A Saint

Mary Boykin Chesnut…who was she really? I have found that in my discussions with an author, history buffs, and family that there are many views. A popular one is that she was an abolitionist and feminist before her time. The theory comes from her comments in her diaries. She ridicules the institution of slavery and displays her frustration in the role of southern belle that she has been thrust in.

I believe that Mary was highly intelligent, strong willed, and could wield her pen like a sword. She loved the life of the big city. She basked in the light of Washington, Charleston, and Richmond. With these cities came a social life that she would never experience again after the Civil War.

She loathed the role of women in the ante-bellum south…to always be supportive, submissive, graceful, and content to live in their husband’s shadow. She detested the institution of slavery, not because it trampled the natural rights of mankind to be free. Instead, she despised slavery because of the sexual abuse exercised by some white male plantation owners, the need for constant discipline to get the job done, and the cost of supporting large slave communities. She believed that for every slave worker there were two others either too old or to young to work.

Yet, she never turned away the benefits of slavery or the role of women in society. Never did she release a slave or refuse the attention of slaves in her everyday living. She never publicly advocated the abolition of this horrific institution and only in a letter to her husband did she vent her frustration. Of course, this letter has not been found to support her statement.

Mary loved the social life and attention given to females. The benefits of being treated like a lady from courtesies granted her sex to the acceptance of moods and statements made by a woman because of her gender. While the previous statement reeks of male chauvinism, there can be some perceived benefits to being put on a pedestal.

Mary Boykin Chesnut was special. Special because she put to paper what many other women felt in the ante-bellum south. Her observations provide us a view of her world in a turbulent time with a candor rarely exhibited.

General James Chesnut, Jr. must have been a saint. by Bruce A. Brown