Some thoughts on separate bedrooms, etc.
Posted by Carolyn B on July 15, 1998 at 19:28:35:
In response to Beds and beds..., written by The Mysterious H.C. on July 15, 1998 at 03:54:18
] and that's why they had four-poster beds with bedcurtains, so that the person(s) in bed could have privacy to that degree at least
I always thought the bed curtains were more for warmth than privacy, because the 20th C. concept of privacy didn't really exist back then. (Modesty perhaps but not privacy) What do you think? Was it okay for the maids to see their mistress en deshabille (think I misspelled that) and the valet/manservants their master in a state of undress but no viewing allowed across gender lines?
One explanation I came across when working in a Victorian house museum was that upper class (and even middle class if they could afford it) husbands and wives had separate bedrooms so they wouldn't bother each other as they went about their lives (separate spheres, etc.). Also the baby might be in the same room with the mother, and the father wouldn't want to be woken up in the middle of the night.
BTW, I have a copy of Emily Post c. 1930 which explains in the section on Country House Weekends that the hostess should not put a married couple in the same room unless she is absolutely sure that they share a room at home!
- Bed curtains Earlene 01:12:41 7/16/98
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- The Family Bed Carolyn B 19:35:23 7/15/98
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- True, and, right! Caroline 23:09:07 7/15/98
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- Introduction of chimneys led to development of seperate rooms-nfm Captain Everett 18:22:10 7/16/98
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- Introduction of chimneys led to development of seperate rooms-nfm Captain Everett 18:22:10 7/16/98
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- True, and, right! Caroline 23:09:07 7/15/98
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