The Ideal Hostess in "The Country of the Pointed Firs"

I found Mrs. Todd's elderly mother quite interesting. The narrator observes, "...she had the gift which so many women lack, of being able to make themselves and their houses belong entirely to a guest's pleasure... (Jewett 46). This idea that some women are not as good at being hostesses than others plays into the ideas of the "New Woman." If before, the woman's job was to be a homemaker and do exactly what Mrs. Blackett does, then when the narrator concludes that her behavior is outstanding as compared to that of others, then Mrs. Blackett is just as much of a "New Woman" as Mrs. Todd or the narrator. Today, this idea would not sound so strange; people say it all the time when they visit someone else's home, but because it is in this setting and time period it is different.