One Thousand White Women: The Journals of May Dodd

“And when I do so the breath catches in my throat at the immensity of earth that lies before us, the prairie unspeakable in its vast, lonely reaches. Dizzy and faint at the sight of it, I feel as if the air has been sucked from my lungs, as if I have fallen off the edge of the world, and am hurtling headlong through empty space.”

Upon leaving Chicago, May turns to face her future. The author uses visceral physical reactions—a caught breath, dizziness, the feeling of falling—to convey the overwhelming psychological impact of this transition. The prairie landscape is established as a powerful symbol, representing a future that is simultaneously one of immense freedom and terrifying emptiness, a stark contrast to the physical and social confinement of her past. This moment marks May’s complete separation from the “civilized” world and her entry into an unknown, unstructured existence.

“All of my misery for the crime of falling in love with a common man. All of my heartbreak, torture, and punishment because I chose to bring you, my dearest children, into the world. All of my black and hopeless despair because I chose an unconventional life […]”

Writing to the children from whom she has been separated, May explains the reasons for her institutionalization. The use of anaphora, repeating the phrase “All of my,” builds rhetorical force and emphasizes the perceived injustice of her situation. By defining her “crimes” as love, childbirth, and unconventionality, the passage critiques the rigid patriarchal standards of her society, directly supporting the theme of The Hypocrisy of White Society. The direct address to her children establishes the journal’s primary function as a testament to her sanity and maternal love.