian lives, but the fact that it was Sir Wharton's particular wish to leave his daughters' instructions suggests he was concerned for the reputation of his name and his honour as much as he was concerned for his children. In this period the conduct of the daughters' is a reflection upon the the family, and thus their honour is tied with the honour of Sir Wharton. There is a clear anxiety over individual goodness in this text, and an implicit fear that the Wharton daughters' might be tempted to stray from the "Better government" over themselves. This feeling is confirmed and elucidated in John Gregory's writing, which roots the temptation in the external pleasures to be found in society. At one level conduct writing exists because women were believed to lack some of the intrinsic strength of character which men possessed, as demonstrated by this text which begins stating the father had intended to leave instructions for his daughters.

 

 

 

 

 

Image 5, Some Short Observations on the Life of Sir Thomas Wharton, by Lady Jane Wharton, ca. 1700[6]

 

 

Image 6[7]

The Harvey Family by Sir Godfrey Kneller, 1721.

 

This family portrait depicts the sitters in an unspecified classical environment, with the grand pillars and marble arches recalling a sense of antiquated Greek or Roman nobility. The setting might evoke the familial values of the classical period such as duty, patriarchy and stoicism. It suggests that these are the values middle and upper class families of the eighteenth century hoped to emulate, which may help to elucidate the emergence of private family morality books.

 

 

Instructions for the Education of a Daughter ,1708.

 

Instructions for the Education of a Daughter was first written by Francois Fenelon in 1699 and translated into English by Dr George Hickes in the early eighteenth century. Fenelon had already written the popular Telemache, a type of conduct manual for male aristocracy in the guise of a Greek mythological story. This treatise on female behaviour appeared in English the 1710's, "at a time when the education of girls had been receiving renewed attention." (4[8]) Yet the question of what women should be taught is debated across conduct literature of the time. Again the author bases the need for his text upon the "natural weakness" (4) of women, yet it nevertheless attempts to teach its female readers how to improve their mind and soul. At one level Fenelon's book can be interpreted as showing women how to value their interiority, which may be a positive teaching amidst the general misogyny of conduct writing.

Conduct manuals were deemed appropriate reading material because the morality they taught was founded in the Bible. The majority of Instructions For the Education of a Daughter is composed of scriptural teachings, and promotes religious stories (81). Education here is primarily religious and it is not till later in the century that other types of 'education' for women would be suggested. The author also takes care to warn women against being too vain which he argues is a natural feminine inclination, yet he does support the idea that women should be able to read and write and know arithmetic like boys (235). Nevertheless, the author later says women should not attempt to understand more complex subjects such as Law. Another notable aspect of this text is how much of the writing is aimed towards children. Many conduct manuals group together women and children as its target audience, intimating how the genre infantilised women by presenting them as intellectually inferior and impressionable like children. Fenelon writes that women have "a roving imagination" (11), aligning women with passion and changeability rather than reason.

 

Women and Virtues

 

 

Image 7, The Ladies' Friend by Jean Pierre Boudier de Villemert, 1793[9]

 

 

As the century progresses conduct literature begins to take greater interest in how a lady comports herself in public, rather than the interior state of her soul as previous writing had done. One explanation for this shift is simply that it was necessary to instruct women on social propriety, since middle and upper-class women were now visible in the public eye, either walking in pleasure gardens or conversing with a potential male suitor at an assembly room. Below is a translation of Jean-Pierre Boudier de Villemert's L'ami des femmes (1793), which was initially published anonymously in 1758, Paris. While spirituality is still an aspect of these instructive texts, it exists more as imagery with which the writer can lecture and admonish the female sex. 

The table of contents includes such chapters as, "State of women in society", "Of the studies fit for women" and "of the temper and dispositions of women". 

 

 

 

 

 

Image 8, The Ladies' Friend by Jean-Pierre Boudier de Villemert, 1793.[10]

 

Perhaps most interestingly in this conduct manual is the author's reasoning for writing such advise to the female readers. He says that if women can "add the talents of the mind" to their beautiful exteriors, they will then inspire higher virtues and morals to "spring forth in the men". (5). Boudier de Villemert warns women against becoming conceited from the vain flattery they receive from men in society, a statement which seems at odds with the author's assertion that women are the beautiful ornaments of male company, and possess charms which make them worthy of adoration. He laments that women reply upon their superficial attractions and neglect their minds, yet equally he claims that female learning and achievement is only equal to, and worthy of, their "softer" physicality. These contradictions are indicative of the social changes in this period regarding women and their position in society, and The Ladies' Friend highlights the difficulty of navigating this.

One method employed by Boudier de Villemert, like many male conduct writers, is to reassert the intellectual and moral weakness of women as something innate to their being. The writer uses patronising phrases such as "our pretty gamesters" (19) and "our belles" (24), which gives the writer a paternal identity, and presents women as beings who require sympathy and flattery in order to understand instruction. Villemert reasons that male passions are moderate and proportionate, he claims that women have no such control and allow emotions such as Love to "take possession of their whole soul." (25). He further dismisses the "childish way" (19) women pass the time with dressing, playing games, and taking walks, yet the work which he suggest to properly occupy women is no more inspiring or challenging than these pursuits: drawing or needlework. Ultimately these conduct books demonstrate that it was the role of the woman to alter and adapt her behaviour to suit their male counterparts, whilst the man is never expected to change himself. Boudier de Villemert acknowledges that "it is the crowd of perpetual company" (10) that women must "shun" (10), and what he fails to criticise is the male gaze in society which causes women to be abstracted into impossibly virtuous and perfected beings. The author styles himself as "the ladies' friend", a title which immediately aligns the male writer with the supposedly feminine sphere of intimate conversation and friendship. By imagining the writer as a "friend" it suggests the writer carries a genuine care and affection for the reader, and turns him into a secret confidante who wishes to advise females.The central image of a friend talking to the reader in this manual evokes the vogue for letter writing between friends amongst the female aristocracy, a trend which gave women a degree of freedom and privacy from an intrusive patriarchal society[11]As Marsha Urban writes in her book Seventeenth Century Advice Books, conduct writers across the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries typically published anonymously, and men often, "obscured their identities in an effort to publish and sell both the male and female versions of their advice books," (4[12]). Consequently we might read the "ladies' friend" as a clever narratorial perspective, but it is also evocative of the way contemporary male writers sought to infiltrate the elusive realm of femininity. John Cleland and Jonathan Swift exhibit a voyeuristic desire in their troubling portrayal of female characters, either through adopting the female voice or in exploring the private spaces associated with women such as the dressing-room. The Ladies' Friend shows how a male author could enter into and uncover the mysteries of feminine conversation, whilst at the same time confirming the otherness of the female sex.

