Life for the plantation mistress was not as depicted in the movies. It was a tough and demanding life, often endured in isolation. Plantation owners possessed women in the same way that they ruled over their vast estates. A woman's conduct was expected to fit into the stereotyped role of the times.
Southerners were famous for their splendid hospitality. Maybe it was the isolation that made the mistress so happy to have guests in the house. If someone traveled by horse or carriage, it was not unusual to drop in on a distant relative or friend to stay the night. A flurry of activity would occur to ensure the guests' every need was met. One exaggerated story tells of a prolonged stay that lasted until two children were born to the visiting couple. The couple who came to dinner and stayed for the birth of two children is most likely exaggerated, but it does show how hospitable a Southerner could be.
Celebrations were occasional, mostly seasonal. By far, Christmas was the most festive. Dances and tea parties kept plantation mistresses busy through the whole month of December. The mistress would spend a great deal of time and energy preparing the food for the holiday season. Guests were served special alcoholic concoctions: sack posset (sherry, ale, eggs, and milk), syllabub (white wine and whipped cream or songaree, a wine mix). On Christmas day a great feast occurred. The table was set with the finest of china, crystal and silver. The feast featured soups, salads, a multitude of fish/foul/meats, vegetables and many sauces. The dessert hour was an entire event, all to its own. And, do remember the table was completed reset (even the table linens) for each course of the feast that was served.
Then it was back to the grind of running a plantation with the husband often away.
Reference: Clinton, Catherine. The Plantation Mistress. New York: Pantheon Books, 1982
Southerners were famous for their splendid hospitality. Maybe it was the isolation that made the mistress so happy to have guests in the house. If someone traveled by horse or carriage, it was not unusual to drop in on a distant relative or friend to stay the night. A flurry of activity would occur to ensure the guests' every need was met. One exaggerated story tells of a prolonged stay that lasted until two children were born to the visiting couple. The couple who came to dinner and stayed for the birth of two children is most likely exaggerated, but it does show how hospitable a Southerner could be.
Celebrations were occasional, mostly seasonal. By far, Christmas was the most festive. Dances and tea parties kept plantation mistresses busy through the whole month of December. The mistress would spend a great deal of time and energy preparing the food for the holiday season. Guests were served special alcoholic concoctions: sack posset (sherry, ale, eggs, and milk), syllabub (white wine and whipped cream or songaree, a wine mix). On Christmas day a great feast occurred. The table was set with the finest of china, crystal and silver. The feast featured soups, salads, a multitude of fish/foul/meats, vegetables and many sauces. The dessert hour was an entire event, all to its own. And, do remember the table was completed reset (even the table linens) for each course of the feast that was served.
Then it was back to the grind of running a plantation with the husband often away.
Reference: Clinton, Catherine. The Plantation Mistress. New York: Pantheon Books, 1982
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