A finished coquette at a ball asked a gentleman near her while she adjusted her tucker, whether he could flirt a fan which she held in her hand.'No, Madame,' answered he, proceeding to use it, 'but I can fan a flirt." -- Joke Upon Joke (New Haven, 1818), p. 27
In times past, lady would no sooner leave the house without her hat or gloves as without her fan. In the years before central air conditioning, it was an essential tool, not only for comfort but also communication. Made of wood or ivory and embellished with anything from small mirrors and jewels to portraits and feathers, fans were certainly a versatile accessory. Fans, plain or fancy, with paint or lace trim, in any size or shape were certainly a necessity.
In Jane Austen's Mansfield Park, for instance, we find Fanny Price over heated and exhausted from dancing at a ball- her brother, William's, ministrations appear somewhat comical compared to the languid, ladylike fluttering we often imagine:
"When her two dances with him were over, her inclination and strength for more were pretty well at an end; and Sir Thomas, having seen her walk rather than dance down the shortening set, breathless, and with her hand at her side, gave his orders for her sitting down entirely. From that time Mr. Crawford sat down likewise.
"Poor Fanny!" cried William, coming for a moment to visit her, and working away his partner's fan as if for life, "how soon she is knocked up! Why, the sport is but just begun. I hope we shall keep it up these two hours. How can you be tired so soon?"
"So soon! my good friend," said Sir Thomas, producing his watch with all necessary caution; "it is three o'clock, and your sister is not used to these sort of hours."
-Mansfield park
In their book, Accessories of Dress, Katherine Lester and Bess Oerke state that, "The great triumph of the fan in the 18th cy led to the establishment of certain conventions and gestures in handling the fan which were considered of first importance. In gesture, in repose, the lady was invariably revealed by the way she managed her fan! Though she possessed all the charms of beauty and distinction and failed in this, she passed quietly into social oblivion." With the fading of elaborate "Court Manners" during the Regency, the manipulation of the fan became of less importance, though it retained it's place "as a natural extension of feminine body language, slightly refined and channeled by precepts of etiquette." The art of "fluttering", (fanning one's self in a graceful, and at times, meaningful way) was said to take three months to master, and many girls doubtlessly spent hours practicing.
By Victorian times, the fan had once again become the symbol of feminine flirtation. Towards the end of the 19th century, we find lists, however comical, being drawn up. These lists, though humorous today, were published for the "education" of young ladies. (Is it really so different from much of what is published in today's teen magazines?) Some some of these gestures and their meanings follow:
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Laura Boyle is fascinated by all aspects of Jane Austen's life. She is the proprietor of Austentation: Regency Accessories, creating custom hats, bonnets, reticules and more for customers around the globe. Her work can be found in the Jane Austen Centre's Blog, Jane Austen's Regency World, and other Austen related works. Cooking with Jane Austen and Friends is her first book. Laura's greatest joy is the time she is able to spend at home with her family (1 amazing husband, 5 adorable children, 2 hamsters, a papaya loving rabbit and 1 very strange dog).