 

 

 

"Instructions to Young Ladies, Relative to their Conduct and Behaviour in Life", 1774

 

 

 

Image 9 Instructions to Young Ladies, Relative to Their Conduct and Behaviour in Life, by John Gregory, 1774[13] 

Image 10,"Instructions to Young Ladies, Relative to their Conduct and Behaviour in Life,by John Gregory, 1774. [14]

 

This excerpt, titled "Instructions to Young Ladies, Relative to their Conduct and Behaviour in Life", is taken from John Gregory's conduct book, From a Father's Legacy to his Daughters. The title is evocative of the epistolary trend which framed narratives in the guise of a realistic correspondence between relations or friends. However this is not a fictional piece. John Gregory had written this privately for his daughters yet it was published by his son in 1774 to great acclaim. Its publication in the monthly miscellaneous magazine reflects its success and the demand for this type of didactic writing. It also reveals the popularity of writing that blurred the boundaries between fiction and truth. Conduct books as we have seen were read like novels, and Gregory's instructions to his daughters is strikingly similar to the fictional relationship between Mr Villars and Evelina in Burney's novel (1778). Gregory writes that silence in women is preferable in society, because, "it is better to run the risk of being thought ridiculous than disgusting." (26). The writer's assessment here recalls Evelina's various embarrassments at the balls, and on many occasions Evelina is struck speechless in the presence of Lord Orville. Instructions to Young Ladies advises that being "ridiculous", is a quality which women should possess because it makes them more palatable in society. This effort to de- intellectualise women is one of the most contrary and alarming aspects of literature intended to make women better individuals.

The parallel between the book and the novel reflects a pleasure in teaching and being taught: yet as to who the pleasure and the benefit was aimed is more ambiguous. Although female writers of conduct books were in existence, in the eighteenth century it was the male authors who experienced greater fame and respect for their works, which seems unusual considering the subject matter. In this passage the writer advises his daughters against being too bold and independent in society, stating that "wit is the most dangerous talent you can possess" (25). This particular line emphasises the fear of female independence in conduct literature. Women were indeed "dangerous" to masculine authority and so setting out rules of behaviour for them to follow could allow society to govern them, under the pretext of it being for their protection. Undoubtley this modern public sphere enables women, as Gregory says, to behave “as we (men) do”. The horror of female autonomy is perhaps the greatest motive underlying eighteenth century conduct manuals. As we have seen in The Ladies' Friend, this book tries to reconcile the modernity of sociability and public spaces where the sexes could interact, with a traditional and conservative view of femininity.

This excerpt employs the typical language used in this period to fantasise femininity. Gregory uses terms such as “delicacy”, “purity”, “The angel”, creating an impossible standard for women to fulfil which effectively removes their agency. Gregory's book highlights how women could only be perceived in relation to men in society, and thus they were cast as sexualised objects. Gregory frames this as "The power of a fine woman over the hearts of Men" in the above image. The implication is that female behaviour could elicit desire in the opposite sex, and it is their responsibility to not appear "indelicate".

Finally this piece of writing is so fascinating because of the many contradictions it teaches to its female addressees; essentially the lesson of these various instructions is duplicity. The writer says that, "If, while a gentleman is speaking to you, one of Superior rank addresses you, let not your eager attention and visible preference betray the flutter of your heart" (25). What Gregory advises here is the suppression of true feelings, telling his daughters to be meek in male company. Gregory deplores the interaction of the sexes in public spaces but also reiterates and enforces the customs of high society which his daughters must abide by: "The great art of pleasing in conversation, consists in making the company pleased with themselves." (25 ) If conduct books were advertised as a means of combatting the falsities of public life, this is at odds with the hypocrisy Gregory teaches here: "Shew a compassionate sympathy to unfortunate women... Indulge a secret pleasure (I may say pride) in being the friend and refuge of the unhappy, but without the vanity of shewing it." (25). This line promotes questionable behaviour, suggesting women look down upon the poor and abused in society.

 

 

 

The sexualisation of the female readers in conduct writing is  explicit in Thomas Marriott's poem, Female Conduct: Being an Essay on the Art of Pleasing (1759)The preface below begins with the author dedicating his writing for a "young Lady".  This is typical of the genre as it establishes a sense of familiarity and friendship between the author and the reader. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Image 11, Female Conduct, Being an Essay on the Art of Pleasing, by Thomas Marriott, 1759[15]

 

The language in this pamphlet reflects the paternal, condescending style adopted by male conduct writers:

"Nothing requires more delicacy of address, than to give advice; because very few like to take it... In this respect, I am very happy in instructing the Females, who are not only cast in a softer Mold, but are by Nature of a more docile, and tractable turn.". However Marriott falsifies an even more romanticised vision of femininity through writing this conduct piece as an poem.

 

 

 

 

Image 12, Female Conduct by Thomas Marriott, 1759. [16]

 

The writer employs allusions to classical figures and mythology in his poem, such as Antony and Cleopatra, woodland nymphs and Ovid. The excerpt below reflects how the woman as a feeble and helpless character was fetishised by male conduct authors:

 

"To what Temptations, are the Fair expos'd? 

With what illusive Snares, are they inclos'd?

Like Towns besieg'd, they can't their Danger know

From Hidden Mines, proceeds the Fatal Blow,

So Slipp'ry are the paths, young Virgins tread,

Some Hand, experienc'd, should their footsteps lead;

If you, fair Virgin, would commence a Bride

Be led by me; I will your Conduct guide."

 

 

The use of rhetorical questions in the first lines give the speaker a powerful and authoritative air; he seems to take pleasure in knowing what "Temptations" the woman faces, while she does not. The question of knowledge here reflects how learning and education was a crucial tool to instil boundaries between men and women at this time. The language prizes virginity and chastity as something delicate and to be treasured, which again intimates how the female reader is viewed solely in terms of sexuality and objectification. Poetry was a more traditional form of fiction than novels in this period, which is perhaps why Marriott chooses this genre: arguably it enables the author to present the naivety and inexperience of the "fair Virgin" as something natural and classical, dating back to antiquity.  

