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 4-6Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 4 Summary
When Frado turns 9 years old, Mrs. Bellmont declares that her schooling is complete and that she must resume housework full-time. One day, the family is busy in preparation for their son James’s visit. Mrs. Bellmont is extremely anxious about preparing the house for her son’s visit and is in an especially foul mood. She tasks Frado with picking wood. When Frado brings an insufficient bundle for the hearth, Mrs. Bellmont punishes her. This happens for several rounds, until Mrs. Bellmont’s fury is so great that she starts to kick Frado. Fearful and hurt, Frado runs away and hides.
Watching from a close distance is Aunt Abby, Mr. Bellmont’s sister, who asks her brother why he allows such treatment of Frado to persist. Mr. Bellmont offers the excuse, “How am I to help it? Women rule the earth, and all in it” (25). Aunt Abby thinks about taking Frado under her care but knows that will create problems between her and Mrs. Bellmont, with whom she already has a tenuous relationship.
When James arrives, he wants to meet Frado who he has heard described in letters by Jack. When Frado is nowhere to be found, an argument ensues, in which Mr. Bellmont confronts his wife for her abuse of the young girl, which has led her to hide from them. While Mrs. Bellmont cries, the rest of the family attempts to find Frado. Jack remembers that he had gifted Frado a loyal dog named Fido who might be able to help locate the young girl. He has Fido go to Frado, and immediately, the young girl is found. James carries Frado to Aunt Abby’s, where they give her food and warm her by the fire. When James asks if she is ready to go home to the Bellmonts, Frado expresses fear of being abused again. She asks James why God had not made her white so that she could avoid such abuses. James has no answer for her.
Chapter 5 Summary
Eventually, James marries a wealthy woman from Baltimore, which inspires Jane to consider her own marital status. Jane is pursued by Henry Reed, a wealthy family friend whose coldness and materialism make her wary. Mrs. Bellmont pushes Jane to accept Henry’s proposal for marriage, but Jane hesitates. She is interested in another man, George Means, who is kinder and of a gentler demeanor than Henry. George’s interest in Jane feels sincere.
One day, George writes to Jane confessing his feelings for her and asking her if she will reciprocate. Jane consults her Aunt Abby for advice. Aunt Abby advises her to have a choice in her mate and to be undeterred by Mrs. Bellmont’s wrath. George tries to help Jane through her situation by talking with Henry, who refuses to relinquish his interest in Jane. When George makes his appeal to Mrs. Bellmont for Jane’s hand in marriage, the older woman refuses. It is not until Mr. Bellmont steps in and authorizes his daughter to make her choice that Jane is able to finally select George as her mate. George and Jane marry, leaving the Bellmont house behind.
Once Jane leaves, Jack also leaves soon after, to pursue work in the West. It is revealed that Mrs. Bellmont will eventually sell Fido, leaving Frado without any friends or allies in the house
Chapter 6 Summary
Left alone in a house with Mary and Mrs. Bellmont, Frado suffers under their harsh treatment of her. Mrs. Bellmont shaves off all of Frado’s hair. In the absence of James and Jack, Mary elevates her abuse. When Frado falls sick, Mary still demands that Frado perform arduous housework. When Frado leans on her broomstick out of fatigue, Mary becomes so enraged that she throws a carving knife at her, which narrowly misses her and ends up in the ceiling. Mary threatens Frado with punishment if she ever reveals that this event happened. During this time, Aunt Abby is the only one who takes pity on Frado, bringing her to evening church when Mrs. Bellmont refuses to take her to religious services during the day. However, Aunt Abby does not have enough power to stop all of the abuse Frado receives.
When Frado is 14 years old, James returns to the Bellmont house for a visit. He is not as healthy as before but still insists on Frado’s proper treatment. He encourages Frado to sit at the dining room table with the rest of the family, much to the discontent of Mrs. Bellmont and Mary. James tells Aunt Abby that he believes Frado’s exposure to religion is important for her soul and spirit. He promises Frado that he will take her back home with him once he is healthier and ready to leave the Bellmont house.
Jack returns home for a visit as well. Together, James and Jack encourage Frado to sit at the dining table with everyone. When Frado sits on Mrs. Bellmont’s chair, she incites the wrath of her mistress. In retaliation, Frado takes her plate of food and feeds it to Fido in front of the family. Jack and James are amused but Mrs. Bellmont is deeply offended. At night, Mrs. Bellmont beats Frado for this insolence. When James asks about Frado’s injuries, she does not reveal Mrs. Bellmont’s abuses, but he is able to infer the cause.
Chapters 4-6 Analysis
While Mrs. Bellmont and Mary become Frado’s principal abusers, the young child finds a few allies within the Bellmont family. One of these allies is James, whose portrayal represents religious salvation and hope for racial equity. In contrast to Mrs. Bellmont and Mary, he expresses kindness towards Frado, treating her like a member of the family, rather than singling her out due to her racial identity. By requesting that Frado share the table with the rest of the family during meals, he makes a gesture towards racial and social equality. Additionally, rather than simply warding off abuses, James expresses a commitment to Frado’s greater spiritual and personal growth. He, along with Aunt Abby, works to design a plan to bring Frado to evening religious services, so that she might gain some instruction towards her purpose in life beyond her immediate suffering. As Frado’s sense of social elevation is tied to religious instruction, Mrs. Bellmont refuses to allow Frado to attend daytime religious services. In her opinion, it not only detracts from Frado’s labor at the house, but also has the possibility of instilling in the young child a greater hope for social elevation. Mrs. Bellmont will not risk the possibility of Frado’s early departure from her house.
These chapters also provide further characterization of Mrs. Bellmont as unreasonably cruel in her punishment of Frado, as well as others. It also casts her as materialistic and impious, despite her social reputation as a religious woman of standing. In addition to refusing Frado’s participation in daytime church services, Mrs. Bellmont also possesses an exceedingly wicked temper, of which Frado is the unfortunate victim. In preparation for James’s visit, Mrs. Bellmont applies undue punishment towards Frado for misunderstanding her instruction to gather “little wood” (25). Frado misinterprets her instruction as a directive to gather the smallest twigs. Rather than clarify, Mrs. Bellmont has Frado repeat the task until her temper peaks and she abuses Frado to the point where Frado runs away.
This cruelty is not reserved just for Frado, as the chapters portray the emergence of Mrs. Bellmont’s ill morals when she encounters those whom she deems less worthy. This is the case with her own daughter, Jane, who seeks to marry a man for compatibility, rather than for money. Mrs. Bellmont’s adamant protest of Jane’s choice of mate reveals the value she places upon material wealth above her own family’s wellbeing.
