31 pages • 1 hour read
Harriet E. WilsonOur Nig: Sketches from the Life of a Free Black
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1859A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
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BetaChapters 10-12Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 10 Summary
After James’s death, Mr. Bellmont starts to take more notice of Frado’s spiritual education. He encourages Aunt Abby to take Frado to evening sermons. During these sermons, Frado’s curiosity as a young black girl makes her a novelty. One of the neighbors, observing Frado’s participation, informs Mrs. Bellmont of the young girl’s nature during these sermons. Mrs. Bellmont worries that Frado may reveal her abuses during the sermons, so she orders the young girl to not attend religious services, or else Mrs. Bellmont “would whip her to death” (58).
One day, Mr. Bellmont cautions Frado, “You are looking sick […] you cannot endure beating as you once would” (58). Motivated by his warning, Frado stands up to Mrs. Bellmont one day when the mistress threatens to strike her. Frado orders Mrs. Bellmont to stop or else she will never work her again. This seems to have an impact on Mrs. Bellmont, who ceases her abuses for a while, though the scolding remains.
The Bellmonts receive word that Mary has passed away. Mrs. Bellmont, in her grief, returns to some of her abusive behavior. The inconsistency of Mrs. Bellmont’s cruelty torments Frado. When Jane visits to offer Mrs. Bellmont some relief, Frado does not feel the same comfort she once felt from her allies in the house. Jane finds that she cannot put up with Mrs. Bellmont’s controlling attitude and ends her visit early. She tells Frado that when Frado turns 18, she should come out West with her to escape Mrs. Bellmont. Frado is so scarred by her experiences within the household that she feels “disposed to flee from any and every one having her similitude of name or feature” (61).
Chapter 11 Summary
Jack returns home from the West with his new family, consisting of wife, Jenny, and a child. Mrs. Bellmont despises Jenny for her lack of wealth. When Jack leaves temporarily to find work in Baltimore, Mrs. Bellmont spreads false rumors about Jenny’s infidelity and tells Jenny about Jack’s other love interests in the efforts to tear them apart. Jenny tries to write to Jack to have him rescue her, but her letters are intercepted by Mrs. Bellmont. Frado helps deliver one of the letters so that it would ensure swift delivery to Jack. Jack returns home after receiving the letter, furious at his mother’s plotting. He leaves the house with his family, never returning again.
When Frado turns 18, she is relieved of her services to the Bellmonts. She takes employment and residence at Mrs. Moore’s home. Moore is kind to her. However, years of work and mistreatment have made Frado very ill, and she falls sick soon after being employed by Mrs. Moore. She tries to continue work in the next season with a clergyman’s family, but her worsening conditions mean that she needs care. With nowhere to go, Frado has no choice but to return to the Bellmonts and is taken care of by Aunt Abby.
When Frado recovers, she is able to work at Mrs. Moore’s again. However, she falls sick once again when she takes up work with the clergyman’s family. This time, Mrs. Bellmont refuses to allow Frado to return to her home. The state takes Frado into its care briefly, authorizing two maidens to attend to her. However, after two years without improvement to Frado’s condition, they relinquish her from their care. After this, Mrs. Hoggs decides to take Frado into her care, receiving state money to do so. Mrs. Hoggs attempts to ruin Frado’s reputation by telling others that the young girl is an “imposter” (68) and is lying about being ill. After this happens, Mrs. Moore takes Frado into her care once again. During this time, Frado’s health improves, so much so that she is able to do some sewing work.
Frado decides to advance her status in life by learning to make straw bonnets. She seeks and finds an instructor, who kindly teaches her the craft and provides her with further literacy education. Eventually, Frado masters the craft and becomes an avid reader. She advances her reputation with the rest of the town through her increased literacy, craft, and a devout Christian attitude.
Chapter 12 Summary
Frado marries Samuel, who is one of the “professed fugitives from slavery” (70) who make their living giving lectures about their former enslavement as part of the abolitionist movement. They move to Singleton, the town of her birth, to start a family. Samuel leaves her to travel the country giving lectures, leaving her to fend for herself when she falls ill. While Samuel is away, Frado receives word that he has contracted yellow fever and will not return. Frado is cared for by friends in the meantime. Eventually, she moves to Providence to find work. A friend shares with her recipes to make hair products for black women, leading to a lucrative business for Frado.
The narrator reveals that Mr. and Mrs. Bellmont pass away years after Frado’s departure from their house. Mrs. Bellmont’s irritability leading up to her death makes her so insufferable that no one wants to attend to her, including her own children. Aunt Abby and Jack also eventually pass away while Jane is still alive.
Chapters 10-12 Analysis
In these final chapters, Mrs. Bellmont’s exertion of power and control continues to extend beyond Frado to encompass other members of her family. Jack’s wife, Jenny, becomes Mrs. Bellmont’s next victim, as the older woman loathes her daughter-in-law’s lack of material wealth and status. Mrs. Bellmont enacts cruel and manipulative behavior, such as spreading rumors about Jenny’s infidelity and hiding Jenny’s letters to Jack to create a rift between the couple. This example of the level of cruelty that Mrs. Bellmont is willing to enact against her own kin demonstrates once again that the mistress prizes her family’s status above all else. In this portrayal, as in the case of Jane, Mrs. Bellmont’s actions further alienate her children, leaving her to live an isolated and lonely existence in the end.
Meanwhile, through the influence of religion, Frado begins to gain confidence in her self-worth. She experiences a turning point in her personal growth after all her allies have left the house, leaving Mr. Bellmont to take a more active role in benevolent care. While a younger Frado would consider Mr. Bellmont’s advice that she “cannot endure beating as [she] once would” (58) as unremarkable, her spiritual transformation has encouraged her to have a more defined purpose in living her life. By gaining the will to live and to aspire towards a greater goal, Frado defends herself directly for the first time, fending off Mrs. Bellmont’s abuse. While the rest of her time at the Bellmonts still consists of unbearable conditions, Frado’s self-defense is an indication that she is ready to pursue more in her life.
In the final chapter of the autobiographical novel, the author offers a critique of the abolitionist movement through the figure of Samuel. Wilson describes Samuel as a touring lecturer speaking as one of the “professed fugitives from slavery” (70). However, she mentions that Frado never encounters any scars on Samuel’s back, suggesting that the typical physical signs of former enslavement are not evident on her husband’s body. The skepticism portrayed here describes the economic conditions of the time, which force black men like Samuel to pursue these lecturer roles as a form of employment. Given the limited job opportunities for free black men, the performance of former enslavement becomes a viable source of income during hard times. Wilson’s implication of Samuel as someone who is possibly lying about his former enslavement is a means to explore the division between narratives of enslavement and free black lives. However, this unfavorable portrayal of false slaves paints the abolitionist movement in a negative light, resulting in the autobiographical novel’s less widespread appeal during its initial release.