 

 

 

 

Representations of Conduct Literature in Art

 

 

 

 

Image 13, Plate I from A Harlot's Progress by William Hogarth,1733.[17]

 

Image 14, Plate III from A Harlot's Progress, by William Hogarth, 1733[18]

 

 

 

 

Hogarth's 'A Harlot's Progress', might be read as a lesson on female morality. The story told in the plates follows Moll Hackabout, who falls into a life of dissipation as a prostitute in London. Moll begins in Plate I as an innocent and pure young girl from the country who is lured by the madam of a brothel into becoming the mistress of a wealthy nobleman. Although Moll enjoys the lavishness of her new lifestyle, it is short-lived, and the heroine becomes a victim to vanity and a false sense of security. Plates III to VI depict Moll's fall into common prostitution, disease, and eventual death. These plates read as a visual, almost anti-conduct manual, illustrating all the sins and temptations which writers such as Fenelon warn against. Hogarth's incredibly detailed depiction of reality in this art form recalls how real-life examples were a key part of didacticism in this period.The character's face is directed towards the viewer which invites you to look upon her, and Moll's suggestive upturned face implies an awareness at how she is being watched. As I have previously suggested the male gaze is an issue in conduct literature, which allowed a male writer to infiltrate the mind of the female subject it addresses.

 

 

 

Image 15[19] Conversation Piece by Peter Angellis, 1715-1720 

 

 

 

The painter depicts some aristocratic men, enjoying drinking and conversing with ladies of a presumably disreputable character. The immodest dresses, dark colours which obscure what is happening in the background, and the physical proximity of the characters, reflects precisely what writers such as Boudier de Villemert and John Gregory feared. 

 

 

Male conduct literature 

 

While Conduct Books in the eighteenth century were typically connected with female education and specifically upper class- women, this does not mean such manuals did not exist for the opposite sex. Conduct Books were also an important part of aristocratic male upbringing, however there is a clear disparity in the content of the teachings. In the book, Personal nobility: or, letters to a young nobleman, on the conduct of his studies, and the dignity of the peerage (1792), the author Vicesimus Knox (who published this anonymously) sets out to instruct the recipient of his letters in academic subjects: "classical literature and "useful science" (39). The author says that it is proper for a young upper-class man to be versed in these matters, as part of refining his manners. This contrasts with Fenelon's book which claimed women had no need of learning science or law.The implication here is that man is the foundation of national political authority: noblemen are the law makers and enforcers which explains why they require these subjects. It is the man's duty to guide in society and particularly to be a guide to the 'fairer sex'. 

"what every Nobleman should ambitiously desire to be, an ornament to your country and to human nature." (38). The author's assertion that the young man should is an "ornament" to society has echoes of the language used in female conduct books, however there the woman is described as an ornament for her family and her husband. This difference it appears is firmly rooted in the perceived spheres associated with men and women, that of the public domain and that of the private, domestic world. 

The proliferation of the conduct book over the eighteenth century carries a specific link to the epoch: with the many social and economic changes ongoing in the period bringing about new mercantile trades, public interaction with the sexes, and a class movement, there was evidently a need to reassert moral education. The class aspect is most explicitly outlined early in the book, "To preserve the lustre of Nobility unsullied, is the scope of the following pages" (17). Conduct manuals might be read as cementing class divides as well as gender divides, although this is problematised by the fact that presumably anyone could read this book addressed to a "nobleman". The author describes himself as a "moral architect who builds a man" (31), an act he compares with a labourer who forms a palace out of stones. This description is particularly enlightening because it shows how the manual author saw themselves as fulfilling a kind of humane obligation. In both cases of conduct writing the project is fundamentally similar: the construction of a perfect individual. Once more the writer uses the style of epistolary writing to frame his conduct manual.

 

 

"An enquiry into the duties of men in the higher and middle classes of society in Great Britain, resulting from their respective stations, professions, and employments"-  (ed.1800), first published in 1795.

 

Conduct writing for men can be characterised by a more elevated purpose and intellectual angle for its readers. The instructions focus less on how to behave at a ball or how to dress modestly, but rather how to be a politically conscious individual who remembers his duty to his monarch and his fellow citizens. Thomas Gisborne's text An Enquiry into the Duties of Men is specifically aimed at the "higher and middle classes". The complete ostracisation of the lower strata in society is a common theme of contemporary conduct writing. This is perhaps elucidated by fictional representations of the lower classes, particularly the serving class of servants and maids, in writing from the time. There was a predisposition to distrust the people beneath the aristocracy and dismiss their intelligence and capacity for refined feeling, which was so valued amongst the upper classes.

 

 

Image 16, An Enquiry into the Duties of Men in the higher and upper classes by Thomas Gisborne, 1795[20]

 

 

The contents pages demonstrate a highly patriotic and politically minded discourse on male behaviour.  We might contrast such a book with Gisborne's An Enquiry into the Duties of the Female Sex, which he first wrote in 1797.

 

Image 16, Chapter VII from An enquiry into the Duties of the Female Sex by Thomas Gisborne, 1801 edition.

 

 

 

Gisborne's language emphasises how women are by nature easily led and persuaded, which makes them susceptible to making poor decisions. He describes a young woman as having a character which is "unfixed", painting the author rather sinisterly as the figure to 'fix' their behaviour.

 

 

 

 

 

Image 17, Chapters VII VI from An Enquiry into the Duties of the Female Sex by Thomas Gisborne, 1801 [21]

 

The titles of these chapters contrast starkly with Gisborne's book on the Duties of Men. Of course, the difference in content of these two conduct books might be simply explained by the fact that women did not occupy the sphere of politics and government, and therefore did not need a lesson in how to behave in such a world. What becomes clear nevertheless is how in restricting women from the male activities of legislation, oration, and sovereignty, it effectively restricted women from the entirety of society. The fact that two different books exist differentiating rules for male conduct, and rules for feminine conduct, enforces a sense of difference between the sexes even as both genders were merging in public.

 

The language of Conduct

 

Thus far the conduct material I have analysed has been directed towards a female readership. In these texts we see how an unease over changing gender relations and feminine autonomy is masked by an image of women as softer and more vulnerable by nature, requiring direction. Yet I would like to briefly consider how conduct was not only a concern linked with the fairer sex, but with humankind in general. In 1759 The Universal Chronicle published a piece "To the Parents, Guardians, and Governesses of Great Britain and Ireland"[22], which recommended a list of fictional and non-fictional texts for children and "young gentlemen and ladies". The article says, "At a time when all complain of the Depravity of Human Nature, and the corrupt Principles of Mankind, any design that is calculated to remove the Evils, and inforce a contrary Conduct, will undoubtedly deserve the Attention and Encouragement of the Publick." (48)

The tone of this piece, written at the beginning of 1759, perhaps refers to the recent history of political rebellions and the Seven Years' War in the comment on the, "Depravity of Human Nature". It is significant to note here that the author believes writing is powerful enough to enforce a better code of conduct for society. The article recommends these texts because they will give "Delight" to the reader, but also instil "proper Sentiments of Religion, Justice, Honour and Virtue." (49). Amongst the works which the author recommends to young gentlemen and ladies is "Letters and Cards on the most common, as well as important occasions of Life.". (49) This intimates how example letters were becoming viewed as just as morally corrective as the scriptural texts, which formed the basis of moralist arguments.

