Wednesday, April 19, 2023

1675 On the Gait or Gesture of the Proper 17C Gentlewoman

Wenceslaus Hollar (European-born English artist, 1607-1677) Young woman with scarf on her head, after Bonsignori. 1645


Hannah Woolley. The Gentlewoman's Companion: or, A Guide to the Female Sex. London, A Maxwell for Edward Thomas, Bookseller. 1675.


Of the Gait or Gesture

It is an easie matter to gather the disposition of our heart, by the dimension of our Gait. A light carriage most commonly discovers a loose inclination; as jetting and strutting, shew haughtiness and self-conceit. Were your bodies transparent, you could not more perspicuously display your levity than by wanton Gesticulations.