Addie Tripp: Giving Voice to the Domestic
Servant
Although the popularity of writing
in diaries has declined over the years, there is no doubt that these informal
works of writing have proved to be an invaluable source of information for
scholars and readers alike. The benefit of these narratives is that they allow
those studying the time period in which the diaries were written an unfiltered
account of events, while also giving them a chance to see a personal testimony of
what it was like to live during said time frame. For those researching American literature
during the 19th century, a good starting point would be a diary
written during this time. A wonderful example of this is Addie Tripp, a
domestic servant during the Civil War, who wrote a diary about her experiences
working as a servant for a family in Onalaska, Wisconsin. At first glance the
diary appears to be a simple recording of the everyday tasks she took care of
while working for this family, but upon further investigation the events
detailed in this diary by Tripp show just how much work a domestic servant had
to do in the 19th century. Addie
Tripp’s diary should be in the canon of American literature because her
experience working as a domestic servant during the Civil War details a way of
life that many women (and men) were living during this time frame, but which
typically has been overlooked in lieu of information on the war.
During the 19th century
it was very common for households to have one or more domestic servants working
for them. Part of the responsibilities of these domestic servants was doing not
only household work like cooking and cleaning, but also caring for
children. This was just as equally
important as the servant’s other tasks, especially during the time of the Civil
War when men were serving on the lines, leaving women in charge of the
household. Many of Addie Tripp’s diary entries detailed her daily
responsibility of caring for the children of the family she worked for. On
March 31st, 1864 she wrote, “…we are at home busy serving Sarah in
getting ready to go back to school at Salem” (55). Tripp’s experience in
raising these children is just one example of the many ways in which domestic
servants served society as a whole, by being in charge of nurturing kids during
the 19th century and more times than not, being their main
caretakers while the parents were busy with other affairs. Tripp’s entries show
her efforts to balance both chores and childcare. Some days that involved having the children
help her with the wash, which she talks about in several entries. After getting
used to helping Addie wash the laundry, the children even start to enjoy it.
Tripp writes on Saturday, June 11th, “They are loving doing their
Saturday wash. I make jell bake the first one I ever made” (79). Although it is
unclear what “jell bake” is, one can surmise from reading this entry that Addie
is learning to let the children help her out in order to make sure she has time
for other activities, such as baking or cooking. A diary allows space for a writer to include
mundane tasks that would otherwise be deemed trivial in another form of
literature. In learning more about the domestic servant though, this format is
significant to those studying this topic to uncover details left out of other
historical recordings (such as books).
Using Tripp’s diary in favor of
information presented in another format gives scholars a personal account of
what it was like to be a domestic servant during this time. Since it is a
diary, it is unlikely Addie Tripp would feel the need to hide any of her true
feelings or tell her story in a way that was geared towards the reader. This is
the benefit of diaries as opposed to a novel or other form of literature
because the reader is getting the most honest version of the story. It also provides a more detailed record of
history, in this case during the 19th century, instead of giving an
overview. While Tripp’s diary might seem
monotonous to some, it is the slow progression of this form of narrative that
will allow scholars to get a better understanding of the daily workings of life
for a domestic servant. Joanna Bornat
and Bill Bytheway certainly seemed to agree with this point when setting out to
research the differences in interviews and diaries as they pertain to archived history.
They write, “…diaries provide a contemporaneous record as events unfold” (298)
and this idea is evident when examining Tripp’s diary, because she writes the
events that occur surrounding her job and her eventual marriage to a local man
in the order in which they take place. For scholars, Tripp’s diary, like the
diaries used in Bornat and Bytheway’s study, is useful in “…providing…data that
indicated how choice and decision-making feature in everyday life” (Bornat and
Bytheway, 292). Addie’s thought process
is voiced aloud in her diary entries when making decisions regarding her
relationship and even on smaller tasks, like whether she should “go to town,”
which she often referred to when needing to run errands for the family.
These trips into town are one of the
few chances in which Addie is able to get out of the house and interact with others.
