After I typed in my last installment on beauty shops in old Lawrence, I wanted to see a Marcel wave.  So I did a google search.  I found an article about Victorian hair.  It includes this quote:

"Curly hair was meant to indicate a sweeter temperament, while straight-haired girls were considered reserved or even awkward.  A woman's hair was profoundly important to the overall effect she was able to make.  Reaching the age when the hair could be put up was a rite of passage in her life, and often there were several interim stages, where a plait would be loosely put up with a ribbon, to signify the coming event."

The full article is at http://www.hairarchives.com/private/victorian1new.htm

And there's other hair history stuff at http://www.hairarchives.com/private/mainnew.htm