The rise of the handkerchief was not simply a function of shifting social mores. It was also a part of the "civilizing process" through which the haves became readily distinguishable from the have-nots.
Like much contemporary social criticism, Cooper's story lamented women's extraordinary expenditures for "fancy articles," the ribbons, trimmings, and "gew-gaws" so prized as emblems of nineteenth-century fashion sense. Such wasteful spending on luxuries, the tale suggested, was an indication that American women were losing that crucial frugality central to their identity as mothers and housewives. "What young man," a concerned father asks, "will dare to choose a wife from among young ladies who expend so much money on their pocket handkerchiefs?"
Oh, to long for the anxieties of times past.
