Ladies’ Departure from the Dining-Room

The practice of having the ladies retire either to a drawing-room or parlor following dinner is well-established in literature and film, and most readers are probably at least somewhat familiar with it. It is a bit difficult to find an explanation of this custom, or information as to just what its origins were. E. Cobham Brewer, in his Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898), states that “Ladies retire to the drawing-room after dinner, and leave the gentlemen behind. This custom was brought in by the Norsemen. The Vikings always dismissed all women from their drinking parties.”
Mrs. Corey says to her husband, “I suppose you will want your coffee here,” and then departs with the rest of the ladies. This appears to be a concession to Corey’s personal preference, for according to Correct Social Usage, “As a rule…the men and women take their coffee together at the table, and then the ladies retire to the drawing-room” (411).
It would seem from the text that the practice of separating the sexes during their respective consumption of after-dinner alcohol and the gentlemen’s smoking of cigars was restricted to the higher levels of society (at least at this point in time), as Silas begins to follow Mrs. Corey out of the room as she departs.