White lies, polite lies [ Reading & Writing / Communication ]
… seen as a refusal to perform in the role(s) appointed by polite society. Diaries and journals such as those of Frances Burney or Hester Thrale illustrate occasions on which women used polite lies in conversation. These occasions might be … and thus led to a good deal of anxiety and even pre-emptive protestations of honesty in an act of self-defence. Frances Burney, for instance, claimed that ‘all that I relate in Journalizing is strictly, nay plainly Fact: I never, in all my … as a form of politeness that proved her good breeding. On getting acquainted with a Lady Miller at Bath, for instance, Burney wrote home about how kindly that lady treated her , a budding young author, only to add a cautionary protestation …
Conversation | Falsehood | Lies | Politeness
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