Frost’s laws and bylaws of american society (#2)
sarah annie frost

1 the lady of the house should be in her drawing-room, ready to receive her guests, ten or fifteen minutes before the hour fixed for their arrival, and the daughters of the house should be with her, and not drop in one by one after the guests' arrival. the gentleman of the house should also be present, and in case it is a strictly gentleman's party, at which no hostess presides, he must be all ready before the appointed time to do the honors.

2 on guests being announced, the lady advances a few steps towards them, and should receive them cordially with some words of welcome.

3 the hostess must never betray any chagrin at the lateness of a guest, but try to place the unfortunate last arrival as much at ease as possible by her cordial welcome and unembarrassed manner.

4 before all the guests have arrived the lady should have made her arrangements as to what gentleman and lady are to go in to dinner together, and before dinner is announced the gentlemen of the party should be informed what lady they are to escort to the table.

5 the gentleman of the house offers his arm to the lady most honored amongst the guests, the gentleman most distinguished offers his arm to the lady of the house.

6 gentlemen give the left arm to a lady, excepting military officers in full dress, who give the right arm, as the sword is inconveniently worn for offering the left. in all other cases the right arm must be left free.

7 the order of procession being settled, the company move according to it from the drawing-room to the dining-room, as soon as dinner is announced.

8 the host sits at the bottom of the table, the hostess at the top. at the right of the host is placed the lady he escorted from the drawing-room, and at the right of the hostess her escort. the next place of honor is at the left of the hostess.

9 it is a good plan, and rapidly becoming an established custom, to have small cards with the names of the guests written upon them, laid upon the plate at each seat. each one thus taking the place assigned prevents confusion, and gives the hostess the privilege of placing near to each other the guests who will prove mutually agreeable.

10 gentlemen should stand behind their respective chairs until all the ladies are seated, and then take their own seats, being careful that their chairs do not stand upon the dresses of the ladies beside them.

12 seats having been apportioned to all, grace is said, by a clergyman if there is one present, if not, by the host. the clergyman should be invited to say grace by the host.

13 if the dinner is _a la russe_, there will not be any carving done on the table itself.

from the way in which this passage is written, the reader might gather that
a) the manners discussed in this passage are heavily observed in our culture today, and those who do not observe these norms are ostracized and viewed as uncivilized.
b) the manners discussed in this passage applied to societal norms of etiquette at some time in the past, but doesn't really apply to today's social mores.
c) the rules the passage puts forth are entirely fictional, and these etiquette rules never applied to any real culture.
d) the passage is designed to be a spoof on those overly-obsessed with proper etiquette.
eliminate

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