Mrs. Tiffany: Do you think so, Millinette? Well, I believe I have. But a woman of refinement and of fashion can always accommodate herself to everything foreign! And a week's study of that invaluable work-"French without a Master," has made me quite at home in the court language of Europe!.
In the dialogue, it is easy to see that Mrs. Tiffany considers herself to be part of New York's "elite" and because of this, wants to know all the latest French fashions and the French language. She shows the reader that it is a human trait to immitate those we admire or envy. That means we imitate those who are above us in class hierarchy. Mrs. Tiffany, along with other American women in the 1800s, had this belief that the French were above them. They thought that American ways, sayings, and belongings (designs, items) were vulgar and the only ways to stay in the upper class and be accepted was to imitate the French and have everything from Paris.
France, in the 1800s, considered itself to be the most powerful, most rapidly expanding nation on the continent. It was growing rapidly after the Revolution in the late .
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1700's, and was moving back into the way it used to be before then. Once again the Parisians began to feel that it was their taste and sophistication that set the standards for everyone else. The cosmopolitan air that had been the chief characteristic of the city before, was returning, and with the return of its cosmopolitan attitude came the arrival of foreign visitors. Everyone who wanted to have a good time knew to come to Paris. Visitors would come just to partake in the conversation, which was considered an art because of the extraordinary blend of intelligence, wit, and humor. Also, people would come to visit fashion establishments, such as the one owned by Mlle Bertins, who was known for her sheer, dazzling chic designs and inventing the French couture as read in The World of 1800 by Olivier Bernier.
