The court records from "A Chesapeake Afternoon Mystery" shows that the entire case centers around Katherine's rape. After filing her complaint, investigators, or "deposeths", are sent in to investigate and see if they can find some clues to this crime. However, by the end of the case, four out of five deposeths claim that it was due to her actions that Katherine got what she deserved. In fact, the court records doesn't even mention the kind of punishment that John has to endure for his crime. "A Chesapeake Afternoon Mystery" shows that woman were supposed to know their place in society; they were supposed to act proper and ladylike.
According to John Aust, a deposeth, Katherine was seen acting not ladylike by flirting with the servants while drinking syder. She kissed some of the servants, touched their "codpiece", and commented on Dirke's "thing" several times. She also went as far as to take "Mingoe one of the said Cocke's Negroes about the Necke and fling on the bedd and [kiss] him and putt her hand into his Codpiece." [1] However another deposeth, Humphrey Smith suggests that John Aust is lying about his testimony because "the deponent saw Katherine's Mouth torne and her lipps swell'd, And the handkerchief that she said the Mulatto Stopt her Mouth with very much bloody." [1] John Aust's testimony states that Katherine was in "good terms" with the servants but Humphrey Smith's testimony states that she showed signs of physical abuse during her rape. These quotes could mean that John Aust might have exaggerated the truth on his testimony, thus she needed to be taught a lesson in ladyship by being raped.
Another example is at the ending of the court records, when Humphrey Smith states that "Mulatto [confesses] that he had been to aske the said Watkins wife forgiveness three tymes, and likewise the Mulatto sayd that Henry Watkins bidd him keepe off his plantation or else he would shoote him." [1] Henry Watkins, husband of Katherine, wasn't even interviewed in the whole record, so in a sense he didn't care that his wife was raped. However, when John visits Katherine's house to ask for forgiveness, Henry threatens to shoot him. This could mean that Henry thought that Katherine got what she deserved since she didn't act lady like; he doesn't care about Katherine and how she feels about the whole ordeal, which also shows that he cares about his reputation more than he cares about his wife.
The code of conduct for woman back then was strict because they were supposed to learn how to take care of the house, rear children, and care for the husband as well as stand by his side. However, in Katherine's case, she flirted with other men, drank profusely, and acted in a raunchy manner. So according to most of the deposeths, with the exception of Humphrey Smith, if Katherine hadn't mingled with the servants in the first place and had kept to herself, she wouldn't have been raped. This code of conduct would be mandatory for woman all the way till the early twentieth century when womens rights movements would sweep the nation resulting in equal and fair rights for all women in America.
Works Cited:
1. A Chesapeake Afternoon Mystery. 1681. Court records of Virginia
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