The Education of the Southern Belle

Book review: Alisha Provost

When I first read the title I thought that I would be reading a personal document from a Southern Belle who had gone to school during the Antebellum South. However, this book is from the view of a historian but it does include quotes from journals and scrapbooks from various people during this time period.

Farnham had split the book The Education of the Southern Belle into two parts. The first part focused mainly of facts about the curriculum, development of the schools, comparison between the male schools and female schools etc. Part one starts off talking about how many female schools were being founded in the South. Many of these schools were claiming to be colleges but they weren’t quite qualified to be considered a college. Farnham then makes her way into talking about the curriculum in the female schools. In this chapter one could find the differences and similarities between what a female was studying and what a male would be studying. At the same time one was also able to see what subjects were the most popular ones and which ones slowly made their way into not being studied. Sciences were what the female colleges offered as well as what we call today Home Economics (knitting, painting, sewing,etc) as to males who focused on literature. Both schools however would study Greek.

Part two is more focused towards the social life and effects of being a Southern Belle. We the readers are able to see the hardships and stress that the female students faced. Chapters 6 and 7 describe how the female students were so close to their families that while they were in school they needed to seal that gap that they had while away from their family. This gap was typically filled by friendships that were more like sororities of our day today. The female students would form groups just like sororities and they would meet so many times and discuss different topics. This idea brought on the idea of cliques which lead to drama amongst the girls. Not only were the students looking for a group to fit into and be like sisters but many females began having romantic relationships with other females at the school; including their teachers. In each one of the rooms there would be all of the beds next to each other in the middle of the room. Besides there was no heating the girls would all cuddle together. If you were left alone without a cuddle buddy that person would get mad. Public displays of affections were discouraged among opposite sexes but when it came down to the same sex that was ok. Now you may be thinking what the parents thought about this. Parents actually didn’t care about these relationships because they knew that their daughter would end up marrying a male.( in a way they just thought of it as a phase) Also mentioned in part two was how the Southern Belle was used as a symbol to how every female should be like. The Southern Belle was the ideal woman. This is revealed in the idea of the May Day Queen. The May Day Queen is what we call today as pageants and homecoming queens. A Southern Belle would be picked by her peers based off of her Beauty, Sweetness and of course her father’s status. Just like a queen she would have an entourage, performances held for her entertainment, and a dress made out of inexpensive material to capture her beauty. The May Day Queen brought on stress to many females. This was because many were starting to compare theirsevles to others and they would constantly think that they were ugly. Though no matter what the Southern Belle was looked upon as empowerment.
Farnham closes the book with an epilogue which talks about how the Southern Belle was still used as stability after the Civil War. It is also mentioned how because the Southern Belle idea wasn’t changing that the South became outdated because it wasn’t changing with time unlike the North. Some schools remained open during the Civil War as a place of safety however the school itself was facing challenges of its own. The females that attended school there had clothes like slaves, no shoes, handed down books, and no stationary to write letters home. There was also a decline/shortage of teachers which lead to more female teachers. At this time female teachers were still looked down upon especially if your family had money. If they didn’t you were ok until your family had an income. Once you had an income one was to leave teaching even if one enjoyed it. Lastly, Farnham mentions how during the 1900’s there was an increase in founding of female colleges. However, out of the 140 institutions that were considering theirselves as a college only six were qualified. This was due to a lack of organization and equipment as well as not being able to keep up with national standards.

It is revealed in this book how in order for one to get an education one needed to have the money. If an individual didn’t have money then they were out of luck from getting an education. The education itself was hard due to the fact that the school faced hardships of its own. Females were beginning to get an equal education with men and they were slowly making their way into society. Females not only dealt with getting an education but they were also required to uphold the Southern Belle symbol. To be a Southern Belle meant that you were a lady of the upper class and you were respected and admired. Both of the following quotes sum up what this is about and the message that Christie Anne Farnham was trying to get across.

“Southern Belle, rather than being a superficial and self-centered ideal type appealed to young women as a model of empowerment.”

“Conquered people clung to traditional values and celebrated the Southern Belle as the symbolic expression of white supremacy and quintessence of Southern culture.”