It is a significant painting: the principal figures are only slaves and women. The only white male is dead. A woman serves as Preacher, and is placed in a role of power, previously given to men. Women are now political actors in their society. The painting makes specific statements about gender and race and new roles. Social relations were truly in a state of transformation.
Some women never recovered from the
wartime taste of autonomy. Before the
war, their lives were about conforming to the strict Southern code of
womanhood. Women now realized the men were not able to protect them. Confederate women had moved towards a new independence, whether they wanted to
embrace it or not.
No comments:
Post a Comment