Megan Taylor Shockley
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- March 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780814783191
- eISBN:
- 9780814786529
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9780814783191.003.0008
- Subject:
- History, American History: 19th Century
This chapter details how Rebecca's story had reached a wider audience and from there, had encouraged her to shape her own legend for the community. During the 1870s and beyond Rebecca added to her ...
More
This chapter details how Rebecca's story had reached a wider audience and from there, had encouraged her to shape her own legend for the community. During the 1870s and beyond Rebecca added to her story significantly, in a way that made her appear even more the exciting, romantic heroine in her own maritime tale. By making a point to recount her version of her maritime experience to the wider community, Rebecca ensured the perpetuation of her persona, not only as William's loving wife but also as a woman who “saved” the Challenger's ship and crew from “certain peril” as William lay dying.Less
This chapter details how Rebecca's story had reached a wider audience and from there, had encouraged her to shape her own legend for the community. During the 1870s and beyond Rebecca added to her story significantly, in a way that made her appear even more the exciting, romantic heroine in her own maritime tale. By making a point to recount her version of her maritime experience to the wider community, Rebecca ensured the perpetuation of her persona, not only as William's loving wife but also as a woman who “saved” the Challenger's ship and crew from “certain peril” as William lay dying.
Megan Taylor Shockley
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- March 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780814783191
- eISBN:
- 9780814786529
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9780814783191.003.0009
- Subject:
- History, American History: 19th Century
This concluding chapter offers some reflections on the overall veracity of Rebecca's story, and positions her as a historical figure amid a dramatic wave of change occurring in the nineteenth ...
More
This concluding chapter offers some reflections on the overall veracity of Rebecca's story, and positions her as a historical figure amid a dramatic wave of change occurring in the nineteenth century. Rebecca worked hard to create a legacy that linked her maritime experiences with her Victorian persona. She was not unlike thousands of Victorian middle-class women, but what makes her special is not whether she saved a ship in peril; it is that she crafted her own public narrative in a way that ensured her legacy after her death. The chapter argues that Rebecca's carefully crafted identity does not detract from the overall remarkable situation of her life and her attempts to create historical legacy. In fact, it reveals her determination to be remembered as a genteel sea captain's wife, the link to a time long gone in Sandwich and Bourne by the twentieth century.Less
This concluding chapter offers some reflections on the overall veracity of Rebecca's story, and positions her as a historical figure amid a dramatic wave of change occurring in the nineteenth century. Rebecca worked hard to create a legacy that linked her maritime experiences with her Victorian persona. She was not unlike thousands of Victorian middle-class women, but what makes her special is not whether she saved a ship in peril; it is that she crafted her own public narrative in a way that ensured her legacy after her death. The chapter argues that Rebecca's carefully crafted identity does not detract from the overall remarkable situation of her life and her attempts to create historical legacy. In fact, it reveals her determination to be remembered as a genteel sea captain's wife, the link to a time long gone in Sandwich and Bourne by the twentieth century.
