Today's men need a touch of old-fashioned chivalry, reveals Downton Abbey's Lady Mary Crawley

By Daily Mail Reporter

Last updated at 9:03 AM on 25th October 2011


Women may have won equality since the days of Downton Abbey, but that doesn’t mean they don’t hanker after a degree of old-fashioned male chivalry, according to one of the show’s stars.

Actress Michelle Dockery – who plays Lady Mary Crawley in the period drama – believes modern men have lost some of the most appealing aspects of their personalities.

She explained ‘chivalry’ and good ‘manners’ were two ‘lovely’ traits which have disappeared over the decades.

Actress Michelle Dockery - who plays Lady Mary Crawley in the period drama - believes modern men have lost some of the most appealing aspects of their personalities

Asked how she thought the role of women had changed since the days of Downton, set during the First World War, Miss Dockery bemoaned a lack of social graces amongst the younger generation.

The 29-year-old told the Radio Times: ‘We take so many of our freedoms for granted nowadays.

‘I can travel where I like, I can have a baby when I like, I can do any job I want – but I do think chivalry has been lost a little bit.’

 

Miss Dockery – whose character regrets turning down her distant cousin Matthew Crawley’s marriage proposal – went on: ‘Those old manners – such as men standing when women arrive at the dinner table or opening doors for you – are lovely, and it’s lovely when you see a man doing that today.

‘But young men wouldn’t think about that for a second because it’s not the culture anymore.’

The current series of Downton Abbey, airing on ITV1, has received criticism for the amount of adverts being shown while it is on air

And her co-star Laura Carmichael, 25, who plays Lady Edith Crawley, said: ‘The requirement in those days to find a husband, simply to survive financially, was just awful.

‘But for the drama it’s great because there is a real sense of jeopardy for the girls and that’s what Julian [Fellowes, creator of the series] writes so wonderfully.’

The second series of Downtown Abbey is currently airing on ITV1.

But the show has attracted criticism over the amount of advertisements during each episode. One viewer recently declared: ‘Nice of ITV to broadcast a bit of Downton Abbey between the ad breaks.’

Downton Abbey writers have also been criticised for letting characters use ‘modern’ expressions such as ‘get knotted’ and ‘shafted’.

Both expressions are believed to have originated in the 1960s.

Daily Mail
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2053092/Why-todays-men-need-touch-old-fashioned-chivalry-reveals-Downton-Abbey-star-Michelle-Dockery.html#ixzz1eC8st2mB