Poetry · Chapter
Horace Greely and Mrs. Staunton explained
A poetic dialogue during the American Civil War where Horace Greeley asks Mrs.
What happens
A poetic dialogue during the American Civil War where Horace Greeley asks Mrs. Staunton if she would fight if granted women's suffrage. She declines, preferring to encourage others from home, though the poem notes she was physically more robust than Greeley.
Themes in this chapter
Moral Lessons and Domestic Virtue
The poem contrasts martial valor with domestic duty, as Mrs. Staunton chooses to encourage others from home rather than engage in bloodshed.
Characters to notice
- Mrs. Staunton
A robust woman who declines to fight in the Civil War despite being a champion of women's rights, preferring to support from home.
Key passages
“Would you go South and fight to quell, Those bold men who do rebel; If you got woman’s suffrage, Would you in deadly war engage.”
Greeley asks Staunton if she would fight in the South against the rebels if women had the right to vote.
Highlights the intersection of women's rights and wartime duty.
“Said she, I never could delight, To slay a man in bloody fight. So my fair hands I’ll not imbue, But I will stay at home like you, And urge the others on to war, And keep from battle field afar.”
Staunton replies that she could never enjoy killing, so she will stay home and encourage others to fight, just as Greeley does.
Emphasizes her rejection of direct violence while still supporting the war effort.