The Tobacco Wives

Myers utilizes vernacular to illustrate the Southern dialect of the characters in the novel and create a homespun atmosphere representative of small-town America. She employs colloquialisms to create realistic dialogue amongst characters and provide information about the setting. For example, her use of regional terms, phrases, and Southern grammar and syntax gives information about the rural towns where Maddie operates. Maddie describes Momma as “real alert when darkness came” (2) and calls her daydreams “highfalutin notions” (36). This type of speech also comes out in Maddie’s conversations with Anthony, like when he tells her, “[i]t didn’t make a lick of sense to me” (144), and Maddie describes him as someone who “talked your ear off” (152). Frances tells Maddie that she must follow instructions or Etta “will tan my hide” (159). Vernacular creates verisimilitude in a historical novel and situates readers in a specific region. Myers’s use of vernacular lends a specific tone to the novel and a distinct voice to the characters.