The Bostonians

Southern chivalry has its roots in the code of honor brought over by the English aristocrats who became Southern landowners. Though the chivalric code requires gallantry toward women, it is founded in the belief that women are “essentially inferior to men” (151). Basil shows his loyalty to the chivalric code by exhibiting courtesy toward women. He frequently refrains from making comments that will offend the women in the room, whom he often flatters. Upon first meeting her, he yearns to make an ironic retort to Mrs. Luna; however, “he remembered that this was not the way in which a Southern gentleman spoke to ladies” (8). At Miss Birdseye’s house, to show his appreciation for Dr. Prance, he “paid homage to her wisdom in the manner of Mississippi—with a richness of compliment” (34).

At the same time, Basil believes women to be “delicate, agreeable creatures, whom Providence had placed under the protection of the bearded sex” (151) and who should “accept the lot which men had made for them” (151). He believes their “rights” involve receiving “the generosity and tenderness of the stronger race” (151) and that in turn, they should be “gracious and grateful” (151). The narrator acknowledges the antiquated nature of these beliefs, informing readers, “I shall have sketched a state of mind which will doubtless strike many readers as painfully crude” (151).