Fannie Harrell's Diary as a Representation of Women's Leisure in the Early Twentieth Century

The early Twentieth century was an era marked by significant change due to economic growth, political reform, and progressive development. Primary examination views life back then through a general historical lens focusing on prominent movements or events such as women’s suffrage, World War One, and the Roaring Twenties. However, it overlooks the smaller daily-life moments that contextualize peoples’ experiences, even a question as common as wondering what people did for enjoyment. By analyzing Fannie Harrell’s diary, this research examined her everyday activities and applied them to the greater context of women’s lives and leisure during the Early Twentieth Century. I have extracted and identified evidence through the primary source of her diary and other archival materials provided by the Historical Society of Forsyth County and supplemented the information with secondary sources to contextualize how it relates to women of the time. As an educated businesswoman, teacher, landowner, and farmer, Fannie Harrell’s diary provides a glimpse into a woman’s life during the early twentieth century that is unimpeded by external influence or generalized assumptions about her identity. When many others reflect on the early twentieth century, they first think of a young suffragist tradition-defying flapper or a quiet and domestic homemaker and mother. Fannie did not fit the mold, so an investigation of her diary provides a depiction of life and leisure beyond generalizations and gives a deeper meaning to women’s experiences. This project will use such representations to explore the lives of early twentieth-century women through Fannie Harrell’s written experiences.