I absolutely believe that a man should practice these points of etiquette. Along the same lines, there are points of etiquette a lady should always practice. These were taught to me by my mother, and I hate finding out that other women were not ever taught how to be a "lady".
1. Never interrupt a conversation in progress.
2. Always be gracious, and smile when your husband or beau walks in the room. People (especially other women) love drama, and love starting rumors. All it takes is a misplaced frown when your spouse walks in the room and the whispers will start.
3. Even if you KNOW your husband is wrong, keep your tongue until you are in private. Along the same lines, always champion your man. If he is not holding his own, grab your longsword and defend him. Period.
4. Always, always, always come when called. No conversation is too important that you cannot be called away by the man you profess to love. Excuse yourself graciously and attend to your man. Never leave him waiting for more time than it takes to stop and pour him his favorite drink.
5. Make an attempt to be "lovely" for your husband daily. If you're sick, that's a different story, but all other things withstanding, try to dab a bit of perfume on your neck and a bit of lip gloss on those luscious lips just before he walks in the door.
6. Don't air your dirty laundry in public. Your husband has enough manners to help you put on your coat and open the door for you. You need to show him the same respect in turn by not complaining to your friends or family about his snoring, irritating habits or tone of voice. Those are not anybody else's business. They didn't marry him, you did. Cope.
7. Say please and thank you. A proper woman does not forget her manners in anybodies presence.
8. And last but not least, after doing all of these things during the day, bring the walls down in the bedroom at night. The perfect woman, as everybody knows, is a lady in public and a whore in bed.
The moral is, of course, that women have rules that they "ought" to follow as well. I notice more and more that people wear their blue jeans to the opera, argue in public, don't know how to set a table, and refuse to be kind and chivalrous to one another. It's pathetic, and it makes me sad. I wish more women were ladies and more men were gentlemen - but that's the way it is, I suppose. I have a theory about this that has something to do with bad breeding and liberal politics, but I'll keep that to myself.