Coming Out
Posted by April Lee on October 22, 1997 at 00:07:37:
In response to Coming Out and Physical Maturation , written by Lynne on October 09, 1997 at 22:41:40
I'm fairly certain that Coming Out in Regency times had much more to do with social rules than with anything physiological. Coming out meant, coming out of the nursery and into society--the division between childhood and adulthood. Society meaning Polite Society, so it is unlikely lower class girls would have kind of coming out at all. Also, it did not mean that a girl had reached any particular age, since it would depend on when a family allowed the girl to go about in society, etc. In P&P, Lady C. is astounded that ALL the Bennett sisters were Out, for instance. In a more carefully governed family, it is likely that the younger girls would wait until a marriageable age, and until their Season (if they were to have one), and until their older siblings were married, although all these factors would vary depending on the situation.
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