She Would Be a Soldier; Or, The Plains of Chippewa — Context and Discussion

A Comedy of Culinary Disappointment

The opening scene in an inn relies on Pendragon's exaggerated refinement. He demands 'an anchovy, a toast, and a bottle of old port,' only to be offered bear meat, 'possum fat, and hominy. His servant LaRole, speaking in fractured English, reports finding 'a ver pretti demoiselle' but nothing to eat. The humor derives from the gap between Pendragon's expectations—shaped by London chop-houses and Parisian pigeon livers—and the frontier's limited fare. The waiter's line, 'the army eats us out of house and home,' hints at the war's material strain, but the scene plays as farce. Noah uses Pendragon's disgust to mock both the foppish officer and the rustic conditions, a pattern that recurs throughout the excerpts.

Cultural Collision on the Frontier

When an Indian chief enters, the tone shifts. He asks Pendragon, 'How did you leave my father, the King of England?'—a claim of kinship that Pendragon finds 'impertinent.' The chief's calm dignity contrasts with Pendragon's bluster. He orders his warriors to have 'fire in their eyes' and speaks of priests examining them. Noah does not present the chief as a stereotype; he is a commanding figure who expects respect. The exchange reveals a layered view of the War of 1812: the British officer is a comic figure, while the Indigenous leader speaks with authority. The catalog subject 'Chippewa, Battle of' is present only as a backdrop; the excerpts focus on these tense, theatrical encounters.

Disguise and the Title's Promise

The title She Would Be a Soldier suggests a woman in disguise, but the excerpts do not show that plot directly. The editor's preface and the play's structure indicate a cross-dressing heroine, likely Christine, who follows her lover to war. The excerpts instead emphasize Pendragon's comic complaints and the chief's entrance. The catalog's secondary topics are absent from the excerpts, but the title's promise of a woman's agency remains unfulfilled in the provided text. Readers should expect a blend of farce, romance, and military pageantry, with the battle itself possibly serving as a climax rather than the central focus.

Noah's play, written when he was a journalist and former consul, reflects his interest in American identity and international relations. The excerpts show a work that uses humor to explore cultural differences on the Niagara frontier. Readers should approach it as a period piece that mixes genres, not as a strict historical drama. The full play likely resolves the title's promise of a woman soldier, but the excerpts leave that thread unexplored.

That old play, with its soldier’s bluster and the quiet dignity beneath it, always made me think of another volume shelved nearby. There is a shared pulse, a gentle insistence on listening past the noise. The Post Office — Context and Discussion holds the same patience, the same ear for what is said in waiting. I have known both for years now, like old friends. They speak softly, yet linger.