Sternly, maybe could just be grim ( formiadable, harsh, uninviting, depressing, lack of humor, etc)
<span>This is a phrase by Bernard Shaw, Act 3 of Pygmalion.
He is describing how ill-natured sober men can be, and how their wives make them drunk in order to make them happy and to "make them fit to live with."</span>
It shows the style of dance , how people dressed and the overall topic and talk of the Jazz Age . It also shows prohibition , a massive part of this period in time , the banning of all alcohol.
