Victorian Social Interaction

In the early days of the 20th century, communication was only identified as a physical activity and was limited to face-to-face interactions. This restricted communication made interaction limited and hence, social activities and relationships thrived on physical meet ups. Owing to the shortcoming that arose as a result of inaccessible means of communication, several types of social meet up events were designed around this fact.
The elite families of the Victorian era, arranged events like charity balls and dinners, quadrillions and cotillions to catch up with those who belonged to their social circle and often times to highlight a lifestyle of much glitz and glamour.
These dancing socials with defined dancing styles like waltz, ballroom dancing and square dancing eventually became a significant highlighter of the Victorian elite class. Not only were young adults of the elite class encouraged to participate in these dancing socials but were regularly taught the sophisticated moves and etiquettes of these dances from a very young age. With specified dress codes, …show more content…
For the younger lot however, in times when interaction with the opposite gender was a taboo and young girls were taught to woo suitors from very early on, these dances became the most intimate occasions of their lives. For most young bachelors to purse a young lady and then dance with her closely with the permission of a chaperone became a larger than life opportunity. Not only were they able to intimately and most likely romantically pursue a girl but they could choose their potential partners in these set ups arranged by their parents. For the young bachelorettes, who would dress up to woo their potential suitors, these socials were nothing less than a fairytale where they got to wear their satin and silk, drenched in scent, as they waited for a handsome suitor to ask them to