On Lee Jackson’s “Victorian Dictionary” site I browsed the subcategory “Health and Beauty” of the “Women” section, where I found a number of articles ranging from topics such as self-care during pregnancy to the “Feminine Diet”. One article which particularly struck me, listed as “keeping oneself attractive”, came from an etiquette and advice manual of the time. It was written by the French Baroness Staffe and translated to English by Lady Colin Campbell in 1893. The article explains the important of the “woman’s sanctum”; that is, her dressing room. According to Baroness Staffe, a lady’s dressing room is a sacred ground for her and her alone, forbidden even to her husband. It’s where a woman “practises all kinds of magic, in order to keep herself so astonishingly young and lovely” as to “captivate, or to retain the heart of, the man she loves” (“The Lady’s Dressing Room”). In other words, it’s where a woman does her make-up and hair every morning, which are of upmost importance for Victorian women. The article shows the ridiculous standards that these women faced (some of which still stand today): Baroness Staffe’s rules dictate that a woman must look beautiful at all times, for it is “her mission to please and charm”. She even says that if a woman should feel insecure or slighted by her husband for looking at another woman, it’s her own fault for not putting more effort into her hair that day or for wearing her corset. Yet men should believe that women are always pretty and sweet-smelling because they are “so adorned by Nature”, not because they are obliged to spend hours on their appearance every morning. The Baroness dismisses women who have a “total disregard of appearances”, citing this as the reason for tumultuous marriages (“The Lady’s Dressing Room”). She expects women to not only abide by her standards but find joy and pleasure in doing so.
Work Cited
Staffe. “The Lady’s Dressing Room”. Trans. Colin Campbell. Cassel & Company Limited, 1893. Web. February 14, 2016.
http://www.victorianlondon.org/publications/ladys-preface.htm#remaining attractive
It was super interesting learning that a woman’s dressing room during this time period was considered something sacred and a place where men weren’t allowed / were forbidden. It’s almost hilarious how it’s spoken of in such a mystical and magical way—as though women practiced magic to keep themselves young and youthful. One of the most demeaning things that you mentioned was when the article says that woman’s duty is to “please and charm”—women have much more importance than to just be an object of pleasure or an object of the male gaze. Obviously this was written in / for a different time period, but it’s alarming to think that this was ever the opinion / common thought.