Posted by Guest Reviewer

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This guest review is from Danielle Fritz. Danielle is a former librarian who has a special affection for children’s lit and books about the funeral industry. She first cut her criticism teeth as a fanfic writer. A resident of the upper midwest, she’s learned to love beer and tater tot casserole and tolerate long winters. Most nights will find her cuddled up with her pups and wearing out her wrists with yet another crochet project.

…

I might have some bias when it comes to this book. For starters, I live in the former divorce colony, Sioux Falls, South Dakota. And second, when the author gave a public talk with our local NPR station, I got the chance to ask a question during the Q&A about how visiting our historic downtown influenced her ability to connect with the women she depicted. And the NPR host told me I was coming for her job with such a thought-provoking question. That’s the kind of compliment that can feed a former gifted student for decades.

But anyways. The book.

With a touch of true crime and a whole lot of empathy and humor, April White’s exploration of the politics and personalities centered around divorce was a deeply compelling read. Divorce, up until very recently, was a big taboo in the Western World. In some communities, it’s still deeply stigmatized or forbidden. White focuses in on one specific period of American history when East Coast elites sought fast and simple divorces in the new state of South Dakota.

After having lived in this city for almost a decade, I had no idea we were once a bastion for wealthy women from the East seeking an easy divorce. For whatever reason, my history teachers in high school didn’t consider accessible divorce to be particularly revolutionary in comparison to, say, the Spanish-American War. But I can certainly trace its importance in women’s rights and welfare.

From the 1890s to late 1900s, women flocked to Sioux Falls, the state’s largest city sitting near the borders of Minnesota, Nebraska, and Iowa. While remote and devoid of the social entertainments offered in the east, Sioux Falls offered a particular attraction: divorce was remarkably easy to procure because one need only to establish residency, which took 90 days. Most other states required a year’s residency. South Dakota was also more lenient on what would allow a woman her freedom. In places such as New York, the only provision for divorce was infidelity, which could be difficult to prove. However, judges in South Dakota would recognize instances of cruelty, physical and emotional abuse, financial control, excessive drinking, and more.

But it wasn’t as simple as settling into a hotel for 3 months and waiting for your court date. For starters, these transplants had to deal with the wary community — South Dakotans weren’t thrilled to be known as the divorce capital of the country. Journalists would hound the most high-profile women. Attorneys would appear, aiming for prospective clients to make a quick buck. The high society ladies of Sioux Falls were reluctant to rub elbows with “immoral” divorce seekers. But because some judges were stringent on their belief that “residency” was more than renting a hotel room, so many women sought to integrate themselves into Sioux Falls. They attended teas, enjoyed nights out at the theater, bought homes, and attended church.

Speaking of church — another challenge to South Dakota’s divorce policies was the Catholic church, which had a large presence throughout the state (and still does). Bishop Hare, the leader of the diocese, held a lot of sway both locally and with upper class families out east. He campaigned against divorce until his dying day, writing letters to local politicians and papers, crafting sermons, and the like. At one point, he even managed to pull President Theodore Roosevelt into his campaign to push for the “sanctity of marriage.”

These women endured in comfort, however. The majority took up their residence in the Cataract Hotel, the five star accommodations within the city. Today’s ugly Wells Fargo was once an elegant retreat featuring elevator service, steam-heated rooms, fine dinings, and a manager who “looks after us all like a mother” according to one occupant. Despite its rich decor and high-tech features, the wealthy occupants would redecorate their suites for their stay, such as Baroness Margaret Astor De Stuer who ordered “new furniture, a bigger bathtub, and a piano” for her space.

April White gives us a picture of the rise and fall of the divorce colony in the story of four women, each with their own section of the book. The impetus for failed marriages range in reasons similar to what we still see today — financial abuse, control, infidelity, addiction. Some, such as Margaret Astor mentioned above, endured years of battle and painful custody issues. Others were able to get tidy deals and maintain good relationships with their former in-laws, like Floral Bigelow Dodge. Mary Nevins Blain had a whirlwind marriage to the son of a politician, and found herself pushed out by his disapproving mother. My personal favorite of the four is Blanche Molineux, who found herself hastening to South Dakota to enact divorce proceedings against her recently released husband, a convicted murderer who, besides the gym manager he definitely poisoned, probably also killed his rival for Blanche’s affection ahead of their marriage. Blanche ended up staying in South Dakota following her divorce and married her attorney.

These women are deeply relatable. White gives us snippets of their correspondence and journals. We witness their grief at losing custody of their children or ending a once-happy relationship. We get to read about the joy sparked by the beauty of a South Dakota spring, making new friends, or receiving support from loved ones on the East Coast. I found myself utterly struck by the emotions depicted when they were finally given their long-sought after freedom. Or the sorrow when they encountered yet another road block.

Historical nonfiction books that are able to tie present conflicts to those in the past really appeal to me. It’s disheartening to realize over a hundred years after the end of the Divorce Colony, women are still facing many of the struggles within the politics of marriage. Marriage in the West is largely established on mutual affection rather than strictly capital. But it still stuffers from the same conflicts. I have friends who have ended relationships over money problems, alcohol abuse, and infidelity. And while it’s definitely easier to obtain divorce nowadays (at least none of my friends have had to move states to get theirs filed), there’s still stigma. In some communities, there are continuing social consequences for divorcees.

But while reading this book, I found myself hoping the women White portrays would have found some level of satisfaction in the ways we have moved forward in terms of marriage and women’s rights. Margaret, Mary, Flora, and Blanche probably didn’t think of themselves as revolutionaries. If anything, they were likely overwhelmed by the fear and doubt that accompanies claiming independence in the face of broad opposition. But their courage in claiming their freedom ultimately helped push us forward.

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/reviews/the-divorce-colony-by-april-white/

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/?post_type=reviews&p=148505