4) Q: Symbolism is a subtle but important component of Constance’s ball gown. How did that symbolism come about and did such symbolism play an actual part in women’s move toward greater rights for themselves?
A: Yes, symbolism of various sorts was an important aspect of women’s clothing, especially as related to the first women’s krewes and then the Suffragettes. The Mardi Gras ball encompassed a wide range of symbols in the choice of themes and tableaux, specifically as an unspoken means of emphasizing the strength and leadership of women in history and mythology. For the Suffragettes, proper attire was of vital importance to elicit respect for women as they marched and protested. The three colors they chose to wear—white, purple, and gold, or sometimes green—symbolized purity, loyalty, and a nod to the sunflowers of Kansas to honor Susan B. Anthony. Later they began to wear diagonal sashes in these symbolic colors over their white clothing. Constance’s gown becomes a collaboration in the transformation of defined societal norms. The process awakens the creative energies of both Alice and Constance to find and integrate the symbolic essence of both women, expressing power while remaining subtle and even incognito.
5) Q: Dressmaking and skills in stitching and embroidery are crucial to both plot and character. Could you talk a bit about those skills? Did you need to do a lot of research about them or were you already familiar with them to some degree?
A: The dressmaking and stitchery were, in fact, one of the few things in the novel that required very little research. I grew up sewing, beginning with a miniature “toy”, but fully functional sewing machine I received when I was about five. In high school, I made most of my own clothes, learning from the women in my family and even from my father, who also sewed.
My embroidery and stitching skills came through the women in my family, as well as the community. In recent years, two close friends have shared their advanced skills in beading and bead embroidery. I love combining these skills to create unique jewelry.
6) Q: This era saw the advent of the sewing machine, among other new inventions. Could you talk about some of the history and any experience of your own?
A: For the history of sewing machines, I did need a fair amount of technological research. In its earliest advent, there were multiple efforts to create a mechanism that would lock two separate threads into a single stitch. Ultimately the stitch evolved that even today with our computerized, electric-run machines varies little in its basics from the stitch of those early treadle machines. By 1900 sewing machines had become common household items. I learned and sewed on essentially the same treadle machine as Alice and the girls in the orphanage, with all the maintenance that requires.
7) Q: 1900 was a time of great technological innovation. Was there anything in the way of new inventions that took you by surprise?
A: Indeed, there was. If anything needed little or no research, I thought it would be Dorothea’s car. My father bought an old Model T Ford when I was about nine or ten. He loved that car and I loved riding in it, standing beside him with my arm around his neck. When I was old enough to learn to drive, my first lessons were in that car. Then I lived in France as a student with a family whose antique cars are now in the museum at Le Mans. I went on rallies across France with them in caravans of antique cars. So I confidently began to write about Dorothea driving, describing the gearshift and clutch, the steering, the accelerator. All I needed at the end of the scene was the make of the car. Imagine my astonishment to learn that all cars at the time were electric, with no clutch, no accelerator, not even a steering wheel, but a throttle and tiller like a boat.
8) Q: How did you go about your research for the book?
A: Research of any kind is always an adventure. When New Orleans is the base of your research, it is an even more enjoyable adventure. I rented an apartment in the French Quarter for a couple of years after Katrina, so knew my way around to some extent. I had ridden a float for the Iris parade, an historic all-female krewe, and had attended one of the grand balls of Mardi Gras. When I was invited to speak about THE ABOLITIONIST’S DAUGHTER on a panel at the Faulkner Festival there, I made time for a longer stay, with extensive research in various museums, especially focused on clothing and styles, then long days in the archives at Howard-Tilton Memorial Library of Tulane University and at the Williams Research Center of The Historic New Orleans Collection. Of course, the time arrived when I had to return home and work online, but given the material I was researching, even that was an adventure. One of my greatest challenges for research was to determine the coupling without vestibules between train cars prior to the Panama-Limited.
9) Q: In addition to New Orleans, Chicago plays a major role in the novel. Was there anything in your research of that city that surprised you?
A: Chicago is one of my favorite American cities. I took the train with an overnight sleeper from Memphis to Chicago when I was in college. I have returned to Chicago a number of times with a friend to visit the Art Institute. For me, it is such a beautiful and comfortable city to explore. So I was entirely amazed to find in 1900 the unpaved streets, mud deep, icy in winter with plank boardwalks for pedestrians. I had naively expected to find at least cobblestoned streets. I was also intrigued to learn how the streets were named, numbered in one direction, of course, but in the other alphabetized so that according to letter, you would know how far you were from the state line.
10) Q: You have talked a good bit about your research for historical accuracy. Are there other underlying goals that inspire your writing?
A: Oh, yes. Perhaps even more so. I want to present my characters not only as fitting appropriately into the era in which they are presented, but as thoroughly human as possible. I endeavor to present them in the full complexity and depth of our psychological and emotional makeup. None of us is “all” of any one thing; the best of us have flaws and the worst of us carry a woundedness that contributes to terrible outcomes. As a therapist myself, I have a deep desire to present the reader with characters who convey that human complexity.
A READING GROUP GUIDE
THE SEAMSTRESS OF
NEW ORLEANS
ABOUT THIS GUIDE
The suggested questions are included to enhance your group’s reading of Diane C. McPhail’s The Seamstress of New Orleans!
1. Two female protagonists of equal importance do not often appear in novels. In addition, there are other important female characters in this novel. Which of the characters did you like most? And why? Whom did you most closely identify with? And why?
2. Dorothea is a powerful woman in numerous ways. How did you perceive her in the context of the immense change at the turn of the century? What do you think about the efforts of these women to affect change in somewhat “disguised” ways, using the way things were to shift the culture?
3. The Gibson girl look was the fashion of the day. Thanks to Charles Gibson’s drawings, we are romantically familiar with this beauty standard today. These trends also gave rise to a sporty spirit for tennis and bicycling, and thus greater freedom for women. Yet the “pigeon breast” distortion of the female body required corsets that thrust the spine forward at the top and backward at the bottom. What are your thoughts about the resulting levels of confinement, containment, limitation and the mixed messages, not just about the body, but also about who women were expected to be?