Objections Of The Croquette And Hoop Skirt :: essays research papers

While reading selections from The Tatler and The Spectator, two subjects that I lay out most interesting were that of the coquette and her place in society, and also that of fashion, in particular, the hoop skirt.The Websters Dictionary defines a coquette as "a woman who philanders." One of the reasons why she appears so frequently in these essays is beca use these custody sense a danger in them. The croquette is a figure of self-direction and 18th blow women were not supposed to be self-sufficient. Women of the 18th century were supposed to be sugar and spice and everything nice and, above all, reliant on men. When a croquette comes into the picture, however, the men are the ones who cant carry off themselves. The croquette is a flirtatious woman who knows very well the powers of her sex and uses them to her advantage. except by looking and acting a certain modality more or less men, she learns how to control them to a certain degree. Although the men realize what she is doing, they are ineffective to stop it. It is also apparent to these men that women are able to be deceitful, and that the coquette may not be the beginning or the can of this deceitfulness. And they find this to be very dangerous to the ideas of knowing your respective places in their society. Addison and Steele seem to think that the croquette is not only a noblewoman who tends to flirt with every man she comes into contact with, but any young lady who outwardly makes every attempt to find a suitable wedlock partner. In No. 110, of The Tatler (478-482), Addison speaks of a certain young woman be accused of catching the lust of several young men and disruption their hearts. He explains how she seems very innocent when proposed with the accusation and that this is how she obtains that she is not in the wrong. The mode he words this essay makes me think that he believes that it is criminal for a woman to use the "Motion of her Eyes and Turn of her Countenance"(p 479) to start out the eyes of a possible suitor. Because a woman is able to use her special powers in such a way is deceitful and wherefore may lead to other wrongful doings which, in turn, disturbs the way Addison believes the opposite sexes serve opposite sides of society.