The majority of Conduct books in the middle and latter half of the eighteenth century are aimed at gentlewomen, yet this newspaper article reminds us of the precepts upon which conduct books were founded: distinguishing right and wrong, leading a pious life, and practicing humility. All of these are teachings which can be applied to both "young gentlemen and ladies". 

 

 

 

Conduct Writing, Letters and Novels

 

 

Through analysing these examples of conduct manuals, the significance of letter writing becomes increasingly apparent. Lady Wharton's conduct guide to her daughters is written in a genuine letter form, intimating how this style reflected intimacy and trust between the writer and its recipient. Later writers too adopt the epistolary genre, and Boudier Villemert fashions himself as a "friend" to the reader to legitimise his intimate forms of address and the assertive nature of the advice which he gives in the book. 

John Gregory's conduct book exemplifies how the two forms came explicitly together. The personal letters written to his daughters on modesty, morality and the art of conversation in society entered the public domain to great acclaim. Contemporary readers seemed to enjoy the pedagogic tone of writing, indicative of the philosophies regarding self-cultivation and education developing in this epoch. 

Letters in conduct literature function in a very similar way to the epistolary form in novels: they give a sense of immediate reality to the writing which makes the advice trustworthy but also pleasurable to read.

Samuel Richardson's manual is another example of this: Letters Written To and For Particular Friends, On the most important occasions. Directing not only the Requisite Style and Forms to be Observed in writing Familial letters; But how to think and act justly and prudently in the common concerns of Human Life. In this text Richardson writes a variety of letters under different personas, from mothers to noblemen, which were intended to help the aspiring literate classes in both writing and comportment. In this way we can see how conduct manuals were also responding to the changes in class positions in this period and helping to teach the middle-classes noble ideals. This was a period in which new opportunities in trade and commerce allowed individuals to build a fortune rather than inherit one, unsettling the class hierarchy. 

 

 

 

 

Image 18, Letters Written to and For Particular Friends by Samuel Richardson, 1741 [23]

 

This letter presents an model version of a parent-child relationship, in which the son dutifully acknowledges his faults and instantly decides to reform his ways: 'Your letter came so reasonably upon this, that I hope it will not want the desired Effect; and as I thank God it is not yet too late, I am resolved to take another Course with myself and my Affairs," (78). This line reflects the power of the "letter" in encouraging the better nature of the "son", and therefore in properly conveying the emotion, morals, and reasoning which the "father" here imparts. 

 Conduct manuals seem to anticipate and influence the novel form in their use of an 'actual' morality examples and a real addressee of the book. Samuel Richardson's novel Pamela in 1740 engages with the trend of conduct books as it endeavours to moralise and teach its readers through the fiction of Pamela's behaviour, and indeed the novel's genesis was rooted in the idea of a conduct book. Richardson was already working on Letters Written to and for Particular Friends when he began PamelaIn its original cover page it says, "Now first published in order to cultivate the Principles of Virtue and Religion in the Minds of the Youth of Both Sexes.". The "Virtue" which the heroine exhibits is her good faith, loyalty to her parents, but above all resisting the sexual advances of her master Mr.B. The eventual marriage of the two symbolises a reward for Pamela's good behaviour, a concept which troublingly illustrates how female virtue and propriety is always mediated through other individuals, especially of the male sex. As such her behaviour is not an individual matter but rather a performance in which she must please those around her.

Near the end of the second volume, Mr. B. says this to his wife Pamela: "let me assure you, I am thoroughly satisfy'd with your Conduct hitherto". Nevertheless he provides his young wife with "Rules" (448) to ensure she remains a good wife in the future. Pamela says, "And I am glad of the Method I have taken of making a journal of all that passes in these first stages of my Happiness, because it will sink the impression still deeper; and I shall have recourse to them for my better Regulation," (448)

Amongst these rules feature the following:

"6. That I must bear with him, even when I find him in the wrong. This is a little hard, as the case may be!"

"7. That I must be as flexible as the Reed in the Fable, lest by resisting the Tempest, like the Oak, I be torn up by Agency, in points that ought to be allow'd her.- Come, that is pretty well, considering." (448)

Mr. B's instructions highlight how oppressive and unequal conduct was regarding husbands and wives, however in this period it was considered virtuous for the wife to silently comply with such demands. A hint of opposition to this may be read in the italic comments which represent Pamela's doubts over her husband's teachings. Perhaps the most significant principle underlying the purpose of women's conduct literature is the inherent misogyny of the instructions. These books typically manipulate its female readers into adapting themselves to suit the wants and desires of the opposite sex, rather than exhibiting a genuine concern for women improving for their own fulfilment. The texts predominately advise women on how to behave in relation to men; how to be pleasing to the opposite sex, and how to be suitable marriageable material.

 

Review of Pamela- Weekly Miscellany, London. Saturday February 28, 1741. Issue CCCCXXVII

 

The exemplary conduct which many readers saw in Pamela is certainly a key part of the novel's success. In this contemporary paper, The Weekly Miscellany, the author Richard Hooker conveys his thoughts on the novel. He says "it appear'd to me to be extremely well calculated to promote Religion and Virtue, to correct many Errors in respect to the Conduct of Life, and to suggest many useful sentiments;". 

The epistolary form lends an authenticity to the characters and events,  which certainly prompted the strong attachment of contemporary reviewers to the heroine. As the anonymous reviewer below says, "It (Pamela) has witchcraft in every Page of it: But it is the Witchcraft of Passion and Meaning. Who is there that will not despise the false, empty Pomp of the Poets, when he observes in this little, unpretending, mild Triumph of Nature, the whole Force of Invention and Genius,". The incredibly complimentary, even hyperbolic, language of this review intimates how emotionally invested the reader became with the character. Such a review confirms the influence conduct writing was believed to have in effecting a genuine change upon the reader. 

 

 

Image 19, Letter to the Editor of Pamela by an anonymous author , 1741 [24]

 

 

Evelina, Frances Burney 

 

Burney's novel Evelina possesses the subtitle, Or the History of a Young Lady's Entrance into the World, which is evocative of the period's fascination with looking, listening, and instruction. Evelina charts the young heroine's encounters with 18th century high society and the etiquette and social expectation with which she must adhere, thus the reader too comes into contact with this new world. Arguably part of the pleasure of Burney's novel is witnessing Evelina experience these new cities and people for the first time, and seeing her errors and embarrassments. Managing one's reputation is an essential part of the conduct manual, and Evelina highlights that this is always subject to male scrutiny. 