That being said, it is clear from multiple diary entries that she looks forward
to visitors coming to the house, even though it means she will be charge in
preparing for their entertainment. She details each visit made and on some days
when there are none, she makes note of this as well. These rare outings into
town that Addie is able to indulge in are few and far between, only when no one
else is able to pick up the supplies for her. On May 3rd, 1864 she
writes, “I am doing general house work…do not get time to do much else…worked
out in the yard a little while this morning” (66). Although the events in her
diary do not seem overly interesting, as many of her diary entries become
repetitive as you read through them, it speaks volumes about the role of the
domestic servant during this time. Not
only were they expected to keep up with multiple duties (cooking, cleaning,
caring for children, laundry, yard work),but they had very little time for themselves.
Being added as a part of the canon
of American literature would also help those studying this time period that
plan to write from the perspective of someone in the 19th
century. What little information there
is out there on women and their place in the American Civil War, especially
those working in the domestic sphere, has proven to be less informative than
what is needed in order to understand their involvement. How is a writer during
the 21st century supposed to write historical fiction about women in
the 19th century when all of the information they have access to is
surrounding the war itself and the men fighting on the lines? This was pointed
out in “Children’s Literature in Education,” when discussing the popular Dear America series published by
Scholastic, which were written to “…imitate authentic diaries, even using
parchment-like paper and bookmarks” (155). Not only that, but specifically it is the
“…elements of language, voice, and narration that many of our current diaries
are still failing to be feminist” (155).
One of the best solutions in overcoming this barrier for scholars
writing in this field is to utilize diaries like Addie Tripp’s to their
benefit, which would allow them to gauge a better understanding of her voice in
her writing. It is easiest to determine
this when reading a diary where the writer’s words are unfiltered, unlike that
of other types of literature where the individual might attempt to alter their
tone of voice in order to suit the needs that formal writing dictates. After
reading Tripp’s diary entries, one may notice the humbleness she displays in
everyday tasks. She seldom complains about any of her responsibilities and in
one of the rare moments in which she does indicate her reluctance, she simply
writes, “We wash today although I do not feel much like it” (65). Tripp also hardly ever talks about her own
personal affairs. Even when it is her
birthday, which she mentions in passing on April 18th in her entry,
“…This is my birth day” (61) she does not mention any type of celebrations or
reason to believe the day will be any different from the rest. In the same line
in which she states it is her birthday, she goes on to say that Sarah, one of
the children, and her will be doing the washing that day. Most of her diary
entries are short and straight to the point, some lasting no more than one
sentence for that day’s entry. Reading
her diary can help alleviate some of the difficulties writers are having, as
mentioned in “Children’s Literature in Education,” where narration is
concerned.
Despite the fact that Addie Tripp’s diary is
just one account of what it was like to live during the 19th century
as a domestic servant, her testimony is representative of the work of a group
of people who contributed to society during the Civil War, but whose stories
have never been told. Not only that, but Tripp’s perspective is especially
important because it’s doubtful other women in her situation would have been
published. From the limited number of
sources we do have, it’s clear that the focus of America was not on those
working at home or as domestic servants in another household during the Civil
War. With such few resources available to us on this topic, it is crucial her
diary become a part of the literary canon so that we might know more about
these domestic servants, whose stories have been silenced or unheard.
Works Cited
Bornat, Joanna, and Bill Bytheway. “Working
with different temporalities: archived life history interviews and diaries.” International Journal of Social Research
Methodology, vol. 15, no. 4, 2012. Routledge: Taylor & Francis Group,
doi: 10.1080/13645579.2012.688312. Accessed 20 October 2016.
Clapp-Itnyre, Alisa. “Battle on the Gender
Homefront: Depictions of the American Civil War in Contemporary Young-Adult
Literature.” Children’s Literature in
Education (Online), 3 Aug. 2006. Springer
Science and Business Media B.V. (2007),
doi: 0.1007/s10583-006-9020-6. Accessed 4 October 2016.
Tripp, Addie. Diary. Wisconsin Historical
Society. Accessed 4 October 2016. www.wisconhistory.org/turningpoints/search.asp?id=1332
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