To what extent was the planters' image of themselves as chivalrous paternalistic cavaliers an ...

This is a controversial subject among historians. The text emphasizes that it is largely a myth. The typical slaveholder owned a relative handful of slaves. The newer generation of slaveholders came not from the ranks of the old aristocracy, but were aggressive speculators who had parlayed small holdings into new fortunes. None of these are compatible with a paternalistic image. The realities of marriage patterns suggests that wealth and status played far more significant roles than romantic love. Planters' wives spent far more time managing their households than they spent standing on a pedestal.