Rural Manners by Joseph Addison (Summary)

 

Rural Manners

by Joseph Addison

(Summary)

  

The essay sheds light on the concept of good manners of Addison's time. It also shows us the way in which life in the town influences country life. In the age, which had just ended, good manners included a display of overformal polity, which can only be called an excess of good breeding. The country still conforms to the earlier notion of politeness. In fact, cases of ceremonial precedence are taken to an extreme in rural areas, where they become a positive nuisance; For example, according to the strict requirements of the protocol, guests take so long to sit and wait until the dinner is cooled by that time. The country, says Addison, has so far been safe from one perversion of polite conversation in the town of which Addison seems to be full of horror that is, talking in a licentious manner.

Addison was a lively conversationalist; His conversation in the circle of his intimate friends was more enjoyable than his writings. Pope and Swift were forced to accept Addison's superior gifts. His mistake, as a person was, that he always loved being surrounded by his fans. All these people were very inferior in capacity and some of them had serious defects. There is no doubt, that Addison could see through the faults of his friends yet it was impossible to escape entirely the vitiating influence of such constant adulation.

One major distinction between the manners in the town and the country is that many formalities and ceremonials, which once formed a part of civilized life in the city, but are no more in vogue now- are still observed in the countryside. The mark of good breeding in the city now, says Addison, is the unaffected behaviour rather than an overformal courtesy. In the countryside good breeding is carried to ridiculous extremes, so that it becomes troublesome at social occasions like dinners as one is expected to sit according to the rigorous precedence of mark and status. A country gentleman might make one as many bows as would last courtier for a whole week.

According to Addison, wives of country justices make more ado on this score than even duchesses. It does not matter that by the time the seating problem is resolved, the dinner might have become cold. Even a sensible man like Will Wimble has been infected with the extravagant formality of country life. He may have been fishing all morning, but he will not help himself until the spectator has been served.

A revolutionary change has occurred in the field of polite conversation. It used to be the chief distinction of the conversation of a well-bred man that he scrupulously avoided all terms which had the least tincture of vulgarity. Only the clown could speak in an obscene language. Now the pendulum has swung to the other extreme. Fashionable men of town now take pleasure in speaking in a coarse and uncivilized manner. In fact, a clown would blush at their lack of restraint and decorum in speech. We are fortunate, says Addison, that this piece of good breeding has not so far reached the country.

In matters of dress the country people are very much behindhand. The countryside women are trying to excel each other by wearing the tallest head dresses which have already passed out of fashion in the town. On this matter the author promises to write in detail in a later essay.