The article discusses the concepts of ʻsouthernessʼ and ʻsouthern code of honorʼ in the antebellum plantation novel The Valley of Shenandoah, or Memoirs of the Graysons (1824) by George Tucker and the way they are interpreted in the Reconstruction Era novel White Rose of Memphis (1881) by William Clark Falkner. It identifies how Faulkner remains true to the traditions of the southern pre-war novel and how he breaks with it. On the example of the main characters of the novels – Edward Grayson Harry Wallingford – is shown the transformation of the canonical image of the gentleman-cavalier who represents typical southern consciousness. The article examines the characteristics of the southern worldview, studies attitude to public opinion, dueling code, misalliance, financial insolvency, choice of profession from the perspective of the southern code of honor.