“Ladies & Gentlemen”
Meerim Umetalieva
Strayer University

Castiglione’s The Book of the Courtier is a sort of guide to the qualities expected of ladies and gentlemen of the court. Book of the work is a long conversation on the proper station of the court ladies.
The discussion on the Court lady began from an argument over the proper way to tell a joke to a woman. The Court lady was to have cautiousness, continence, and fairness, to "shun affectation," be graceful and well mannered, modest, clever, never jealous or insulting, loyal and in good repute with her mistress and skilled. For her more than for the gentleman it was important to have good looks and to appear virtuous at all times so as to avoid suspicions of immodest behavior,
I did this survey in order to compare the results with the characteristics given in the book by Castiglione. The survey was conducted by simply asking the question, “Which characteristics would you give to a lady and a gentleman today?” Most of the people gave the same characteristics for both ladies and gentlemen.
Five people gave the general characteristics which would apply to nice people, as: friendly, educated, willing to lend a helping hand, modest, wise, respectful, tenderness and softness.
Few of them gave more detailed explanation: “A lady is polite, kind, and gentle. She tries to care for all the people around her. She is not weak or too quiet, but she does not draw too much attention to herself. She has a strong opinion and is not afraid to say it, but she is willing to listen to what others say as well. She cares about her outward appearance, but only to bless others and to represent that she is responsible, not out of vanity; she realizes that her appearance is of much less value than her lifestyle and personality, and she is secure in who she is. A gentleman shares many of the same characteristics of a lady in that he is kind and caring to all those around him.
He is decisive and