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junehur
Upstart Joined: 18 Jul 2008 Posts: 31	Posted: Sat Aug 30, 2008 2:40 pm    Post subject: Chaperones   If a young lady were to visit her relatives (a gentleman and his 28 year old sister) for a day, would she need to bring along her chaperone? Or would the fact that there will also be her 28 yr old female cousin in company omit the need for a chaperone? Because, in this one scene, I need for th young lady to be accompanied by her chaperone...if it's alright to have both the chaperone and the older female cousin, then whew. If not, please tell me so Thank you!
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Candice
Queen of the Board Joined: 14 Sep 2006 Posts: 2731 Location: Minneapolis, MN	Posted: Sat Aug 30, 2008 4:49 pm    Post subject:   It sort of depends on the distance and time of day. If the relatives live around the corner in Mayfair, then she can probably get away with walking over by herself in the daytime. But an unmarried young woman in Mayfair is more likely to have walked over (or been driven over) with a maid or a footman accompanying her. The servant would wait in the kitchen while she visited with her relatives. She doesn't need a chaperone to be in the room with her while she pays a call. It's the getting to and fro that are a problem. Most unmarried (and married) women did not walk or drive out alone. It was a matter of safety as well as propriety. And a servant would serve the purpose. _________________
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junehur
Upstart Joined: 18 Jul 2008 Posts: 31	Posted: Sun Aug 31, 2008 7:20 am    Post subject:   Then let's say a titled lady were to visit some impovrished friend she had somehow made....would she still take along a servant and have them wait in the kitchen while she was with the friend?
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Candice
Queen of the Board Joined: 14 Sep 2006 Posts: 2731 Location: Minneapolis, MN	Posted: Sun Aug 31, 2008 1:22 pm    Post subject:   junehur wrote: Then let's say a titled lady were to visit some impovrished friend she had somehow made....would she still take along a servant and have them wait in the kitchen while she was with the friend? It depends on her family and the neighborhood of the friend. Remember in Jane Austen's Persuasion that Anne visited her impoverished friend in Bath, and I believe there was no maid with Anne. But that was Bath. In London her family might still insist on her being accompanied. The fun of being a writer, though, is that you get to be creative in making the plot work for you. If, for example, you need your heroine to go alone to her friend's house, then make it work. Maybe she sneaks out. Or maybe she's just independent and slightly rebellious and says she doesn't need a maid to go with her, that she will be quite safe alone. (Then you could have her get in some kind of trouble on her way home. ) Or maybe her parents are not strict about such things and she dashes about by herself regularly. And she might have a high stickler aunt or other relative who despairs of her even being a true lady. There are lots of fun ways you could make it work. With fiction, anything is possible. But if it is improbable, then you must address it in the plot, explaining why a social convention is being broken, or an impropriety being ignored. _________________
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junehur
Upstart Joined: 18 Jul 2008 Posts: 31	Posted: Mon Sep 01, 2008 6:15 pm    Post subject:   Thanks for the remark about how anything is possible in Fiction writing. I guess that is true!
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Melpomene
Poor Relation Joined: 15 Sep 2008 Posts: 95	Posted: Thu Nov 06, 2008 1:31 pm    Post subject:   There are already a couple of threads about chaperonage, so I didn't want to start another one. Who should accompany a lady on her morning ride? And if two sisters are out riding, do they need anybody else with them?
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KalenHughes
Viscountess of the Manor Joined: 20 Sep 2006 Posts: 1100	Posted: Thu Nov 06, 2008 3:31 pm    Post subject:   They should have a groom with them. _________________ -Kalen w/a Isobel Carr Ripe for Pleasure, May 2011 Book 1: The League of Second Sons www.isobelcarr.com
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Melpomene
Poor Relation Joined: 15 Sep 2008 Posts: 95	Posted: Thu Nov 06, 2008 3:36 pm    Post subject:   Okay, that makes sense. If it's just one lady out for a ride, is a groom enough?
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KalenHughes
Viscountess of the Manor Joined: 20 Sep 2006 Posts: 1100	Posted: Thu Nov 06, 2008 3:42 pm    Post subject:   Yes, a groom was usually considered sufficient for a woman out for a ride (say in Hyde Park, or going from her parents' house in the country to one of their neighbor's houses). Chances were her maid didn’t know how to ride. If the girl was young enough to have a governess, she may or may not have accompanied them (you’d still need a groom along for protection and in case of emergency). It’s just like when she goes shopping, if her family can afford it, she takes a footman. A male servant is better able to protect her from the dangers of city life. _________________ -Kalen w/a Isobel Carr Ripe for Pleasure, May 2011 Book 1: The League of Second Sons www.isobelcarr.com
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