Written and curated by Matt Yan

ENGL 2296 Final Project

Sometime in the 1820s, a text by an unknown Black woman named Chloe Russel, described as “a woman of colour, in the State of Massachusetts,” was released (Gardner 259). Titled The Complete Fortune Teller and Dream Book, it is presented as a book full of fortunes, rituals, and methods for one to reach their goals or aspirations. Originally from Africa, Russel was seemingly taken against her will and enslaved, which she describes a “fatal day” where she was “dragged from [her] parents and country” (Gardner 269). Her narrative, as compiled and edited by Eric Gardner for The New England Quarterly, takes readers through her arduous journey of enslavement to finding hope and light through a mysterious mechanism: fortune-telling and dreams.

Later, she emancipates herself using her divination and fortune telling skills to find money, taking her practice public in Boston (272). Because it’s unclear how, why, and what context this text was written in, her text is still shrouded in mystery. Was Russel an actual person who could interpret dreams and tell fortunes or was she completely made up? For these purposes and in this exhibit, she will be treated as a real person, who wrote these texts to fit a society who sought them out. Her text echoes themes of domesticity, matrimony, and femininity, which all were the norms of society at the time. Rather than rejecting these themes, Russel seemingly embraces them, potentially providing a larger indication what societal norms were of the time. In any time period, newspapers and articles serve as the best way to look at the past and see what was relevant to a society at a time because what was covered was carefully chosen to fit what society would have appreciated at this time. More specifically, historically Black newspapers or those with an African American publisher would provide even better context to decipher who Russel’s audience was. By looking closely at parallels between themes of womanhood, domesticity, and matrimony in Russel’s text and expectations of women insinuated in these newspaper articles, it will be clearer for whom Russel wrote her dream book for and why she chose to frame it as she did. 

“... I dreamed that I saw my father, who told me that he had just come from the world of spirits, where there was nothing but joy and happiness-he informed me that he was killed by the fire of the Baccaranas, twenty moons after I was captured by them, in attempting to rescue my mother, whom they had taken––he said that he had been made acquainted with my resolve to destroy myself, and had come to persuade me not to do it, as it would soon be well with me, and I should be free from my master. This singular dream made such a deep impression upon my mind, as to deter me from committing suicide the succeeding day…” –– From The Complete Fortune Teller (Gardner 271). 

“A Method by which a Young Lady May Know Whether She is Ever to Marry” 

“IN the full of the moon, write the name of any man on a piece of clean paper, fold it in the form of a heart, get a gill of red wine and dip it in it, then drink the wine in three draughs just as you are going to bed, put the paper under your pillow and let matrimony be your thoughts until you fall asleep––if you dream you are in company with a young man, whose person and conversation is pleasing to you, you may depend that you will one day become the wife of some agreeable companion––but if you dream that you are disgusted with the appearance and conversation of the young man, you may safely calculate on dying an old maid.” (Gardner 273-4)

 

Whether a maid shall have him she loves.

1. Be not too coy, he is thy own,

But through delay he may be gone.

2. He of your wishes does not know,

He'd soon comply if it were so.

3. Come set thy heart at rest I say,

He will but plunder and away.

4. Fear not, thy neighbour is the man,

And he will have thee if he can.

5. Shew him more kindness, he will speak,

His heart with silence else will break.

6. Sigh thou no more, he does relent,

And of his inconstancy (Gardner 287)

 

In the collection compiled by Gardner, the content spanned from information about moles,  dreams, and methods. The complete dream book included most of this information, providing readers with multiple ways to interpret their future and other things in their life. A common thread within the book and as alluded to above is how Russel often draws back, almost relies upon, themes relevant to the times: marriage, expectations of womanhood, and domesticity (Gardner 277-81).  The following are two excerpts from Russel’s dream book, where she explicitly deals with issues of matrimony and the domestic space. 

In these two examples to the right, Russel’s intention is abundantly clear: If a woman seeks marriage, do these things in order to fulfill one’s wishes and desires. It’s simple, yet so complex –– Russel instructs her readers to do these things in order to fulfill an aspiration of marriage, which is essentially the norm of society. But what are the implications of that? Why does Russel focus explicitly on marriage?  Russel herself is not submitting to what the expectations of women which are built by society; instead, she embraces it –– she presents a text and a method to have women find their purpose. She presents women with a life of marriage, which ultimately leads into the realm of domesticity and this cult of true womanhood, or the established norm of domesticity as a hallmark of what it meant to be a woman at this time. In the first text, she advises against not getting married, because as she indicates in “A method…” it will result in “dying an old maid” (274). Although it seems a bit comical, her inclusion and choice of language seems intentional, as if she warns against the danger of not getting married at all and the implications of not doing so. The second text, akin to a poem, instructs boldness in order for a woman to get the man she desires. However, in a similar fashion to the first, Russel instructs women to show “kindness” and put their heart on the table in order to get their wish. Still, though, the goal was marriage, further illuminating that marriage and the eventual entrance into the domestic space was the ultimate goal. In essence, Russel’s text insinuates that she is enthralled in these ideas of marriage and domesticity, possibly because that is all she knew, but more so because of what societal norms were of the time.

Founded in 1827 and operated for two years, Freedom’s Journal was the first African American newspaper circulated in the U.S. and based out of New York City, eventually circulating in 11 states (Freedom’s Journal). Although it’s based outside of Boston, its circulation and relatively close distance indicates that what was relevant to readers of Freedom’s Journal were similarly just as important to readers of Russel’s text. Moreover, as an entirely African American newspaper, news and content featured within Freedom's Journal was generally suited for African Americans, as it was created by African Americans to counter the outward racism in the general press (Ibid). Along with sections in the newspaper that featured news, a subsection titled “Varieties” included information outside of the realm of typical news coverage. Similar to commentary or an opinion section, stories from this section were less involved with what was happening in society, focusing instead on other, more broad subjects.

To situate Russel in this news coverage, each of these articles from Freedom’s Journal were published in 1827 –– the same time when Russel published her dream book. Therefore, the audiences would likely be the same, and each article echoes themes found in Russel’s text. In the aforementioned excerpts, she presents marriage as aspirational –– a concept which all women can aspire to. She writes, “If you dream you are in company with a young man, whose person and conversation is pleasing to you, you may depend that you will one day become the wife of some agreeable companion.” (Gardner 273). Here, the dream functions not only as a reoccurring thing when one sleeps, it implies longing and a prolonged need for something out of reach. She presents marriage as a dream for women to aspire to as if their purpose is to get married, which is also a point found in these articles. In “Female Temper,” happiness is equated with entrance into the domestic space and is even something defined as “domestic happiness.” (Varieties: Female Temper). Russel’s text finds solace in similar ideals by presenting marriage as something akin to aspiration and the norm. The coverage presented above presents women as secondary to the man, illustrating that society saw women as fit only for the domestic space and only for marriage. By actively including and alluding to these societal norms within her text, Russel follows what is expected of women in this time period; however, she seemingly does so fitting the dream-like aspect.