Race Relations and the Ideology of Domesticity: A Study of the Women's Antebellum South

Abstract

This paper will examine the relationships that existed between white, southern plantation mistresses and their female slaves. These interactions were shaped by the social mores of the 19th century American South, including the imposition of the "ideology of domesticity" on the mistresses. Equally important to the relationships between mistresses and their slaves were the damaging psychological effects caused by the masters' often frequent sexual liaisons with the slaves. Unfortunately, this created an inherent contradiction in the relationships because while the mistresses were preoccupied with the ideology of domesticity, they simultaneously furthered injustice towards slaves when presented with their husband's sexual exploits. Careful examination of interviews from former slaves taken during the federal writers' project of the 1930s sheds light on these complicated and intricate biracial relationships.