A Rebellious Woman: The Life of a Civil War Southern Belle

 I think I'm getting back into the reading and reviewing frame of mind.  So I expect to be blogging more in August.  My first August review will be of a historical novel called A Rebellious Woman by  Claire J. Griffin

From a feminist perspective, the most important aspect of a woman rebel would be how her rebellion benefits that particular woman and/or women in general.  Was the protagonist of A Rebellious Woman  a positive example from a feminist standpoint?

                                 

                                                             

At the opening I was applauding Belle for her unconventional behavior.  She was multi-talented in areas that weren't considered ladylike and didn't feel the need to hide her abilities. Yet she wasn't some sort of paragon of political correctness from a 21st century standpoint.  She did have a slave, and wasn't an abolitionist.  On the other hand, she taught her slave how to read which was against the law in the 19th century South.  That was probably her most daring act.  

I understood Belle's actions in support of the Southern Confederacy without approving of them.  Belle was literally a Southern Belle, and her bedrock loyalty to her class turned out to be her most important trait. I wasn't enamored with Belle's desire to be famous.  It made her seem rather shallow and self-absorbed.  She also tended to have very poor judgement.  Over the course of the narrative I found her increasingly unsympathetic.  I didn't expect Belle to throw away her loyalties.  I just wanted her to have more common sense.