What it means to be a lady

There's a lady, Shelle, that I have that I've known for a few years. I've seen her when she was "out there," the colloquial term that clients give to being in their active addiction. When I first knew her, she was still actively using and prostituting and had attitude to spare - she would lash out at someone before taking their help. This last time has been different and she's been more earnest about her recovery, and more successful. She hasn't used in over a year, after 20+ years on the street.
After several months of working together, she informed me that she watches me and my other women co-workers. She said, "I don't know what it means to be a lady, but I want to be. I want to learn how to be a lady. I watch all of you, the way you walk or carry yourselves, to see how you do it." She brings that idea up frequently in our one-on-ones as she and I talk about her efforts.
She has an 18 year old daughter who saw her while she was using and has begun to emulate those actions. She is living with a man 20 years her senior, and Shelle has seen her on the streets. She knows what her daughter is doing. For a short time, her daughter was living with her. Shelle remained firm in boundaries she was setting for her home, boundaries that any lady would set, and boundaries that were completely new to her daughter. Shelle did not know how long her daughter would stay, and she was trying to instill them into her daughter in the time that she had. At one point, after her daughter hadn't showered for several days and Shelle said, "It's time for you to take a bath. Ladies bathe themselves, and you're a lady. I know I didn't set that example for you when you were younger, and I was wrong for that, so I'm telling you now these things that I'm learning. You are a lady."
Her daughter left shortly after that interaction, again living with that older man, again living "out there." Shelle is distraught with concern about the best way to help and guilt about past errors. Despite this, however, or perhaps in anticipation of the day that her daughter comes back to her, she consistently strives to set an example of "ladyness," while simultaneously learning what it means to be a lady. The changes have been remarkable, and it's a blessing to be with her as she learns these new things. It's also profound to see her put faith in the hope that, though she can't see the effects of her choices now, little changes she makes will reap great rewards. This faith, I think, is one of the cornerstones of the definition of a lady.