Madame Geoffrin's personal acquaintance with many other influential salonnières indicates a type of formalized continuity in the salons.
Though it has been argued that women did not appear in salon societies, the training of salonnières was undertaken by older women in the same position.
Dena Goodman states, "Indeed, the history of the eighteenth century salon is a history of female apprenticeships, where younger women, such as Madame Geoffrin learned from older women, such as Madame de Tencin, and Julie de Lespinasse and Suzanne Necker learned in turn from Madame Geoffrin."
 Therefore, Madame Geoffrin spent many years in the company of Madame de Tencin, herself a highly influential salonnière, and in turn, spent much time cultivating her own protégées, namely Madame Necker and Madame Lespinasse, who would attempt to continue the salon tradition after her death.
One woman allowed admission into Madame Geoffrin's salon, Madame d'Etioles, who was to become Madame la Marquise de Pompadour after earning the French King's interest, is reputed to have offered Madame Geoffrin and her daughter opportunities to present themselves at the French Court.
It was an honor that was refused (on more than one occasion) by the salonnières.
Another salonnière, the Marquise du Deffand, can be said to have competed against Madame Geoffrin for the friendship of many prominent men of letters.
Aldis writes, "There had always been a kind of tacit rivalry between Madame Geoffrin and the Marquise du Deffand; the aristocratic Marquise sneered at her rival's low origin for the business and want of education, while Madame Geoffrin might well have ignored her taunts in the success of her salon, indisputably, the most celebrated in Paris and the civilized world."

Geoffrin's relationship with her daughter is one exception to the continuity between women in the salons.
Madame de la Ferté-Imbault, upon hearing her mother's suggestion to begin her own salon, organized the Order of Lanurelus, a type of counter-salon that acted in opposition to the serious salons of the Philosophes.
The Order of Lanurelus (of which de la Ferté-Imbault proclaimed herself Grand Mistress) ran from 1771 until around the time of Geoffrin's death in 1777. "
It was a forum not for the philosophes and their Republic of Letters, but for the anti-philosophe campaign.
Goodman writes, "The battle of the hearts and minds of the elite of the eighteenth century was, for a few years, fought out in a single house on the rue Saint-Honoré!"
Madame Geoffrin's personal acquaintance with many other influential salonnières indicates a type of formalized continuity in the salons. Though it has been argued that women did not appear in salon societies, the training of salonnières was undertaken by older women in the same position. Dena Goodman states, "Indeed, the history of the eighteenth century salon is a history of female apprenticeships, where younger women, such as Madame Geoffrin learned from older women, such as Madame de Tencin, and Julie de Lespinasse and Suzanne Necker learned in turn from Madame Geoffrin."  Therefore, Madame Geoffrin spent many years in the company of Madame de Tencin, herself a highly influential salonnière, and in turn, spent much time cultivating her own protégées, namely Madame Necker and Madame Lespinasse, who would attempt to continue the salon tradition after her death. One woman allowed admission into Madame Geoffrin's salon, Madame d'Etioles, who was to become Madame la Marquise de Pompadour after earning the French King's interest, is reputed to have offered Madame Geoffrin and her daughter opportunities to present themselves at the French Court. It was an honor that was refused (on more than one occasion) by the salonnières. Another salonnière, the Marquise du Deffand, can be said to have competed against Madame Geoffrin for the friendship of many prominent men of letters. Aldis writes, "There had always been a kind of tacit rivalry between Madame Geoffrin and the Marquise du Deffand; the aristocratic Marquise sneered at her rival's low origin for the business and want of education, while Madame Geoffrin might well have ignored her taunts in the success of her salon, indisputably, the most celebrated in Paris and the civilized world."
Geoffrin's relationship with her daughter is one exception to the continuity between women in the salons. Madame de la Ferté-Imbault, upon hearing her mother's suggestion to begin her own salon, organized the Order of Lanurelus, a type of counter-salon that acted in opposition to the serious salons of the Philosophes. The Order of Lanurelus (of which de la Ferté-Imbault proclaimed herself Grand Mistress) ran from 1771 until around the time of Geoffrin's death in 1777. "It was a forum not for the philosophes and their Republic of Letters, but for the anti-philosophe campaign. Goodman writes, "The battle of the hearts and minds of the elite of the eighteenth century was, for a few years, fought out in a single house on the rue Saint-Honoré!"
Marie Thérèse Rodet Geoffrin