Joseph Addison: Rural Manners
Introduction
Joseph Addison’s Rural Manners originally published as No. 119 in The Spectator, is a social essay in which he compares the manners and behaviour of people living in the town and the countryside. Here, the word manners does not mean morality. Addison uses it to refer to behaviour, politeness, social customs and good breeding. The essay also presents the changing ideas of politeness in Addison’s time.
Addison observes that there is a considerable difference between town and rural manners. The fashionable people of the town have changed their idea of good breeding. They have moved away from excessive ceremonies and formalities and now prefer a more natural and relaxed style of behaviour. The countryside, however, continues to follow many of the older customs. Thus, Addison humorously presents the countryside as being behind the town in matters of fashion and social behaviour.
Changing Ideas of Good Manners
According to Addison, in earlier times polite people showed their good breeding through bows, formal greetings, respectful behaviour and various social ceremonies. These customs were originally meant to show courtesy and respect. However, with time, they became too numerous and artificial. Conversation became burdened with unnecessary formalities, and fashionable society began to reject them.
The new idea of good breeding was therefore based on natural and unconstrained behaviour. People no longer wanted to appear excessively formal. Addison describes this new manner as an “agreeable negligence,” meaning a pleasant lack of unnecessary formality. A truly fashionable person could behave naturally without constantly displaying his politeness.
The countryside, however, has not yet accepted this change. When country people adopt a fashion, the town has often already moved on to something new. Therefore, the manners followed by country people appear old-fashioned to fashionable town society. Addison humorously remarks that a country gentleman may make as many bows in half an hour as a courtier would make in an entire week.
Excessive Formality in the Countryside
Addison gives the example of Sir Roger to show how excessive rural politeness can become inconvenient. At Sir Roger’s dinner, the guests spend so much time deciding where everyone should sit according to their rank and social position that the dinner almost becomes cold. Sir Roger also has to consider the position and status of each guest before offering them a drink.
Through this example, Addison makes fun of the excessive importance given to social rank and precedence in the countryside. What is supposed to be politeness becomes a burden when people follow it too strictly.
The same idea is illustrated through Will Wimble. Although Will is a simple and sensible country gentleman, he has also become accustomed to these formal customs. Even after fishing all morning, he will not help himself to food until Addison has been served. When they are walking in the fields, Will even waits at a stile for Addison to reach him because he believes that this is the proper manner of behaving. His actions provide another humorous example of excessive country politeness.
Change in Polite Conversation
Addison then discusses a second major change in good manners: the language used in polite society.
In the past, a well-bred person carefully avoided vulgar or obscene expressions. Even when speaking about something unpleasant, he would use indirect and polite language. A common person or a clown, on the other hand, might use direct and vulgar expressions.
However, Addison says that fashionable town society has now moved towards the opposite extreme. Some fashionable men use coarse and uncivilised language and speak in a way that would even make a clown feel ashamed. Thus, the old excessive formality has been replaced by excessive freedom in speech.
Addison is pleased that this new vulgar style of conversation has not yet become common in the countryside. He suggests humorously that if country gentlemen adopt this fashion too late, they will think themselves fashionable and witty while others will simply consider them uncivilised or foolish.
Fashion and Dress
The third aspect of manners discussed by Addison is dress. He says that country people are also behind the town in matters of fashion. Rural men continue to wear older styles such as red coats and laced hats, while women in some areas compete with one another by wearing very elaborate and tall head-dresses. These fashions have already gone out of fashion in the town.
Thus, Addison presents the countryside as a place where older social customs, language practices and fashions continue to survive even after they have disappeared from fashionable urban society.
Major Theme
The main theme of Rural Manners is the difference between town and country manners. Addison is particularly interested in how ideas of politeness change over time. He shows that manners that were once considered fashionable can later become old-fashioned. At the same time, he does not completely praise the new manners of the town. He also criticises the fashionable people's use of coarse language.
The essay therefore presents two extremes. The old rural society is excessively formal, while some fashionable town people have become excessively informal. Addison's humour comes from showing the foolishness and inconvenience produced by both extremes.
Rural Manners as a Social Document
The essay can be considered a social document because it provides a picture of the society of Addison's time. It tells us about social ceremonies, ideas of politeness, class and rank, dining customs, conversation, clothing and changing fashions.
In Rural Manners, Addison compares the manners of people living in the town with those living in the countryside. He explains that town society has moved away from excessive formality and now prefers natural and relaxed behaviour. Country people, however, continue to follow older customs and therefore appear old-fashioned. Addison illustrates this through Sir Roger's dinner and Will Wimble's behaviour.
He also discusses the change in polite conversation. Earlier, refined people avoided vulgar language, but fashionable town society has now moved towards the opposite extreme and sometimes uses coarse expressions. Finally, Addison discusses dress and explains that country people continue to follow fashions that have already disappeared from the town. In this humorous way, the essay examines manners, social behaviour, conversation and fashion and provides a picture of contemporary society.
Note: This study material is reconstructed with the help of Generative AI
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