RACHEAL CLEVE’S BOOK REPORT
CHARITY & SYLVIA A SAME-SEX MARRIAGE IN EARLY AMERICA
In the book “Charity and Sylvia: A Same-Sex Marriage in Early America” author Racheal Cleves talks about two women, Charity and Sylvia, who were married in the early nineteenth century and got to build a life together. The women were recognized and earned respect from their families and most of the community members. The author presents nine brief chapters of sequential moments in women’s lives. Additionally, Racheal adds new sources to this story to change the issue of same-sex marriages is unique and present her theme and significance of the book.
THE BOOK’S ARGUMENT
One of the major arguments presented by the author is how the community embraced and accepted the couple. Despite the nature of their relationship being a rare case in the early nineteenth century, the community understood and embraced the character of Charity and Sylvia’s relationship. The community already viewed their relationship as marriage from their behavior like their public life and division of labor. Furthermore, the author explains that Charity was “the man” who served as the head of the household, which Sylvia was “the woman” (Conroy 2015) As the book presents the discussion of the marriage, the author offers insights to the century’s union.
The couple was able to enjoy their independence as they explored their love and sexual pleasures of their union. Another argument that presents itself was the fact that the community did not acknowledge Charity’s previous relationships as they did with her union with Sylvia. The author answers to the arguments in a simple way that their union was recognized simply because the two women were an essential part of society. As members of a rural community, it is evident that their sexuality got ignored so that the community could pay attention to their contributions to their culture.
AUTHOR’S SOURCES AND METHODOLOGY
The author uses rich sources to represent the feelings of both Charity and Sylvia. For instance, Sylvia left behind a diary that explains her life before and after, meeting Charity. To reveal Charity’s views and feelings, the author uses records from Charity’s recovered belongings. Furthermore, it is clear that the author uses a limited number of sources and uses them to give clues to the couple’s relationship and the community’s response. The author uncovers the crucial history of same-sex relationships in early America skillfully and creatively.
Racheal uses the story of two women who went against the social norms of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries to invite the reader to reconsider the roles in a normative marriage. The author presents the book in the form of a double biography. The first half of the book talks of the time before Charity and Sylvia met while the other half speak of their union and its significance to the community (Thomas 2015). The sources and methodology used by the author provides the reader with a clear view of the activities of their union.
HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE
The author explains how the couple were married by calling on the reader to historically think on the constructions of marriage. Racheal does this by providing enough information regarding each of the partners. Charity was born in 1777 and met the love of her life, Sylvia, in 1807. In 1784, war broke out in Massachusetts, significantly affecting the colony and predicting an economic crisis (Robertson 2019). Racheal explains that both families were affected by the fight to help the readers understand Sylvia and charity as individuals in their union. The war environment and the change in family structure show the circumstances that brought the two women together on the Vermont frontier.
Before Charity and Sylvia fell in love, their lives illustrate the lives of many single women in the eighteenth century. They both found peace in their teaching jobs and were fortunate to experience the freedom and education that was not available to many married women. The author reveals charity’s independence through her writing and teaching jobs that illustrate the effects of social change and women’s education. During this period, teaching allowed to become more intellectuals, as demonstrated through charity’s poetry. Charity and Sylvia’s lives help to educate the reader on the historical roles of most women and their place in society.
THE BOOK’S STRENGTHS
The book is supported by several strengths that make the Racheal Cleve’s work exemplary good. To begin with, the vivid description of the community’s climate creates visual images for the reader, making the narration more interesting. The reader can also fell the connection between the families who always supported each other financially and emotionally. For instance, Racheal uses the close friendship od Daniel and Peter, who were Charity’s elder brothers as cautionary stories (Thomas 2015). The brothers’ friendship also predicts conflict of the different sexuality and gender roles expected by the couple families and the community.
Also, the descriptions of the lives and culture of both Charity and Sylvia is a great attraction for any reader interested in the stories of same sex marriages in America. The church community accepting and embracing the women is a fascinating part of the book that strengthens the themes. The main aim of author is to emphasize on the message of same sex marriages, and for this, she presents a crucial opening on religious stand on the issue. Racheal also does a perfect job in resetting the discussion of such relationships and religion. Currently, the issue of same sex relationship is a common topic in the United States and thus Racheal’s work show that these kinds of long-term relationships are not recent developments.
THE BOOK’S WEAKNESSES
Despite the author acknowledging the strong bond between Charity and Sylvia, the couple was unable to publicly recognize their union. Their reluctance opposes the previous intention of their letters which had expressed love and affection. The author also implies that the couple had to be extremely careful not to arouse any suspicion concerning their sexuality. A few times they failed to conceal their relationship as when Charity ended her letter with the words “with ardent and sincere desire”. The letter was different from the previous ones that she wrote with a lot of caution. The information confuses the reader who believed that their union was highly appreciated at the beginning of the book.
Also, the social life of the couple’s union had limits unlike other marriage unions. Charity and Sylvia were recognized as a married couple by the community. However, after Charity passed on in 1851, her partner Sylvia was not recognized as a widow despite being in marriage union for forty years (Cleves 2014). At the beginning of the story, the author states that the community fully embraced and accepted the couple’s union but this fails to reflect after Charity’s death.
CONCLUSION
Racheal Cleve’s book provides a platform for a topic rarely researched and allows the reader to understand the history of marriages. The characters in the book gives a true account of same sex relationships in the eighteenth and nineteenth century. Racheal narrates the story of the couple clearly and in a creative manner helping the reader to understand how Charity and Sylvia relationship impacted the culture of the community where they resided. The book also presents a platform for further discussion on how Christians handled their sexual and spiritual selves in the past.
Bibliography
Cleves, Rachel Hope. Charity and Sylvia: a same-sex marriage in early America. Oxford University Press, 2014.
Balcerski, Thomas J. “Charity and Sylvia: A Same-Sex Marriage in Early America by Rachel Hope Cleves.” Journal of the History of Sexuality 24, no. 3 (2015): 519-521.
Robertson, Jessica. Charity and Sylvia review (HIST 522). Journal of comparative family studies.(2019)
Conroy, Emily. “Conroy-Krutz On Cleves, ‘Charity And Sylvia: A Same-Sex Marriage In Early America’ | H-Amrel | H-Net”. 2015. Networks.H-Net.Org. https://networks.h-net.org/node/15697/reviews/80472/conroy-krutz-cleves-charity-and-sylvia-same-sex-marriage-early-america.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/337654342_Charity_and_Sylvia_review_HIST_522