As Evelina navigates London and its public pleasures she specifically comes into contact with potential suitors, and her reactions and choices are manipulated through a correspondence with Rev. Villers. Throughout the novel the upper class characters and moral mouthpieces of the text such as Lord Orville and Reverend Villers reveal an anxiety over propriety, especially in relation to Evelina's behaviour. The heroine explicitly shows this in one letter, "Unable as I am to act for myself, or to judge what conduct I ought to pursue, how grateful do I feel myself, that I have such a guide and director to counsel and instruct me as yourself!" (162). The character gives her ability to make decisions, her autonomy, over to Mr. Villers, explicitly referring to him as her "judge" and "guide". This language mirrors how conduct authors were seen as the authority on correct behaviour, and most importantly that Evelina is incapable of making judgments for herself. In Evelina as we recognise in Pamela and Elizabeth Inchbald's A Simple Story, men are cast into the role of educator and women are presented as naive and childlike beings. The male characters like Fenelon, Gregory and Boudier de Villemert, have the power to shape and manage the women in their lives as they desire. Later Mr Villers warns Evelina, "You cannot, my love, be too circumspect; the slight carelessness on your part, will be taken advantage of , by a man of his disposition." (163). It is worth noting how Mr. Villers places focus on the heroine's conduct, and that is her "carelessness" which might jeopardise her rather than the man's behaviour. 

 

 

Image 20[25]Antoine Vestier, Protrait of a Lady with a Book, 1785

 

 

 Here the subject is a young woman dressed in fashionable attire, alluding to  her wealth and high social status. She is in a relaxed pose in an outdoor  setting, casually holding a worn  book in one hand, which seems to indicate a Romantic and sensitive mindset. This painting illustrates how reading was not only a mode of entertainment or reflection, but also a kind of fashionable accessory. 

 

 

 


 

 

Female and satirical responses

 

 

Although the discourse on female behaviour and education was regarded predominantly as the domain of male writers, this period did see influential women authors interact with the genre. The popular female conduct writers illustrate a more complex relationship with conduct. Hester Chapone's text Letters on the Improvement of the Mind, was first published 1773, and reveals how a conservative approach to femininity was struggling with a more rational study of female ability and what their education should entail towards the end of the century.

Hester Chapone's text was very popular, as evidenced by the number of editions the manual went through at the end of the century and into the early 1800s. Once more the author uses the letter form in her conduct manual, addressing all her instructions and advice to a beloved niece. I have previously noted that this form mimics the reality which helped give conduct authors some credibility.

"yet I who love you so tenderly, cannot help fondly wishing to contribute something, if possible, to your improvement and welfare" (Letter I). The "love" which motivates the author's advice seems more genuine here than with male conduct authors, whose affectionate tone can be read as deceptive and condescending.

Male writers typically present women as inherently foolish and easily tempted: they offer an almost cyclical argument in suggesting that women behave a certain way because of their natural inferiority, but also that it is because of this inferiority that they can only behave as subordinates to men. Chapone's writing on the other hand returns to Christianity as the central tenant of her advice. While this does reflect the author's conservatism, it at least returns to the idea that women should improve their minds for their own benefit, because, "The only sure foundation of human virtue is Religion" (Letter I). For Chapone, conduct is about integrity and reaching a personal relationship with God. Nevertheless, certain ideals which pervade an understanding of women' conduct such as their association with the home and their natural weakness still appear in this text. In the letter titled "On the Governance of Temper", Chapone writes that: "The principal virtues or vices of a woman must be of a private and domestic kind.—Within the circle of her own family and dependants lies her sphere of action— the scene of almost all those tasks and trials, which must determine her character and her fate, both here, and here* after. — Reflect, for a moment, how much the happiness of her husband, children, and servants, must depend on her temper,". Here the author casts her niece in a secondary role to her family and household, suggesting that she suppress her unhappiness in order for her home to continue in peace. The expectation that women should silence their desires and serve those around her suggests a traditional stance, even if Letters on the Improvement on the mind  imagined female readers who were capable of aspiring to higher thoughts and morals. Another contradiction appears in the section, On the Regulations of the Heart and Affections: "good good sense can neither tire nor wear out; - it improves by exercise- and increases in value, the more it is known... the heart as well as the understanding finds account in it;" (Letter V,93). As we have seen through contemporary novels and plays, the love marriage was becoming the new mode for starting a family. Chapone's letter supports this as it advises her niece should marry a man who she connects with at an intellectual level, an instruction which is far from Gregory's advice that women should act "ridiculous" in male company. This book also prizes friendship as an important foundation in good behaviour. This is interesting to consider in light of how female friendships were deemed frivolous and ridiculed by male contemporaries, because in part it symbolised a circle which men could not gain access into. Not only does Chapone support friendship as a means of getting advice and judgement, she does not specify which sex these friends should be.

 

 

 

 

"On the Fashions and Conducts of the Ladies"  (1776)

 

This complex satirical piece attacks the traditional discourse of male writers which brands women as superficial and frivolous, while simultaneously critiquing the fashion and behaviour of women which it proposes to defend. The ambiguity of the article is in part owing to the anonymous nature of the author. The writer uses the pseudonym "Clio", which perhaps is a reference to the Greek mythological figure of Clio, the muse of History. The author's reference to his/herself  as a "knight errant" (585)  implies he is male, yet as previously discussed many writers adopted narrative voices of the opposite gender. Nevertheless, this is a text which mocks men and women, deconstructing male critics of female conduct by naming them "gothic creatures", and stating the very arguments presented in male written treatises to expose their absurdity. The author says, "What man of taste cares a straw for the mind of a woman, if her person is but agreeable?" (585). This line clearly shows that men are foolish for belittling women and solely viewing them as vain creatures, perhaps evoking the arguments of Gregory and Boudier de Villemert who sought to mould women into a particular ideal. The writer says that women are "praise-worthy" for being "addicted to finery" (585). This comment again exposes the ridiculousness of such a belief, and how men are perhaps misjudging the opposite sex in deeming them as purely superficial. It also makes a pertinent point on female education, as it explains that women cannot cultivate their minds as men do and so they only have their appearances to occupy them. The writer says, "Man, being indebted to nature for little more than his existence, hath only occasion to cultivate those refined arts which render that existence delectable.". At the same time the writer holds female fashion up to scrutiny, calling the latest hairstyles "works of architecture". (586). 

