Pink and White Tyranny: A Society Novel
Dec 2019 · Good Press
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About this ebook
In 'Pink and White Tyranny,' Harriet Beecher Stowe delves into the intricate social dynamics of her time through a deftly woven narrative that critiques the moral and spiritual vacuum of mid-19th century American society. Utilizing a mix of realism and moralistic prose, Stowe crafts a poignant exploration of gender roles and the constraints of societal expectations on women. The novel features a fusion of vivid imagery and compelling character studies, offering insights into the struggles and aspirations of women who find themselves at the mercy of their circumstances, often symbolized by the titular colors in a fraught domestic sphere. Harriet Beecher Stowe, an eminent figure of her era, was deeply influenced by her own experiences as a writer, reformer, and abolitionist. Her intersecting passions for social justice and women's rights fueled her narrative choices in 'Pink and White Tyranny.' Stowe's commitment to addressing the socio-political issues of her time, including the inadequacies of marriages and the need for women's independence, reflects her broader advocacy for societal reform, echoing through her work in 'Uncle Tom's Cabin.' 'Pink and White Tyranny' is a compelling read for anyone interested in the intersections of gender, morality, and societal critique in American literature. Stowe'Äôs layered characterizations and incisive commentary make this novel not only a literary gem but also a relevant exploration of themes that resonate with contemporary discussions around gender and society. Readers will find themselves engaged in a timeless dialogue that invites reflection on the ongoing quest for autonomy and self-identity.
About the author
Harriet Beecher was born in Litchfield, Connecticut, one of nine children of the distinguished Congregational minister and stern Calvinist, Lyman Beecher. Of her six brothers, five became ministers, one of whom, Henry Ward Beecher, was considered the finest pulpit orator of his day. In 1832 Harriet Beecher went with her family to Cincinnati, Ohio. There she taught in her sister's school and began publishing sketches and stories. In 1836 she married the Reverend Calvin E. Stowe, one of her father's assistants at the Lane Theological Seminary and a strong antislavery advocate. They lived in Cincinnati for 18 years, and six of her children were born there. The Stowes moved to Brunswick, Maine, in 1850, when Calvin Stowe became a professor at Bowdoin College. Long active in abolition causes and knowledgeable about the atrocities of slavery both from her reading and her years in Cincinnati, with its close proximity to the South, Stowe was finally impelled to take action with the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act in 1850. By her own account, the idea of Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852) first came to her in a vision while she was sitting in church. Returning home, she sat down and wrote out the scene describing the death of Uncle Tom and was so inspired that she continued to write on scraps of grocer's brown paper after her own supply of writing paper gave out. She then wrote the book's earlier chapters. Serialized first in the National Era (1851--52), an important abolitionist journal with national circulation, Uncle Tom's Cabin was published in book form in March 1852. It was an immediate international bestseller; 10,000 copies were sold in less than a week, 300,000 within a year, and 3 million before the start of the Civil War. Family legend tells of President Abraham Lincoln (see Vol. 3) saying to Stowe when he met her in 1862: "So this is the little lady who made this big war?" Whether he did say it or not, we will never know, since Stowe left no written record of her interview with the president. But he would have been justified in saying it. Certainly, no other single book, apart from the Bible, has ever had any greater social impact on the United States, and for many years its enormous historical interest prevented many from seeing the book's genuine, if not always consistent, literary merit. The fame of the novel has also unfortunately overshadowed the fiction that Stowe wrote about her native New England: The Minister's Wooing (1859), Oldtown Folks (1869), Poganuc People (1878), and The Pearl of Orr's Island (1862), the novel that, according to Sarah Orne Jewett, began the local-color movement in New England. Here Stowe was writing about the world and its people closest and dearest to her, recording their customs, their legends, and their speech. As she said of one of these novels, "It is more to me than a story. It is my resume of the whole spirit and body of New England."
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