Dorothy Parker's Critique of Emily Post's Etiquette Manual
This paper examines Dorothy Parker's satirical essay "Mrs. Post Enlarges on Etiquette," originally published in The New Yorker in 1927, in which Parker critiques Emily Post's influential etiquette manual. The paper outlines Parker's central thesis — that rigidly correct manners eliminate spontaneity and reduce human interaction to robotic compliance — while also offering a balanced counter-critique. It identifies logical weaknesses in Parker's argument, including the fallacy of exaggeration and false analogy, and defends the practical value of Post's guidance for specific social contexts. The paper ultimately suggests that, while Parker's wit is sharp, she underestimates the genuine social utility of etiquette.
- Introduction: Parker, Post, and the Social Context: Historical background on Parker, Post, and social class
- Parker's Core Argument Against Etiquette: Parker argues etiquette suppresses spontaneous human interaction
- Parker's Rhetorical Strategy and Its Weaknesses: Parker's methods examined; fallacies of exaggeration and false analogy identified
- A Defense of Post's Perspective: Post's etiquette manual has genuine practical social value
- Conclusion: Wit Versus Practicality: Parker is witty but underestimates etiquette's contextual utility
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What makes this paper effective
- It moves beyond pure summary to offer genuine critical analysis, identifying specific logical fallacies — exaggeration and false analogy — in Parker's satirical argument.
- It maintains a balanced perspective, acknowledging Parker's wit while defending Post's practical value for specific social contexts and audiences.
- It anchors the literary discussion in historical and social context, noting how shifting class paradigms in 1920s America made etiquette a culturally charged subject.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates counter-argumentation within a literary analysis framework. Rather than simply agreeing with the author being analyzed, the student identifies weaknesses in Parker's rhetorical strategy — particularly her tendency to push Post's examples to illogical extremes — and uses these to mount a partial defense of the text Parker satirizes. This technique elevates the essay from descriptive to genuinely analytical.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with historical and biographical context establishing the cultural stakes of the Parker–Post debate. It then explains Parker's thesis, analyzes her rhetorical methods and logical flaws, pivots to a defense of Post's perspective, and closes with a concise evaluative conclusion. The structure follows a compare-and-evaluate pattern well suited to literary criticism at the undergraduate level.
Introduction: Parker, Post, and the Social Context
In her essay "Mrs. Post Enlarges on Etiquette," originally published in The New Yorker on December 31, 1927, and later reprinted in Essays in Context, the satirist and author Dorothy Parker critiqued the widely consulted manual of etiquette by the noted hostess Mrs. Emily Post. Although etiquette is often dismissed as mere manners, the question of how one should comport oneself in society was of profound concern in the America of Parker and Post's day, where shifting social paradigms had unsettled notions of what it meant to be middle or upper class.
Parker was not of Mrs. Post's milieu, but of the creative or bohemian classes, and she therefore wrote a critique of the idea that good manners could be achieved by following a copybook or step-by-step process. Parker's intent was not simply to satirize, but to question notions of etiquette altogether — behave and say what you like, she stressed.
Parker's Core Argument Against Etiquette
Parker's main thesis was that focusing too much on good manners and correct social behavior, as prescribed by Mrs. Post, eliminates most of the spontaneity that is inherent to human interaction. Those who have mastered etiquette — who are entirely, impeccably correct at all times in their speech and behavior — would seem to arrive at what Parker describes as a social and rhetorical "valley of exquisite dullness." To behave with proper etiquette in the terms set by Mrs. Post, Parker argues, is not to be human but to be a robot, moving in line with what one is told to do. To behave with civility and good manners is, in Parker's view, to abandon what it means to be wonderfully and delightfully human.
Conclusion: Wit Versus Practicality
Parker is funny, but she misses the point of Mrs. Post's discussion of manners. Mrs. Post speaks to a specific audience — one not seeking to create original prose or wit at a party, but simply hoping to get through an evening with a minimum of discomfort. For a person anxious about an upcoming dinner at a fiancée's parents' home, Mrs. Post's reference manual might prove enlightening rather than constraining. One need not be dull, but before displaying one's character in full force — with all the strength of one's opinions and vigor — a measure of restraint may be necessary. Unless, of course, one is Dorothy Parker.
Works Cited
Parker, Dorothy. "Mrs. Post Enlarges on Etiquette." Essays in Context. Editors Sandra Tropp and Ann D'Angelo. New York: Oxford University Press, 2001.
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