“Ardently Wooed” – Love Letters From Joel Chandler Harris

Happy Valentine’s Day!

As a bit of a hopeless romantic, Valentine’s Day has always held an appeal to me. Even when I haven’t been in a relationship, I’ve enjoyed the excuse to show my friends and family that I love them. Plus who doesn’t love another excuse to eat chocolate?

When I started researching Joel Chandler Harris, I have to admit I melted a little reading about his courtship with his wife, Esther LaRose Harris. The two met when Esther’s parents and Harris were staying in the same boarding house in Savannah. Harris charmed her parents so when “Essie” finally came to visit them, the young couple had no roadblocks to pursuing a friendship… and then more. Harris was immediately smitten with the “small, dainty, and coquettish” Essie whose “dark eyes sparkled with innocent mischief.”

Eventually, Essie returned to Canada while Harris remained in Georgia. During that time – as the index of The Life and Letters of Joel Chandler Harris so delightfully puts it – Essie was “ardently wooed” by the budding journalist.

While it felt a little invasive, I loved reading Harris’ letters to Essie professing his love. Perhaps because I’ve grown up in the era of courtship via text, but love letters always hold a special appeal to me. To perfectly articulate your feelings for someone is challenging enough without then committing it to paper.

And so I will leave this Valentine’s Day with just some of the examples of Harris expressing his love for Essie in his many love letter:

If you were to ask me why I love you, my answer would be something like this: “Principally, my dear, because I can’t help it.”

There is nothing in the world I desire so much as to promote your happiness… I would sacrifice my own happiness any day to secure yours. I feel that there is nothing within the range of possibility that I would not do to make you happy – and therefore it is that I know I love you truly.

I wanted to tell you good-bye, but I knew I would have to hide my feelings and say something commonplace… If I had taken hold of your hand in parting I would have felt an irresistible desire to tell you how thoroughly miserable I was – how blank and desolate my life would be without you – and how patiently and faithfully I should watch and wait and long for your return.

My Own Darling: You cannot imagine – indeed you cannot – how very welcome your letter was… My whole existence is so completely wrapped up in you that I would not care to live away from you. You often call me independent, but, my darling, you never made a greater mistake. I bluster about a good deal, but I am so wholly and completely yours that I could not give you up.