Kipps · Chapter
Epigraph explained
The epigraph quotes from 'Manners and Rules of Good Society' by a Member of the Aristocracy, suggesting that the book will serve as a guide for those unfamiliar with the manners and amenities of polite society.
What happens
The epigraph quotes from 'Manners and Rules of Good Society' by a Member of the Aristocracy, suggesting that the book will serve as a guide for those unfamiliar with the manners and amenities of polite society.
Themes in this chapter
Snobbery and Pretension
The epigraph introduces the theme of social rules and the desire to navigate high society, hinting at the pretensions and anxieties surrounding class.
Key passages
“Those individuals who have lead secluded or isolated lives, or have hitherto moved in other spheres than those wherein well-bred people move, will gather all the information necessary from these pages to render them thoroughly conversant with the manners and amenities of society.”
People who have lived apart from fashionable society can learn everything they need from this book to fit in with the upper classes.
The epigraph sets up the novel's concern with social mobility and the rules of polite behavior.