在英劇《唐頓莊園》中 Lady Mary 提到她婚後可以在床上吃早餐，為什麼未婚女子不能在床上吃早餐？為什麼男子無論婚否都不在床上吃早餐？

01-14

1.在當時貴族生活中，早餐是唯一的self-served meal.

2.夫妻生活讓人exhausted……

3.女性起床出房間的準備時間是很長的，尤其是貴族、婚後（其實關鍵因素是年齡）

4.在當時貴族生活中，需要已婚貴婦們早起做的事情不多吧？而待嫁女性，早起的鳥兒有金龜婿啊！好好由里而外完善自己各種social才是正事啊！（當時觀念結婚就是女性的最大使命了吧）

5.Gentleman在床上吃早餐，有失尊貴不太decent啊……

6.一個假想：如果已婚夫婦都在床上吃早餐的話，那麼不管是男僕還是女僕，端早餐進來都有些不妥吧……實際上這種「夫妻空間」僕人是都不宜在場的。所以為了把這種享受留給ladies，Gentlemen就早早起床更衣出門吃飯去啦~

參考資料http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/william-hanson/downton-etiquette-explain_5_b_2037548.html

補充：

Ladies at breakfast
A question I am asked almost every day by email, Twitter or in person is "why do unmarried ladies come down to breakfast and married ladies remain in bed". As I have said before, breakfast was the only meal of the day that was "self service". Married ladies had very little to get up for in the mornings and it would take them much longer to get ready and so there was no need to rush down (remember - the women of the aristocracy had very little to do! ) Unmarried ladies would want to get ready quicker in order to receive potential suitors. (Remember Dowager Lady Grantham"s suggestion to Lady Edith to take up watercolouring.)

參見：http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/mobileweb/william-hanson/downton-etiquette-explain_5_b_2037548.html

如果婦女已婚，那麼可以在床上用早餐，因為人們通常認為她已不必再為尋覓良偶而社交了。對於在餐桌用早餐的女士們而言，早餐通常是自助形式的，有利於社交。