The Confederate belle / Giselle Roberts.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Roberts, Giselle, 1974- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Women, White--Confederate States of America--Social conditions.

Women, White.

Elite (Social sciences)--Confederates States of America--History.

Elite (Social sciences).

United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Women.

United States.

United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Social aspects.

Mississippi--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Women.

Mississippi.

Mississippi--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Social aspects.

Louisiana--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Women.

Louisiana.

Louisiana--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Social aspects.

Confederate States of America--Social conditions.

Confederate States of America.

Southern States--Social conditions--19th century.

Southern States.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (259 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Columbia, Missouri ; London, [England] : University of Missouri Press, 2003.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

"While historians have examined the struggles and challenges that confronted the Southern plantation mistress during the American Civil War, until now no one has considered the ways in which the conflict shaped the lives of elite young women, otherwise known as belles. In The Confederate Belle, Giselle Roberts uses diaries, letters, and memoirs to uncover the unique wartime experiences of young ladies in Mississippi and Louisiana. In the plantation culture of the antebellum South, belles enhanced their family's status through their appearance and accomplishments and, later, by marrying well." "During the American Civil War, a new patriotic womanhood superseded the antebellum feminine ideal. It demanded that Confederate women sacrifice everything for their beloved cause, including their men, homes, fine dresses, and social occasions, to ensure the establishment of a new nation and the preservation of elite ideas about race, class, and gender. As menfolk answered the call to arms, southern matrons had to redefine their roles as mistresses and wives. Southern belles faced a different, yet equally daunting task. After being prepared for a delightful "bellehood," young ladies were forced to reassess their traditional rite of passage into womanhood, to compromise their understanding of femininity at a pivotal time in their lives. They found themselves caught between antebellum traditions of honor and of gentility, a binary patriotic feminine ideal and wartime reality."--BOOK JACKET. Book jacket.

Contents:

Intro

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

1 "When I Am Grown

2 The Trumpet of War Is Sounding

3 Keeping House

4 The Confederate Belle

5 "How Has the Mighty Fallen

6 "The Yankees Are Coming

7 "Our Slaves Are Gone

EPILOGUE The Confederate Belle in Defeat, 1865-1870

Notes

Bibliography

Index.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

1-4175-2888-5

0-8262-6358-5

OCLC:

56422735