Marli Weiner examines the female slave, the plantation mistress, and their relationship before and after the Civil War. Weiner is explicit in her reasons for studying women in South Carolina: there was enough material for her to make some accurate speculations. She acknowledges that most of the extant information is about white women of wealth. Weiner divides her study into three areas. Part I examines the work lives of the plantation mistress and plantation slave, noting their differences and similarities in responsibilities during the "workday" and in the private confines of their family homes. In Part II, Weiner discusses patriarchy and its expectations of women--slave, free black and white. Within this portion of the book, she also discusses the plantation mistresses' behavior and attitudes toward the institution of slavery and toward slave women. She then devotes the remainder of this part to the slave woman's idea of womanhood and the ideology of domesticity. Part III discusses the evolution of the plantation mistress and the slave woman after the War and the effect dismantling the institution had on their relationship. She believes the tensions brought about by emancipation lasted until the beginning of the 20th century.

 A major theme in Weiner's book is the notion of gender and that "gender and race were the two most significant shapers of individual experiences" (1). Wiener discusses how the structures of patriarchy were so pervasive and ingrained that it was difficult for any woman, slave or white to wrestle free or even recognize there was a system in place which defined their positions. Weiner believes that ideologies on gender and race gave contradictory messages to the white mistresses. Plantation mistresses were instructed to be the superior of the slaves who were not only their responsibility but also an economic necessity. Mistresses were taught to believe slaves would sometimes need the threat of violence or actual violence to get them to work. On the other hand, mistresses were also taught to see themselves as benevolent, especially to those in need. It would be interesting to see this contradiction in action from the perspective of the black female slave were manuscripts available. One of the most interesting aspects of Weiner's book is her use of diaries in which plantation mistresses write of negotiating what they believe they "should" do with/to the slaves versus what they know is acceptable in society.

 Weiner asserts that plantation mistresses were generally sympathetic to the slave woman's plight. She offers diary accountings from female slaves about plantation mistresses inserting themselves (particularly when physical violence was going to erupt) between the slave and the slaveholder. She notes that a mistresses's willingness to become involved was largely dependent on the kind of relationship she maintained with her spouse for often the mistress was as afraid of her spouse as was the slave. She includes excerpts from slave narrations in which slaves recount direct appeals to the mistresses for assistance. Weiner believes the slaves and mistresses had more opportunity for overlapping of plantation responsibilities and that these work interactions shaped the quality of plantation life more than any other factor.

 In part II, Weiner builds the case that mistresses and slaves were forced to confront their similarities and differences in an environment which defined gender differences as distinctly as racial differences. She says that individually, "women of both races could, and did sympathize with one another and try to minimize the daily indignities of slavery" (52). Weiner describes the strong expectations placed on the white southern female to remain within the confines of her accepted sphere and not seem to be empowering the slaves.

In part III, Weiner discusses how the war years and the "period of transition to freedom marked the ending of one pattern of race relations between women and the emergence of another" (155). She says the old familiar habits in South Carolina died away slowly because assessing what the end of the war and emancipation meant and then acting on it was a slow process because society had to learn new social codes. Weiner argues that what replaced a tolerance between the slave woman and the mistress was a racial hostility as the black woman was determined to make freedom meaningful and the white woman was determined to resist their emancipation. Whereas prior to the War, the women shared a commonality in their gendered position in society, racial issues took precedence over gender. Weiner believes that women "learned that expectations of acceptable behavior could be modified" as a result of the war (233) which she argues then led to questioning the institution of the ideology of domesticity.

 With the increasing number of studies undertaken to examine the role of the antebellum southern female, a study is needed to synthesize the information to enable us to make generalizations about the role of the southern woman in society. Because the field is so new, studies seem to be regionalized by colony or state. Weiner appears to have a unique viewpoint in that she believes the plantation mistress and the slave were united against the common enemy of patriarchy before the war. Both groups of women, she believes, ultimately settled for making the best of their lives under oppressive circumstances.

 Part of the appeal of Weiner's book is the incorporation of verbatim excerpts from slave and plantation mistresses's diaries. This literary aspect underscores and lends credence to the portrayal of women in South Carolina. However, it is still best to read with caution for it is all too easy to ignore narratives which would refute her thesis. Weiner's documentation of sources is extensive and her ability to weave these very personal accounts into a historical account of the plantation mistress and the slave female is admirable and entertaining.
 

Texas Christian University

DianaVela