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/9780814783191.003.0002
- Subject:
- History, American History: 19th Century
This chapter describes passages from the autograph journal of Rebecca Burgess (neé Crowell), entitled Flowers in Frolic, and the reflections therein; which, when coupled with corroborating historical ...
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This chapter describes passages from the autograph journal of Rebecca Burgess (neé Crowell), entitled Flowers in Frolic, and the reflections therein; which, when coupled with corroborating historical evidence, paints her as a middle-class woman of moderate privilege, a woman whose community was intrinsically important to her identity and a community whose character was not changing, despite the economic transition of Massachusetts from a rural to an industrial economy. This book establishes Rebecca's world for the reader of her journals: it reveals her gentility with references to religious and ethical tropes in the writing; it introduces her community as a network of friends and relations who cared about her; it reflects her connection with William two years before they married; and it also shows that Rebecca was no stranger to loss at an early age.Less
This chapter describes passages from the autograph journal of Rebecca Burgess (neé Crowell), entitled Flowers in Frolic, and the reflections therein; which, when coupled with corroborating historical evidence, paints her as a middle-class woman of moderate privilege, a woman whose community was intrinsically important to her identity and a community whose character was not changing, despite the economic transition of Massachusetts from a rural to an industrial economy. This book establishes Rebecca's world for the reader of her journals: it reveals her gentility with references to religious and ethical tropes in the writing; it introduces her community as a network of friends and relations who cared about her; it reflects her connection with William two years before they married; and it also shows that Rebecca was no stranger to loss at an early age.
