Women writers of the Civil War era, and why we need to write more actual letters

I listened to a discussion/ power point presentation by a doctoral candidate whose research is focused on the lives of New England women during the Civil War, as evidenced by their letters. Her presentation was about on par with some of my students' work; yes, she's done research, but her suppositions are not necessarily supported by the letters, and her discussion was a surface analysis of her topic. I wish her well, but I'm really disappointed that it was not more enlightening. All she kept going back to was the fact that women had it financially hard (though the state of Maine had a process by which women with dependents could get assistance), they missed their husbands, and letters were a comfort. 

Well, yeah. But ... I was hoping that her discussion would dig a lot deeper into the letters themselves, and not focus so much on her own assumptions about the lives of the women writers. I was looking to hear things like Abigail Adams' letters. 

O well. Research being what it is, I guess, she either a/ is not prepared to share any deeper research that she may have done, or b/ this is it. High-school level research presentation. At least all the slides were proofread. 

So, what I'm now wondering is, what real concerns did women share? Or was it all household/farm/I miss you/ kids are okay? Perhaps there are other letters that are more enlightening of their thoughts, because the three women this young lady focused on were not the "deep thinker" types. And I'm convinced that there must have been some deeper thinking/writing women-- this is the time period of Transcendentalism. Of Margaret Fuller and Louisa May Alcott. And yes, those are outliers, more than likely, but women did think, read, and write about things, both about the place they lived in physically and about their inner thoughts. 

It irritates me a little that a young woman focused her discussion on pretty surface-oriented letters and mundane concerns. I have a hard time accepting that there was not more to talk about in other letters. Though, to be fair, she did mention that there are not that many extant letters by women, because the recipients may have had a hard time preserving them, being on battle fields and so forth. Maybe there is more to talk about from diaries. 

If I were this young woman's advisor, I'd have directed her to expand beyond letters and into private writings as well, if her focus was (as she stated) on their emotional state, their patriotism, and their daily concerns, as evidenced from their writing. 

Ah well. At least there are some letters. What will be left of our current age, when we can't access our social media or emails? 

Silence. It'll look like no one said a dang thing. And frankly, we are already silenced enough-- the threats to relationships, jobs, and even personal safety are clear. 

We should write letters. On paper. With ink. 

Have a super day, and hold onto your loved ones. Or write to them. Or about them. For posterity.

C