Focus on Tennessee Confederate Women's Monument and analyze the Symbolism.
Thomas Brown states that the commissioners hoped Kinney's sculpture would celebrate the “typical gentle woman” that served the Confederacy during the war. Brown explains how the “typical” Confederate woman would have been “called from the ballroom” to serve the Confederacy with poise and humility. Elise L. Smith further notes that organizers of the monument regarded the "typical" southern woman as "loyal, devoted, innocent, suffering, self-sacrificing, self-forgetful, and unconscious of fame.”Kinney’s monument depicts an allegory of Fame, a Southern woman, and a Confederate soldier. Fame, the central figure, is clothed in robes meant to evoke ancient Greek culture. She is shown placing a crown of laurel upon the head of the southern woman with her right arm, celebrating the accomplishments of the Confederate woman.The Confederate woman is shown extending a palm branch to the Confederate soldier to her left. Palm branches reference the Greek goddess of victory who typically bestowed these branches upon olympic athletes who were victorious. The inclusion of this symbol suggests that the cause this soldier died for was worthwhile. Fame’s left arm additionally supports the dying Confederate, reinforcing the idea that this man died honorably.Smith argues that configuration of the figures contains symbolic significance. The Confederate woman reaching with a palm branch for the dying soldier forms a "V" shape that Smith describes as a emphasizing the physical and social support of the women to the Confederate cause. This V structure suggests “what was seen as women's proper role as supporter and commemorator of man’s actions.”According to Smith, the mood of this monument is “somber,” as if it mourns the cause it stands for in addition to commemorating it. Smith describes it as a “profoundly moving elegy.” She claims it represents “grace in defeat” and the “women’s power to endure” the hardships of the war. Mills and Simpson similarly explain that while the monument acknowledges the Confederate loss in the war, it uplifts the underlying cause the Confederates fought for. They note that three figures' heads are bowed, the soldier is depicted in a slumped posture, and the flag at his side is partially rolled. Smith observes that the flag in the soldier's hands demonstrates that he is “triumphant even in death.”
Fame Confederate