Mrs.

Mrs redirects here. See also MRS.

Mrs. (or Mrs), is a title used for women, usually married women. The pronunciation varies regionally but is usually Missiz or Missus. It is rarely spelt out; one variant, in the works of Thomas Hardy and others, is "Mis'ess".

In the United Kingdom, most Commonwealth countries, and Ireland, a full stop (in the U.S. a "period") does not usually follow the abbreviated form: "I saw Mrs Price at the office talking to Mr Brown."

Mrs. originated as a contraction of the title "Mistress", the feminine of "Mister" or "Master", which was originally applied to both married and unmarried women. The title split into "Mrs." for married women and "Miss" for unmarried women during the 17th Century.

Contents

1 Usage

1.1 Marital status
1.2 Modern social use

2 Foreign equivalents
3 See also
4 References

Usage

The title may be used with the last name alone, or with the first and last name. Traditionally, the title "Mrs." was used only with the husband's full name: for example, "Mrs. John Doe", for a married woman or widow. In the United Kingdom, the traditional form for a divorcée is "Mrs Jane Doe". In the U.S., the form "Mrs. [Maiden Name] Doe" was traditionally used, with the maiden surname in place of the first name, but the form "Mrs. Jane Doe" has since become common as well.

The plural of "Mrs.", rarely used, is the French "Mesdames", pronounced in the same manner and usually written in its abbreviated form, "Mmes". In direct address, a woman with the title "Mrs." will usually be addressed as "Madam", or in the United States as "Ma'am."

Marital status

The separation of Miss and Mrs became problematic as women entered the workforce following industrialization. Women who became famous or well known in their professional circles before marriage often kept their birth names, stage names or noms de plume. Miss became a default title for celebrities (Miss Helen Hayes, Miss Amelia Earhart) but this also proved problematic, as when a married woman did use her husband’s name but was still referred to as ‘Miss’. See more at Miss and Ms.

'Mrs' is only used with a woman's maiden name in limited circumstances. Before social mores relaxed to the point where single women with children were socially acceptable, the "unwed mother" was often advised by etiquette mavens like Elizabeth Post to use 'Mrs' with her maiden name as a subterfuge to make life easier for herself and her child. The use of 'Mrs' as a default for all women is occasionally employed following the custom of European countries (see below).

Since the term Mr. does not indicate whether a man is married or not, many feminists believed that a woman's title should not indicate marital status either. For this reason, the title Ms. was advocated as an equivalent to Mr., particularly in business usage. Many married women choose to forgo the use of "Mrs.", particularly in professional life, even those who choose to take their husband's name. Instead, these women use "Ms." However, "Mrs." remains a popular title, more popular than "Miss".

In several other European languages, the title used for married women, such as Madame, Señora, Bean(-uasal), Signora, or Frau, is the direct feminine equivalent of the title used for men; the title for unmarried women is a diminutive: Mademoiselle, Señorita, Maighdeann(-uasal), Signorina or Fräulein. For this reason, usage has shifted towards using the married title as the default for all women in professional usage. This has occasionally been followed in England, for example, royal nannies have been called "Mrs" as a mark of respect.

Ambrose Bierce once satirically proposed that, as a parallel to Miss, the title of unmarried men should be Mush.

Modern social use

It is now rather uncommon for women to use their husband's first name, except in compounds such as "Mr. and Mrs. John Doe". The form is still used in formal invitations, and when the husband is famous or well-known in business or professional circles.

A current discussion in etiquette is the question of how to address married couples in which the wife does not choose to use her husband's name, or uses a title other than "Mrs.", such as "Dr." Etiquette writer Judith Martin ("Miss Manners") recommends addressing the couple on separate lines:

Ms. Jane Smith

Mr. John Jones

Martin has also offered advice for referring to a lesbian couple who have adopted one surname, in the form "Mmes Alice and Carol Roe". Should they retain individual surnames, the separate-lines advice applies as above (ie. "Mmes Alice Roe and Carol Davies").

In Australia, New Zealand and the UK, the word "missus" is commonly used as a reference to a girlfriend or partner. This is used as slang and not in a formal manner.

The term "M.R.S. degree" has been used derogatorily to denote women attending college to find a husband, either out of own volition or as the result of societal pressures enforcing stereotypical gender roles.PBS American Experience. "People & Events: Mrs. America: Women's Roles in the 1950s", [accessed July 16, 2006].

Foreign equivalents

Foreign equivalents of Mrs are:

Danish, Norwegian and Swedish Fru (Fr.)
Dutch Mevrouw (Mevr. or Mw.)
Estonian Proua (Pr.)
Finnish Rouva (Rva)
French Madame (Mme)
German Frau (Fr.)
Irish Bean
Italian Signora (Sig.ra)
Polish Pani
Portuguese Senhora (Sra.)
Scots Gaelic Bean(-uasal) (A' Bh(uas).)
Slovenian Gospa (Ga.)
Spanish Señora (Sra.)
Welsh Bonesig

References

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