Anne Firor Scott's The Southern Lady: From Pedestal to Politics 1830-1930 takes a social yet intellectual approach to the cultural image of the ideal southern woman. Scott analyzes the effect of this predominate image on women's behavior. Southern women are given a voice through Scott's writings. They clearly and vividly speak out about their feelings. These female southern heroes vividly and profoundly proclaim self-determination inspite of having to sometimes conform to social and cultural expectations. Scott relied upon diaries and letters, which had been preserved in manuscript collections across the United States, to analyze southern women's perceptions about