 By the end of the century conduct books were even more popular, yet at the same time they had become laughable as this piece shows. The idea that conduct manuals promoted absurd and old-fashioned values is clear in Jane Austen's novel Pride and Prejudice (1813), when Elizabeth Bennet and her sisters mock Mr Collins' reading of James Fordyce's Sermons to Young Women from the 1770s. Even as conduct writing was peaking in popularity at the end of the eighteenth century, it was simultaneously waning as female authors and satirists pointed out the troubling teachings it promoted.

 

 

 

 

 

Annotated Bibliography 

 

 

Primary Sources

 

Woolly, Hannah. The Gentlewoman's Companion ; or a guide to the female sex. 1675. Defining Gender. Web.

http://0www.gender.amdigital.co.uk.pugwash.lib.warwick.ac.uk/Documents/Images/The%20Gentlewomans%20Companion%20or%20a%20Guide%20to%20the%20Female%20Sex/4

Woolly's Book is a useful example of the types of conduct material which was in existence before the eighteenth century, and its concerns with religion and a scriptural understanding of Good and Evil can be identified in later conduct literature.

 

Wharton, Lady Jane. Some short observations on the life of Sir Thomas Wharton, by Lady Jane Wharton. CA. 1700. Brotherton Library University of Leeds. web

http://0-www.literarymanuscriptsleeds.amdigital.co.uk.pugwash.lib.warwick.ac.uk/document.aspx?documentid=10530

This account is so interesting because it was not intended for publication, yet bears many similarities with later published treatises. Its instance on piety, abiding by a strict daily routine, and the practice of charity drawn from Sir Wharton's life seem to be a reliable source for what an eighteenth century noble person considered proper conduct.

 

Fenelon, Francois,(trans. Hickes, George).Instructions for the Education of a DaughterConduct Literature for Women 1640- 1710, Volume 6.Ed. St. Clair, William, Maassen, Irmgard. London: Pickering and Chatto Publishers Limited, 2002. Print.

Fenelon's conduct book is another enlightening example of early century conduct writing. Its emphasis on religion is typical of early period behavioural manuals.

The popularity of this french book when it was translated into English seems indicative of a general European concern with conduct.

 

Boudier de Villemert, Jean-Pierre. L'ami des femmes 1758, trans. anon. Philadelphia: Mathew Carey Press, 1793. Early American Imprints. Web.

(http://0-infoweb.newsbank.com.pugwash.lib.warwick.ac.uk/iw-search/we/Evans/?p_product=EAIX&p_theme=eai&p_nbid=F45D45DBMTQ4ODUzNTQyMi44MTA4MDc6MToxNToyMTcuMTEyLjE1Ny4xMTM&p_action=doc&p_queryname=1&p_docref=v2:0F2B1FCB879B099B@EAIX-0F3014CDE7008710@25218-0FCC91E128FB4988@7)

 I selected Boudier de Villemert's book primarily because of the extremely hyperbolic and condescending language he uses to address the female reader. It is also a good example of the shift towards feminine propriety in social situations, which takes precedence in later conduct writing.

 

 Gregory, John"Instructions to Young Ladies, Relative to their Conduct and Behaviour in Life",  From a Father's Legacy to his Daughters. 1774. The Monthly miscellany; Jul 1774; 2, British Periodicals pg. 24 

Periodicals, web.

http://0-search.proquest.com.pugwash.lib.warwick.ac.uk/docview/3886126?accountid=14888.

This text is an example of the parallels of parent-child relationship and author-reader relationship. Gregory's contradictory instructions on morality seem indicative of the changing status of women in this period, where they were able to go, and who they could see.

 

Richardson, Samuel. Letters Written To and For Particular Friends. London: Printed for C. Rivington. 1741. Print. Defining Gender, web.

http://0-www.gender.amdigital.co.uk.pugwash.lib.warwick.ac.uk/Documents/Details/Familiar%20Letters%20on%20Important%20Occasions%20by%20Samuel%20Richardson

 

I have included this source because it explicitly illustrates the connection between letters and instructive manuals. It is a different kind of book which presents model letters which individuals could use while learning to write, but also it includes key teachings such as filial duty. 

 

Anon, ed. Johnson, Samuel. "To the parents, guardians, and governesses of Great Britain and Ireland", The Universal Chronicle, or, Weekly gazette, Jan.1759-Dec.1759, vol. 2, no. 45, 1759, pp. 48 British Periodicals. web.

http://0-search.proquest.com.pugwash.lib.warwick.ac.uk/docview/6259743?accountid=14888.

 

This article highlights the belief in the positive instructions to be learnt from reading, and illuminates why especially in the eighteenth century such reenforcement of traditional values might be needed. The author references the "Evil" to be found in humanity, which may be a reference to the recent wars in Europe.

 

Clio. "On the Fashions and Conduct of the Ladies." London magazine, or, Gentleman's monthly intelligencer, 1747-1783 45 (1776): 585-6. ProQuest. Web.

 

A humorous piece written by an anonymous author, which deconstructs both male and female attitudes of the period towards public comportment and ladies' fashions. It is critical of the way men attack women as vain and frivolous , but also alludes to how men have rendered women incapable of doing anything more to stimulate their mind. While it seems to defend female dress sense, it also highlights the ridiculous nature of certain trends.


Gisborne, Thomas. An enquiry into the duties of men in the higher and middle classes of society in Great Britain, resulting from their respective stations, professions, and employments.London: Printed by A. Strahan for J. White and Cadell and Davies. fifth edition 1800. Print. American Libraries Archive. web.

https://archive.org/details/anenquiryintodu08gisbgoog

Gisborne's text is 492 pages long and only the first Volume of his study. It covers mainly how males in the upper social strata ought to behave in relation to civic duty.

 

 

Gisborne, Thomas. An enquiry into the duties of the female sex. London: Printed by A. Strahan for J. White and Cadell and Davies. fifth edition 1801. Print. American Libraries Archive. web.

https://archive.org/details/anenquiryintodu02gisbgoog

 

Similar to Gisborne's previous manual, this text reveals the marked difference between female and male expectations in the eighteenth century. Men are aligned with the public sphere of politics and employments such as medicine, as well as clerical employments. Ultimately men are associated with areas where they can wield influence and power, and women are resigned to learning how they fit in around (usually beneath) this world.

