7 - Tea Party

           During the practice for the essay, I noticed how the Oscar Wilde passage critiqued Victorian society in that matters of quarrel were done over tea parties in the form of snide remarks. A main point they use against each other, specifically in how one of the women made fun of her social status. Wilde most likely acknowledges this in order to show how class dictated how you were treated in every facet in Victorian society, despite the fact that the notion of class was not relevant to the argument they were having. 

I think there are some parallels between the Victorian society that Wilde portrays with our current order of manners in the 21st century. While it is not as influential today like it was 200 years ago, there can still be discrimination in the societal bracket you take place in. Much of the premium trends, like fashion, are hitched on the idea that the price tag directly correlates with value instead of the quality of the product. This can lead to a hierarchy in some cultural circles in which you need to be able to spend on a certain matter or hobby to participate in it, much like in the 19th century. 

Another aspect that is still prevalent in discussion and the social spheres is the idea of using manners. In Victorian society, manners are used in order to display your fluency in participating in the social spheres, with more emphasis of manners with higher-ups. Our society is much the same in that manners is key to show your knowledge in interaction, however it is unusual now to have a tea party over a marriage problem.