Summary (Chapters 1 to 11) of Mary Chestnut’s Diary
Summary
Mary Chestnut’s Diary is a creation of South Carolina author Mary Boykin Chestnut that has laid out accounts of Confederate experiences during the Civil War. As the wife of Senator James Chestnut of South Carolina, Mary had numerous opportunities to join her husband in multiple locations where some of the most notable events during the war has happened. In writing the diary, Mary thought that she would be able to contribute significantly to the history of the Civil War, particularly in showing how the Confederates resisted and struggled against Union aggression (Chestnut, 2011).
For Mary, a prevailing social characteristic of the people in the Confederate states during the Civil War is the issue of gender-based roles assignment. Slavery, during the time of Mary, has been in its rampancy due to the-then ongoing discrimination against African-Americans. Mary noted that men have mostly overtaken women in terms of the-then existing power structures aimed towards them, as opposed to the inferior impression granted to women. Particularly prominent in the work of Mary is her concern on the safety and treatment towards women, which is discriminatory in nature given the perceived regard for men characterizing the perceived patriarchal system of her time, which has figured badly during the Civil War. For instance, Mary noted the conditions suffered by black women slaves who suffered from multiple rounds of abuse from their white owners and the consequent bastardization of their children upon giving birth. Such problem on gender, therefore, has intertwined problematically with class issues (Chestnut, 2011).
Apart from concern on the female gender, chapters one to 11 of Mary Chestnut’s Diary serves as a vibrant account of the apprehension Mary felt towards the issue of slavery. Slavery, in the words of Mary, is an “ostrich game” which placed victims in a highly vulnerable position. Emphasizing that women slaves have gone through highly abusive experiences, Mary have pointed out that slavery has proved to be “a curse to any land”. At the same time, however, Mary did not place high regard towards proponents of abolitionism from New England, an area within the United States (US) then forming part of the Union during her time. Mary described the likes of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau as abolitionists who did not fully live up to their avowed cause, noting that they lived comfortable lives writing books on their ideals, hence effectively detaching themselves from the reality that they vowed to help eliminate (Chestnut, 2011).
On a personal level, Mary discussed the details on the nature of her marriage with Senator Chestnut. Having gone together in numerous missions during the Civil War, Mary expressed her skepticism on the genuine nature of the romance she shared with his husband. Mary described love as something that has to do with the real attitudes and impressions partners have with one another. Acceptance of genuine personalities between romantic couples stands as the main basis of love, according to Mary. It is in that point of the contemplation of Mary in which she somewhat revealed that Senator Chestnut did not really love her as a matter of having full consent, but just as a matter of “his own conviction of duty” (Chestnut, 2011).
Throughout the progression of accounts from chapters one to 11, Mary did not fail to make her opinion against war passionately obvious. War, according to Mary, undermines human compassion, in that the greater scale brought forth by disastrous conflicts between rival parties has diminished concerns over the loss of lives and the consequent anguish of those who have felt losses. Therefore, it is noteworthy to emphasize that the first 11 chapters clearly recognized the stand of Mary against war, which does not even find any bias from her Confederate lineage (Chestnut, 2011).
One can say much about how Mary has portrayed the violence of war in the first 11 chapters of her account alone. Verily, the Civil War may have featured a factionalist imbroglio between the Union and Confederates, yet the result of such still remains the same. Mary successfully emphasized that war actually knows no favor between the conflicting parties because all of them stand to lose something in return for entering into violent clashes. Therefore, it is noteworthy to emphasize that the Civil War has duly affected Mary, having emphasized that she had numerous opportunities to witness the conflicts as she travelled with her husband.
At the same time, the first 11 chapters would seem as a reflection of Mary on her personal relationship with her husband in relation to her idea on war based on her multiple experiences during the Civil War – the feeling of loss due to the devastation of lives involved. Mary appeared as having been hardened already in her relationship with her husband, who has constantly stuck to his duties as Senator to check on places where conflict ensued. Such provides a humanistic side to Mary, who has otherwise vehemently sought justice against the terribly unfair consequences the Civil War has brought upon the people of the US, particularly on slaves.
Works Cited
Chestnut, Mary Boykin. Mary Chestnut’s Diary. New York City, NY: Penguin Group, 2011. Print.