 

 

Marriott, Thomas. Female Conduct: Being an Essay on The Art of Pleasing. London: Printed for W. Owen. 1759. Print. Defining Gender. Web.

http://0-www.gender.amdigital.co.uk.pugwash.lib.warwick.ac.uk/Documents/SearchDetails/Female%20Conduct%20Being%20an%20Essay%20on%20the%20Art%20of%20Pleasing#Snippits

 

Unlike the other books I have examined this piece takes the form of poetry to instruct its readers. It is interesting to consider how the author takes the more established form of poetry to convey a traditional and patriarchal view of femininity, perhaps because poetry allows the author to couch his arguments in classical images and natural themes which then justifies them. 

 

 

Knox, Vicesimus. Personal Nobility: Or, letters to a Young Nobleman On the conduct of his Studies. London: Printed for Charles Dilly, 1793. Print. Historical Texts. web.

https://data.historicaltexts.jisc.ac.uk/view?pubId=ecco-0722200200&terms=letters%20to%20a%20young%20nobleman&pageTerms=letters%20to%20a%20young%20nobleman&pageId=ecco-0722200200-40

 

The lessons which Knox attempts to ingrain into the "young nobleman", such as social duty and knowledge of academic subjects, are starkly different to those which formed the education of female readers. This reflects how conduct material encouraged a doctrine of female inferiority even as womens' rights was becoming a discourse of its own. The suggestion that the aristocracy require such teachings whereas the lower classes do not, illustrates the presumption that the nobility were the only class capable of possessing a courteous nature and elevated feelings.

 

 

Anon. "Letter to the Editor of Pamela". Weekly Miscellany, Saturday, February 28, 1741; Issue CCCCXXVII17th-18th Century Burney Collection Newspapers. web.

http://0-find.galegroup.com.pugwash.lib.warwick.ac.uk/bncn/retrieve.do?sgHitCountType=None&sort=DateAscend&prodId=BBCN&tabID=T012&subjectParam=Locale%2528en%252C%252C%2529%253AFQE%253D%2528tx%252CNone%252C6%2529pamela%2524&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&searchId=R5&displaySubject=&searchType=AdvancedSearchForm&currentPosition=23&qrySerId=Locale%28en%2C%2C%29%3AFQE%3D%28tx%2CNone%2C6%29pamela%24&retrieveFormat=MULTIPAGE_DOCUMENT&subjectAction=DISPLAY_SUBJECTS&inPS=true&userGroupName=warwick&sgCurrentPosition=0&contentSet=LTO&&docId=&docLevel=FASCIMILE&workId=&relevancePageBatch=Z2001603870&contentSet=UBER2&callistoContentSet=UBER2&docPage=article&hilite=y

 

A contemporary review of Pamela, the author shows how fiction and reality could be blurred for the reader in his emphatic praise of the heroine. Pamela's role-model figure was so influential that people wanted to emulate her behaviour, showcasing how readers truly believed in the words set out by the author. 

 

Chapone, Hester. Letters on the Improvement of the Mind. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2013, Print.

 

Chapone's text proved to be an enlightening and complex example of female conduct writing; it employs similar teachings to male written treatises on female education, yet it dispenses with the typical infantilisation and sexualisation of the female reader which can be found in other writings.

 

Richardson, Samuel. Pamela. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008. Print.

 

Pamela is a novel which had its beginnings in the conduct manual form, and the morals Richardson conveys through the story of his heroine and her marriage with Mr. B. echoes his style in Letters to and For Particular Friends.

 

Burney, Frances. Evelina. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008. Print.

 

I have used Evelina as another contemporary novel source because it fictionalises the experience of a young woman entering into society, a subject which conduct manuals were concerned with and attempted to govern through presenting young men as potential temptations for proper female virtue. 

 

Inchbald, Elizabeth. A Simple Story. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998. Print.

 

Similarly to Evelina, Inchbald's novel presents male characters who fulfil the role of the female educator. Dorriforth can be compared to Lord Orville and Rev. Villers in his position as the voice of reason and rationality, whilst women are passionate and volatile in their behaviour.

 

Hogarth, William. A Harlot's Progress. 1733. The Tate and Royal Collection. Web. https://www.royalcollection.org.uk/collection/811512/a-harlots-progress,  http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-britain/exhibition/hogarth/hogarth-hogarths-modern-moral-series/hogarth-hogarths

 

Hogarth's engravings offer a visual representation of anti-morality, depicting in vivid detail the multiple sins of public life and how easily a woman might be led into destitution.

 

 

 

Images 

See footnotes. 

 

 

Secondary Sources

 

Goodman, Dena.  Becoming a woman in the age of letters. New York: Cornell University Press.2009. Print.

 

Pearson, Jacqueline. "What should girls and women read?" Women's Reading in Britain, 1750–1835: A Dangerous Recreation. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1999. Print.

 

Urban, M. Seventeenth-Century Mother’s Advice Books, edited by M. Urban, Palgrave Macmillan US, 2006. ProQuest Ebook Central, web.

 

Richardson, Samuel. Gisborne, Thomas. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, web.  http://0-www.oxforddnb.com.pugwash.lib.warwick.ac.uk/view/article/23582?docPos=3

 

Sabor, Peter. "Samuel Richardson", The Cambridge Companion to English Novelists. Ed. Adrian Poole. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009, Print.

 

Dalton, Susan. Engendering the Republic of Letters. Canada: McGill- Queen's University Press, 2003. Print.

 

Braunschneider, Theresa. Winner of the Walker Cowen Memorial Prize : Our Coquettes : Capacious Desire in the Eighteenth Century. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2009. ProQuest ebrary. Web.

 

Lawlor, William T. "Military History of the Seven Years' War". Salem Press Encyclopedia, 2016. web.

 http://0-eds.a.ebscohost.com.pugwash.lib.warwick.ac.uk/eds/detail/detail?sid=8c530486-6f3d-45a4-a32c-3d37b0e3e8fd%40sessionmgr4009&vid=0&hid=4105&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d#AN=96776943&db=ers

 

Unknown. "Conduct Books for Women" and "Sermons to Young Women". The British Library, Webhttps://www.bl.uk/collection-items/sermons-to-young-women

 

Definitions 

 

Oxford English Dictionary. web. https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/conduct

 

Oxford Dictionary. Web https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/conduct

 

Conduct Term Frequency. Historical Texts. https://historicaltexts.jisc.ac.uk/results?terms=conduct

 

Links

 

Assembly Rooms 

I have included this link to Assembly Rooms because this is an example of the types of public spaces which moralists feared, as it involved independent interaction between men and women. It is this type of setting which conduct writers saw as a site of immorality and sinful temptation which women could be swayed by, neglecting to mention the role of men in this environment.

library

The page on libraries has an interesting section regarding Female Novel Reading which is relevant to conduct books, since they were aimed at young women and deemed appropriate reading material because of their morality. 

