Do Manners Make the Man?

On September 13 the Wall Street Journal published an opinion piece by Paula Marantz Cohen (dean and English professor at Drexel University) entitled "Jane Austen Knows That Manners Make the Man, "followed by the sentence, "Her work is now popular because of its eloquent portrayal of how politeness is tied to deeper morality."

Well. What a great topic. I never thought about this quality of Jane Austen's work. I love her novels because of how wonderfully she puts words together. But this is a very interesting point.

Courtesy is required of the Christian. I have read the truth many times that courtesy is an example of Christian charity. (Too many times to cite the source.) John Saward has in interesting essay on the subject on the EWTN website called, "The Grace of God in Courtesy." (originally published in 1994 in The Catholic World Report.)

But back to Jane Austen and Professor Cohen's essay. She writes,"But what I think is central to her popularity is a longing for civility in an age of coarseness and meanness."

Indeed, the coarseness and meanness is all around us. Good manners are important. Politeness matters. I think teaching politeness to children may have fallen out of favor in child rearing. A friend of mine working in a preschool setting told me she was corrected when she prompted three-year-olds to say please and thank you after receiving a snack. She was told they did not think three was old enough for such instruction. IMHO, if they can say the words, it's not too early for the instruction.

The proverb, "Manners maketh the man" is said to be hundreds of years old. This is wisdom of the ages.

For heaven's sake, be polite. It's a matter of treating people right.

As Cohen says in her essay, "The word 'manners' sounds prissy and old-fashioned to contemporary ears. But Austen presents it as the need to treat others humanely rather than instrumentally. It is the outward expression of respect for others-- whether one knows them well, slightly, or not at all."

Polite people are treated differently than those who are rude. People like to be treated with respect. They look more kindly on those who show that courtesy. And it is indeed a matter Christian charity.

It was true in Jane Austen's time and it's still true today.