The Works of Max Beerbohm · Chapter
Endnotes explained
The endnotes provide citations, explanations, and contextual anecdotes related to the main text, including references to Lady Freake's salon, the 'Jersey Lily' epithet for Mrs.
What happens
The endnotes provide citations, explanations, and contextual anecdotes related to the main text, including references to Lady Freake's salon, the 'Jersey Lily' epithet for Mrs. Langtry, the introduction of a dance step by the Prince of Wales, a contemporary description of aesthetic costumes, a note on James Whistler, and etymological theories for the term 'Masher'.
Themes in this chapter
Dandyism and Aestheticism
The endnotes discuss aesthetic costumes, the 'Masher' subculture, and figures like Whistler, all central to the dandy and aesthetic movements.
Artifice vs. Nature
The description of costumes blending 'ultra-aesthetics' with frivolous bonnets highlights the tension between artificial style and natural simplicity.
Characters to notice
- Max Beerbohm
Author of the endnotes, providing commentary and citations.
- King George IV
Referenced indirectly through the Prince of Wales (Albert Edward) who introduced a dance step.
Key passages
“There were quaint, beautiful, extraordinary costumes walking about—ultra-aesthetics, artistic-aesthetics, aesthetics that made up their minds to be daring, and suddenly gave way in some important point—put a frivolous bonnet on the top of a grave and flowing garment that Albert Durer might have designed for a mantle.”
The crowd featured a mix of striking and unusual outfits, from extreme aesthetes to those who combined serious, Dürer-like robes with playful bonnets.
This passage captures the eclectic and often contradictory fashion of the aesthetic movement.
“One authority derives the title, rather ingeniously, from Ma Chère, the mode of address used by the gilded youth to the barmaids of the period—whence the corruption, 'Masher.'”
Some suggest 'Masher' comes from 'ma chère,' a term fashionable young men used when speaking to barmaids.
This etymology links the dandy figure to urban social interactions and slang.