 

 

Footnotes

  1. Fragonard, Jean-Honore. Young Girl Reading. ww.nga.gov/content/ngaweb/Collection/art-object-page.46303.html
  2. Conduct Term Frequency. Historical Texts. https://historicaltexts.jisc.ac.uk/results?terms=conduct
  3. Woolly, Hannah. The Gentlewoman's Companion or a Guide to the Female Sex. Defining Gender. http://0-www.gender.amdigital.co.uk.pugwash.lib.warwick.ac.uk/Documents/Images/The%20Gentlewomans%20Companion%20or%20a%20Guide%20to%20the%20Female%20Sex/4
  4. Woolly, Hannah. The Gentlewoman's Companion or a Guide to the Female Sex. Defining Gender. http://0-www.gender.amdigital.co.uk.pugwash.lib.warwick.ac.uk/Documents/Images/The%20Gentlewomans%20Companion%20or%20a%20Guide%20to%20the%20Female%20Sex/4
  5. Wharton, Lady Jane. Some short observations on the life of Sir Thomas Wharton.Ca.1700. Brotherton Library University of Leeds. web http://0-www.literarymanuscriptsleeds.amdigital.co.uk.pugwash.lib.warwick.ac.uk/document.aspx?documentid=10530
  6. Wharton, Lady Jane. Some short observations on the life of Sir Thomas Wharton.Ca.1700. Brotherton Library University of Leeds. web http://0-www.literarymanuscriptsleeds.amdigital.co.uk.pugwash.lib.warwick.ac.uk/document.aspx?documentid=10530
  7. Kneller, Sir Godfrey. The Harvey Family. 1721. http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/kneller-the-harvey-family-t07615
  8. Instructions for the Education of a Daughter Conduct Literature for Women, 1640-1710: Volume 6
  9. Boudier de Villemert.The Ladies' friend.1758. trans, anon. Philadelphia: Mathew Carey Press .1793. (http://0-infoweb.newsbank.com.pugwash.lib.warwick.ac.uk/iw-search/we/Evans/?p_product=EAIX&p_theme=eai&p_nbid=F45D45DBMTQ4ODUzNTQyMi44MTA4MDc6MToxNToyMTcuMTEyLjE1Ny4xMTM&p_action=doc&p_queryname=1&p_docref=v2:0F2B1FCB879B099B@EAIX-0F3014CDE7008710@25218-0FCC91E128FB4988@7)
  10. Boudier de Villemert.The Ladies' friend.1758. trans, anon. Philadelphia: Mathew Carey Press .1793. (http://0-infoweb.newsbank.com.pugwash.lib.warwick.ac.uk/iw-search/we/Evans/?p_product=EAIX&p_theme=eai&p_nbid=F45D45DBMTQ4ODUzNTQyMi44MTA4MDc6MToxNToyMTcuMTEyLjE1Ny4xMTM&p_action=doc&p_queryname=1&p_docref=v2:0F2B1FCB879B099B@EAIX-0F3014CDE7008710@25218-0FCC91E128FB4988@7)
  11. Goodman, Dena. Becoming a Woman in the Age of Letters
  12. Urban, M.. Seventeenth-Century Mother’s Advice Books, edited by M. Urban, Palgrave Macmillan US, 2006. ProQuest Ebook Central, . Created from warw on 2017-03-13 03:10:38.
  13. Gregory, John, Instructions to Young Ladies, Relative to their Conduct and Behaviour in Life. From A Father's Legacy to his Daughters. The Monthly miscellany; Jul 1774; 2, British Periodicals pg. 24 Periodicals, http://0-search.proquest.com.pugwash.lib.warwick.ac.uk/docview/3886126?accountid=14888.
  14. Gregory, John, Instructions to Young Ladies, Relative to their Conduct and Behaviour in Life. From A Father's Legacy to his Daughters. The Monthly miscellany; Jul 1774; 2, British Periodicals pg. 24 Periodicals, http://0-search.proquest.com.pugwash.lib.warwick.ac.uk/docview/3886126?accountid=14888.
  15. Marriott, Thomas. Female Conduct, Being an Essay on the art of pleasing.1759. Defining Gender. Web. http://0-www.gender.amdigital.co.uk.pugwash.lib.warwick.ac.uk/Documents/SearchDetails/Female%20Conduct%20Being%20an%20Essay%20on%20the%20Art%20of%20Pleasing#Snippits
  16. Marriott, Thomas. Female Conduct, Being an Essay on the art of pleasing.1759. Defining Gender. Web. http://0-www.gender.amdigital.co.uk.pugwash.lib.warwick.ac.uk/Documents/SearchDetails/Female%20Conduct%20Being%20an%20Essay%20on%20the%20Art%20of%20Pleasing#Snippits
  17. Hogarth, William. A Harlot's Progress. 1733. http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-britain/exhibition/hogarth/hogarth-hogarths-modern-moral-series/hogarth-hogarths
  18. Hogarth, William. A Harlot's Progress. 1733. https://www.royalcollection.org.uk/collection/811512/a-harlots-progress
  19. Angellis,Peter. Conversation Piece. CA. 1715-1720. http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/angellis-conversation-piece-t00789
  20. Gisborne, Thomas. An Enquiry into the Duties of Men in the higher and middle classes. 1795. https://archive.org/details/anenquiryintodu08gisbgoog
  21. Gisborne, Thomas. "An enquiry into the duties of the female sex", 1797. fifth edition (1801)
  22. Anon,ed. by Samuel Johnson. "To the PARENTS, GUARDIANS, and GOVERNESSES of Great Britain and Ireland."The Universal chronicle, or, Weekly gazette, Jan.1759-Dec.1759, vol. 2, no. 45, 1759, pp. 48 British Periodicals, http://0-search.proquest.com.pugwash.lib.warwick.ac.uk/docview/6259743?accountid=14888.
  23. Richardson, Samuel. Letters written to and for particular friends. 1741. Defining Gender.web http://0-www.gender.amdigital.co.uk.pugwash.lib.warwick.ac.uk/Documents/Details/Familiar%20Letters%20on%20Important%20Occasions%20by%20Samuel%20Richardson
  24. Anon,Review of Pamela- Weekly Miscellany, London. Saturday February 28, 1741. Issue CCCCXXVI
  25. Vestier, Antoine. Portrait of a Lady with a Book. 1785. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Antoine_vestier_-_retrato_de_dama_com_livro.jpg

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