The Civil War ended with two pistols. Failure imminent, Confederate President Jefferson Davis gave his wife, Varina, a pistol before she and their children fled the South. If accosted by Union assailants, the gun would force them to kill her, or she could turn it on herself. Another pistol, John Wilkes Booth’s, took President Abraham Lincoln’s life. Lincoln’s demise moved Varina, stoic in flight, to tears. Such a response embodies the life this complicated woman led, one of irony, emotional distress, and unshakeable complicity. In this interdisciplinary course, we will engage with her obscure history and read Charles Frazier’s novel, Varina.
The Civil War ended with two pistols. Failure imminent, Confederate President Jefferson Davis gave his wife, Varina, a pistol before she and their children fled the South. If accosted by Union assailants, the gun would force them to kill her, or she could turn it on herself. Another pistol, John Wilkes Booth’s, took President Abraham Lincoln’s life. Lincoln’s demise moved Varina, stoic in flight, to tears. Such a response embodies the life this complicated woman led, one of irony, emotional distress, and unshakeable complicity. In this interdisciplinary course, we will engage with her obscure history and read Charles Frazier’s novel, Varina.
Thursday, 5:00 - 6:30 p.m. | April 23 to May 14
Location: ZOOM
Instructor: Sarah Traphagen
Sarah Traphagen received her Ph.D. in English from the University of Florida. Her areas of expertise are American literature, history, and Civil War medicine. She has published in The Journal of Military Experience and The Journal of Working-Class Studies. She taught at the University of Florida and in college preparatory schools before becoming an independent scholar and full-time home parent.
