Etiquette and Grouchy Husbands

"The agreeable husband conducts himself at the table exactly as if guests were present. He is clean, combed and generally presentable... he should limit his smoking to the end of the meal using an ash tray instead of dishes as ash receptacles....

Husband Grouchy? Consult Amy Vanderbilt's Etiquette Book!

NEW YORK - People used to refer to etiquette books when there was a question about forks or formal invitations, but that's the least of a modern book on manners.

Husband grouchy when he gets up in the morning? Consult the etiquette book.

What to name the baby? Consult the etiquette book. 

Taking a bath in a foreign country? Consult the etiquette book.

Want to write your congressman a nasty letter? That's in there too..

And if you're tempted to write a passionate love letter-well, you might just read one sentence in the etiquette book, to wit: "Love letters are sometimes bombshells." 

Scope Broadened

All those matters, and some 650 pages of other private and personal problems, are dealt with in the latest revised edition of Amy Vanderbilt's complete book of etiquette, recently published by Doubleday.

As high society has ceased having such rigid rules of admittance and behavior, the social experts have broadened their scope to include manners for family occasions.

Under the heading, "The Agreeable Husband," Miss Vanderbilt writes that if a man must be grouchy before coffee in the morning, he should be sure the family understands that there is nothing personal about it. 

She also lists the following rules for agreeable husbands: Clean And Presentable

"The agreeable husband conducts himself at the table exactly as if guests were present. He is clean, combed and generally presentable... he should limit his smoking to the end of the meal using an ash tray instead of dishes as ash receptacles....

"No well-brought-up husband should ever bring anyone except a most intimate friend home to dinner without sufficient warning to his wife."

There is also a section on agreeable wives, with emphasis on personal good grooming and tidy habits around the house.

Etiquette rules are designed to make life simpler and more pleasant, after all, and life around the house could stand a little of both.

"Perhaps it is impossible for most husbands to understand everything about their wives." — The Napa Valley Register, 1955

🍽Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J. Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia