When the Jessamine Grows

When the Jessamine Grows begins like many historical fiction novels set in the Civil War—on the cusp of war—and closely examines one family, the McBrides, in their daily life. The rural setting of Nash County, North Carolina, emphasizes the McBrides’ preference for neutrality, as they live far removed from the larger plantations that were often the epicenter of pro-Confederate sentiment. The McBrides’ land symbolizes Joetta and Ennis’s desire to live a simple, peaceful life amid the approaching war. The farm represents a sanctuary for the family, a place where they hope to remain neutral despite the escalating conflict. However, the land also serves as a microcosm of the divided nation, reflecting the internal struggle of North Carolina as a border state: Ennis and Joetta McBride dread the rising turbulence in the country and the possibility of war coming to North Carolina, except for the pro-Confederate Rudean McBride. However, the war quickly divides the children, Robert and Henry, from their parents. The family is physically divided when Henry leaves to volunteer with the Confederate Army, and Ennis goes after him. However, in this novel, the division is also emotional. Rudean’s glorification of the Confederacy and war piques Henry’s interest in fighting for the South. This conflicts with Ennis and Joetta’s neutrality and desire to not take sides in the war, only wanting to stay on the farm and not be involved. This tension highlights the tragic reality of the Civil War, where even small communities and family units were torn apart by ideological differences, challenging familial loyalty. 

The first section of the novel also introduces the main characters of the novel. Joetta and her husband, Ennis, wish to remain neutral, knowing how brutal war is and believing that Rudean is sugarcoating war for Henry and Robert. They also wish to remain on their farm and enjoy their simple life raising their livestock and growing their crops. Their roles as parents become central here, as Joetta and Ennis grapple with protecting their children from Rudean’s rhetoric. Their concerns reflect the universal theme of how easily youth can be influenced by persuasive but often flawed ideologies, particularly in times of national conflict. Ennis and Joetta also despise Rudean’s racism, with both finding his claim to Henry that the Union freeing enslaved individuals will lead to freed Black men assaulting white women repulsive and vulgar. Rudean’s love of the Confederacy is shown immediately, with him insulting President Lincoln and talking about the glory and prestige of owning a plantation with enslaved laborers. 

Henry’s transformation suggests a powerful shift in his values. His allegiance to the Confederacy supersedes his family loyalty, especially as he buys a cockade symbolizing Confederate pride and begins ignoring his parents’ guidance. The cockade emerges as a symbol of Confederate loyalty that underscores The Moral and Social Implications of Neutrality in Conflict. Joetta’s insistence that Henry give her the cockade reflects her disappointment in his abandonment of the values she and Ennis taught him. The conflict over the cockade, leading to a physical struggle between Ennis and Henry, symbolizes the deeper ideological divide within the family. It also marks a turning point in Henry’s transformation, as his loyalty to the Confederacy begins to eclipse his loyalty to his parents. This pits him against Ennis and strains their relationship, to the point where after Henry leaves to volunteer, Ennis initially refuses to go after him. The first section also establishes Robert as a sweet boy who is devoted to his parents but also enjoys his grandfather’s stories. He also cares deeply about his brother but becomes unhappy after his father leaves, believing his brother should have been left to deal with his decision to volunteer. Robert’s shift in behavior foreshadows the emotional toll the war will take on the entire family as the narrative progresses. The novel also introduces Joetta’s pro-Confederate friend Bess, with whom she soon finds herself in conflict, and Mary, who shares her neutrality and remains a steady support system for the family throughout the novel.

The first section primarily explores The Moral and Social Implications of Neutrality in Conflict through Ennis and Joetta’s desire to be neutral, which is a controversial choice in any Southern state of North Carolina. Even as the war is approaching North Carolina, Bess finds Joetta’s neutrality concerning, believing it signals a lack of loyalty to the South. This interaction tests Joetta’s relationship with Bess, demonstrating how even lifelong friendships can buckle under the weight of conflicting ideologies. The Impact of War on Families appears early, with Rudean’s idealization of war and Henry’s anticipation of fighting creating conflict with the neutral Joetta and Ennis. The emotional division foreshadows the deeper rifts that will develop in the family as they navigate the harsh realities of the Civil War. Resilience and the Drive for Survival are also briefly introduced with Joetta trying to make the best of Henry being gone and then Ennis leaving.

The descriptions of the McBrides’ land also uses of imagery to establish the mood in the early chapters, particularly when Joetta works in the fields and notices the changing season. The imagery of the spring planting juxtaposes the growing tensions within the family, highlighting Joetta’s attempts to focus on life-giving tasks even as the shadow of war looms closer. This contrast creates a melancholic mood, mirroring Joetta’s internal sorrow and her foreboding sense of the inevitable changes coming to their way of life. Ennis and Joetta wish Henry would be content with this, but his departure disrupts their outwardly peaceful farm life. The farm reflects not only their livelihood but also their desire to remain uninvolved in the war’s violence, representing the disruption of their pastoral ideals as the conflict escalates. Joetta then struggles to uphold her life of peace and simplicity on the land like she had before Henry and Ennis left. Additionally, using flashback when exploring Ennis’s childhood foreshadows Joetta’s later statement that Ennis got his values more from his hardworking mother Anna, who freed the enslaved man Ezra, than from his father Rudean. This backstory provides context for Ennis’s empathy and moral conviction, contrasting sharply with his father’s rigid pro-Confederate stance and setting up the deeper generational conflict within the McBride family.