A Diary from Dixie (Masterplots II: Women’s Literature Series)
At a glance:
- Author: Mary Boykin Miller
- First Published: 1905
- Type of Work: Diary
- Time of Work: 1861-1865
- Setting: Montgomery, Alabama; Richmond, Virginia; and Charleston and Camden, South Carolina
- Principal Characters: Mary Chesnut, James Chesnut, Jr., Jefferson Davis, Abraham Lincoln, Sarah Buchanan (“Buck”) Preston
- Genres: Criticism, Nonfiction, Diary, History
- Subjects: African Americans, Politics, Sexism, Gender roles, Slavery or slaves, Social issues, Women’s issues, Civil War, War, Military life or service, Soldiers
- Locales: Richmond, VA, Montgomery, AL, Charleston, SC, Camden, SC
Form and Content
Mary Chesnut kept her journal from early in 1861, just before the Civil War began, to shortly after the end of the war, in 1865. Her commentary on the conversations and events of her day reveals a keen awareness of the oppression to which women—black or white, slave or free—were subjected during that period. While she would not consider herself a feminist, her diary reveals sensibilities and concerns that place her far ahead of her time and led to problems in the publication of her work after her death.
Chesnut’s diary is also important as a...
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