A PEACOCK PARADES ON THE GROUNDS OF AN OLD MANSION
Class acts. Aristocratic bearing and tastes. Gaining admittance to elite circles vs. causing tongues to cluck and losing favor. Peacocks as guard animals-guarding established society from parvenus (crashing the gate). Arbiters of fashions and values. Enjoying wealth and status without taking it too seriously. Retaining a good balance of dignity and humility regardless of social position. Maintaining appearances (vanity; peevish imperiousness). Daring extension of traditional artistic forms (going too far with splashy effects; tail end of a tradition; decadence or kitsch). Gracefulness vs. gawkiness. Good manners vs. scandalous displays. Refined artistic tastes.