Carreno's Manual

The Manual of Civility and Good Manners was popularly known as the Manual de Carreño. It was written by the Venezuelan Manuel Antonio Carreño in Venezuela, in 1853. This work contains lessons and advice on how people should behave in public and private places, such as home, family, school and work. In recent years, the academic world has paid new attention to the antecedents of this type of text in the Latin American world and its distant origin in the Classical World.

Since its first publication and to date, it has been reprinted and adapted numerous times. From him come expressions such as: "you have to consult the Carreño", to address issues of personal and professional behavior. This manual was so important and well known that it has been mentioned in some novels. For example, in the novel Like Water for Chocolate, by Laura Esquivel.

Origin of civility manuals

In the 19th century, most of these manuals were inspired by French and English editions. His lessons could be applied in most countries, because they dealt with places and situations considered common. For example: at home, on the street, at a dance, with the family.

In Mexico, they were mainly used by middle and upper class people. Each manual is aimed at different audiences according to gender, age (children or adults) or for a general public.

These manuals were used both at home and in some schools. Most were based on Christian morality. They emphasized control of the body and encouraged habits such as helping the needy and values such as humility.^{[citation required]}

They had their heyday at the beginning of the 20th century. Today, many of these manuals that were passed from generation to generation or that were inherited by grandmothers are preserved. In the case of the Manual de Carreño, it continues to be published, and although it is no longer so usual to consult it, some of its rules continue. Example: respect parents, clean up before leaving home, walk on the sidewalk and say hello.^{[citation required]}

Greeting

The behaviors and customs mentioned in this manual, evidenced in Hollywood films adapted to this period, are constantly emphasized, such as the films of the famous Titanic transatlantic, wrecked in 1912. However, some of the precepts of Carreño's Manual of Urbanity began to be severely questioned, starting in 1945 at the end of World War II, with its deadly balances.

Structure of the book

The manual is divided into “Moral Duties of Man” and “Curtain”. Each one contains chapters where the lessons applicable in different situations and spaces are disclosed. It also contains subchapters where the contents of the chapter are presented and ranked. This structure facilitates the reading of the manual, since if you needed to consult a specific piece of information, for example: manners at the table. It was not necessary to read the entire manual, but rather, by consulting the index, the reader finds what he needs in "Urbanidad".

At the beginning of each chapter and subchapter, the existence of that rule is justified and it concludes with the presentation of the rules. Some editions of the manual contain images, which illustrate the rule or suggest some appropriate body movement for the situation. For example, the posture to pray.

Chapters of the 1865 edition

Titles and chapters included in the 1865 edition:

Moral duties of man

• Chapter 1: duties with God.
• Chapter 2: duties with society: parents, homeland and our fellow men.
• Chapter 3: the Duties with ourselves.

Rules of urbanity

• Chapter 1: General principles
• Chapter 2: From the toilet: from our person, dresses, from the room and for others.
• Chapter 3: Within the house: when we dress, when we rise, with the family and neighbors.
• Chapter 4: Out of the house: the street, the temple and houses of education.
• Chapter 5: With society: the conversations, visits, the table and the information with which it is played.
• Chapter 6: Urban applications

Carreño's manual today

Reprints and adaptations

• Manual of urbanity and good ways for the use of the youth of both sexes; in which are the main rules of civility and label that must be observed in the various social situations; preceded by a brief treatise on the moral duties of man of 1854: Published in New York by D. Appleton & Company.
• Compendium of the Carreño 1875 manual: This edition retains the original text, contains some lithographs and it is possible to find it online.
• Latest editions: one of them is the one published by New Image publishing house, is named after Carreño manual. Urbanity and good ways. In this edition, the original text was retained, because some of these standards are essentially still in force. His contribution lies in explaining the historical context under which many of the rules emerged.
• 20th century adaptations: One of them is Carreño manual for children Gretel García and Eduardo Torrijos. In this edition it is sought through stories to encourage good manners and habits in children. [1]
• 21st century adaptations: includes new modernized entries, such as "netiqueta" or behavior on social networks, rules to coexist in the means of transport, office, gyms, cell phone use, responsible possession of pets and others.

Other manuals of good manners

Examples of manuals that were used in Mexico in the XIX century:

• Education of mothers or civilization of human lineage through women (1870), from L. Aimé-Martin. (France)
• The Handbook of Women (1881), D.L.J. Verdollin.
• Letters on the Education of the Beautiful Sex, of P. Ackmann, Mexico
• The handbook of Roland Carreño, of Roland, of Roland Carreño (Venezuela)