Judging from the excerpt you read from William Byrd’s secret diary, what do you think is most important to him in his day-to-day life? Why are those things important? How would you describe his general outlook and tone in the diary? Do you think his diary entries are consistent with the description of his life that he offers in his letter to Charles Boyle, Earl of Orrery? Why or why not?
4 thoughts on “William Byrd and Plantation Life”
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The essential difference between William Byrd’s letter to Charles Boyle and his secret diary is that of audience. In the letter to his friend back in England, Byrd’s purpose seems to be to “recommend[] this Country” (106). He describes the New World’s agricultural bounty, relative safety, rewarding community, and effective judicial system, among other positive characteristics. He does mention briefly that the American life is “attended with a great deal of trouble,” by which he seems to mean the physical and psychological work of keeping a plantation in functional order. But he describes this labor as a simple necessity, and he adds, “’tis an amusement in this silent Country and a continual exercise of our Patience and Economy.” The sentence structure implies that this addendum is a positive qualifier, but I doubt that Byrd meant “amusement” in the modern sense. I assume that he uses the word here in its more archaic sense, meaning to say that the work is a distraction or diversion– something that many Americans find occupying their time and trying their patience, but that they find fulfilling and instructive. Byrd’s thesis in the letter seems clear: whether he is attempting to convince himself or Boyle, his letter argues that life in the New World is fairly ideal and superior to life back home (“We have neither publick Robbers nor private, which Your Ldsp will think very strange…” “There are so many Temptations in England…” (107)).
Byrd’s secret diary does not aim to convince anyone of anything—it seems evident from the nature of Byrd’s confessions and the tone of his writing that the diary was not written to be shared with others. Byrd records his daily routines, describing his meals and interactions with family and slaves. He does not use elaborate or engaging language, and he does not provide any details of character or action that would help a reader form more vivid or thorough conceptions of the people with whom he spends his time—the diary is not meant to educate or entertain. Byrd’s writing seems to exist for its own sake: he feels the human need to document his rituals, his piety (or lack thereof), his frustrations, his marital and managerial difficulties. His entries tend to focus on his daily movements—waking, praying, eating, etc.– and his responsibilities: the tasks or interactions that burden him. This trend suggests that his sense of obligation occupied his mind most prominently—which, to me, does not characterize him as a particularly warm or thoughtful figure. Though the discrepancy in tone and subject between his diary and his letter to Boyle implies a problematic divide between the way Byrd actually felt and the way he believed he should feel, which does encourage some sympathy. After reading his secret diary, it seems likely that Byrd’s letter to Boyle was, at least in part, an attempt to remind himself of the benefits of his life in the New World. So although the intended audiences of the two documents are clearly different, the works were perhaps effectively directed at the same person– Byrd himself.
In a letter to Charles Boyle, Earl of Orrery, William Byrd reveals how much he loves being a Virginia planter. He writes about his stress-free life of independence and his beloved large family. In his secret diary, however, his daily descriptions paint a much different picture.
Byrd’s diary is notable for its repetition. Every day, he wakes up, reads the same texts, and eats boiled milk for breakfast. In the evening, he “[says] my prayers and had good health, good thoughts, and good humor, thank God almighty,” though he occasionally forgets. His daily activities are monotonous as well: He tends to the sick slaves, squabbles with his wife, and completes tedious chores. While he stresses his thanks to God constantly, his words are empty; had he been as devout to God as he expresses, he would not forget to pray as often as he did. In this regard, it seems as if he is just going through the motions when writing about his thanks to God. He only does this because it is expected of him.
Byrd’s tone is the antithesis of lively, as he repeats the same activities every day. Often, he seems stressed, whether it is due to his slaves being ill or his cold he combats. At one point, he discusses a card game and abruptly writes, “My cold was very bad and I lost my money” (394). He also gets angry with his friend Will Randolph for repeating something he said that insulted the Governor, for which he “marked him as a very false friend” as a result. Rarely does he write about happy events that occur. His description of his dream in which “a coffin was brought by my house and thrown into the hall” underscores his morbid, disillusioned tone (395).
His most interesting accounts involve his fights with his wife. Judging from what he writes, he and his wife cannot agree on anything. Be it breakfast or the treatment of slaves, his wife is constantly arguing with him. At one point, he writes, “…my wife flew into such a passion that she hoped she would be revenged of me.” Even when she apologizes, he observes that he “seemed to resent, that she might be the more sorry for her folly. She ate no dinner nor appeared the whole day.” As a result of this spat, he admits that he was “a little out of humor” (396). These domestic woes emphasize his rampant discontent with his affairs.
Ultimately, Byrd is much unhappier in his secret diary than he appears in his letter to Boyle. This is primarily due to the audience for which he wrote these texts. Byrd never expected anyone else to read his secret diary, but his letter sought to keep up appearances to his friend in England. Byrd clearly cares about the superficial, as he spent a good deal of money on his house, library, and garden (391). His snide remark in his diary that “the President had the worst clothes of anybody there” in one of his diary entries further accentuates his superficiality. Thus, while Byrd sought to convince himself that he led an ideal, picturesque life in both this letter and his diary, his tone and daily activities reveal his dissatisfaction with the reality of his life in Virginia.
The readings by William Bryd, his personal diary and his letter to Charles Boyle in London, are extraordinary in their dissimilarity. Bryd’s diary is a repetitious recitation of his daily activities without barely any insight or reflection. Each entry is almost a fill in the blank: Date___; arose at ___; read ___ chapters of Hebrew and Greek in Lucian; said prayers and drank boiled milk; exercised, checked out slaves and wife; comments on the weather; has an occasional visitor or activity; evening prayers were said or neglected and then, finally, he comments on his health and humor and gives thanks to God. Each day is the same. There is no emotion, no passion, no philosophy imparted. His days are always “in order” just as his plantation. There is no spontaneity and no goals or hopes for the future. He seems detached. As mentioned, he “wrote more accounts to go to England” and if the comments in his letter to Charles Boyle are at all typical, it is as if Bryd transformed into a literary giant with metaphors of his plantation being a “Machine” that he must “set all the Springs in motion” (Arner 106). He speaks of the “pilfering Convicts” and “needy Governors” who are harmless “as a Scold would be without a Tongue” (Arner 106). He makes an analogy between the Supreme Court and a Lion. He contrasts this idyllic America with England that is beset with problems. This stylized writing is in sharp contrast to his “accounting” method of writing his diary. He most likely takes on a more flowery and striking style of writing in order to impress the Earl of Orrery with his new life. Due to the change in his audience, he thus creates a utopian image of his plantation life that distinctly embellishes his mundane repetitive yet happy life reflected in his diary.
It seems that there are many things that are of major importance to William Byrd. It would seem that on a day-to-day basis he was mostly preoccupied with his prayers, his exercise regimen, his family and the slaves on his plantation. Each day Byrd writes about the prayers he says to God and how he seeks forgiveness. He was also largely focused on text as he mentions the Greek and Hebrew texts he reads every morning. The diary entries seem to focus a lot on his slaves and his punishment of them. Byrd is a plantation owner so it makes sense that he writes about his slaves, and the other aspects of the entries; family, exercise, reading, prayer seem like everyday activities someone would put into a diary.
His general tone in the diaries seems to be calm. He seems to be unbothered by how he treats his slaves and even unbothered by the disagreements with his wife.
With the letters Byrd sends to Boyle and others there is a huge difference in context when thinking of his diary entries. In these letters he makes no mention of his slaves or of his business. He also provides very little description of his family. These letters are vastly different from the writings of the diaries.