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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Frado ("Nig")
The chief protagonist of the autobiographical novel, Frado is a fictionalized representation of author Harriet E. Wilson herself. Just as Wilson experienced in her own life, Frado, also known as the racialized derogatory name “Nig” by the Bellmonts, endures the abandonment of a white mother, weathers the cruel treatment by a white family, and finds success through an enterprising spirit. In the autobiographical novel’s introduction of Frado, her reputation precedes a first encounter. Described by mother Mag Smith and her partner Seth as “pretty” and likely to be considered “a prize somewhere” (11), Frado is selected as the child to leave behind so that the family can survive on limited resources. Frado’s light complexion gives Mag and Seth assurance that she may survive abandonment despite her black and mixed-race identity. Additionally, the young girl possesses “an exuberance of spirit almost beyond restraint” (11) that signals the possession of strength of will and body at an early age. These are the factors that eventually convince Mag and Seth to abandon Frado with faith that she might have a chance at survival.
Frado’s strength is repeatedly noted throughout her trials, as she endures countless punishments and abuses at the hands of Mrs. Bellmont and Mary. Her endurance is recognized by Mrs. Bellmont, who admits, “There was never one of my girls could do half the work [of Frado]” (49). However, the young girl’s perseverance only compels harsher punishments from Mrs. Bellmont and Mary. In response, Frado may succumb in bodily strength but expresses a resistant spirit in the face of such trials. Emboldened by James’s invitation to sit at the table with the rest of the family, Frado responds to Mrs. Bellmont’s dismissal from the table by having her dog lick clean the plate she is given. While this act of insolence leads to Mrs. Bellmont’s punishment later, Frado is not deterred. Eventually, she gains enough sense of self-worth to defend herself physically from Mrs. Bellmont’s punishments. This personal and spiritual transformation enables her to survive the hardships of her independence following her eventual departure from the Bellmont house. With an enterprising spirit, she works hard to make a living for herself and pursues business ventures that enable her to build a community around her. By the end of the autobiographical novel, it is suggested that she has successfully fulfilled her personal and spiritual transformation.
Mrs. Bellmont
Mrs. Bellmont is a fictionalized version of the real-life Mrs. Hayward, whom author Harriet E. Wilson was previously employed by. Mrs. Bellmont’s reputation as a harsh and punishing woman precedes Frado’s first encounter with the older woman. Upon Seth’s suggestion that Mag leave Frado with the Bellmonts, Mag is alarmed by the prospect of leaving her child with Mrs. Bellmont who has a reputation for being “a right she-devil” who “can’t keep a girl in the house over a week” (12). Mrs. Bellmont soon fulfills her harsh reputation by taking advantage of Frado’s abandonment to turn her into help for the house, despite the girl’s young age. The mistress expresses no sympathy for Frado, frequently exercising extreme punishment for small errors or whenever the whim strikes her, without just cause and with sadistic satisfaction. In more than one instance, Mrs. Bellmont hits Frado to make her work faster and then “return to the sitting room with such a satisfied expression, congratulating herself upon her thorough house-keeping qualities” (37).
Mrs. Bellmont’s cruelty extends to other members of her family as well. Whether it is actively preventing her daughter, Jane, from marrying a man of her choosing, or manipulating her son, Jack, in the hopes that he will end his marriage to a woman with less social standing, Mrs. Bellmont exerts a domineering control over the lives of everyone in her household. In Wilson’s account of Mrs. Bellmont’s life towards its end, she notes that the older woman “became more irritable, so that no one, even her own children, could remain with her” (72). It is implied that Mrs. Bellmont’s domineering ways remain even through old age. She remains incognizant of the ways in which her exertion of power and control over others have corroded her relationships.
James
Of the few allies that Frado possesses among the Bellmonts is James, the older son of Mr. and Mrs. Bellmont. James is based on the real-life George Milton Hayward, son of Mr. and Mrs. Hayward. Gentle and religiously devout, he is the most consistent advocate for Frado’s equal treatment in the Bellmont house. He actively protects Frado from Mrs. Bellmont’s abuse by having her beside him when he sick. He also ensures that Frado share the table with the family during meals, considering her to be socially equal with everyone. Of his family, he most fervently expresses his vision for a racially-just future, one in which people would be “disapproving of oppression in all its forms” (42). This belief instills hope in Frado.
James has a significant presence in Frado’s life, offering her a path to spiritual education that would eventually lead to her desiring more for her future beyond the Bellmont house. He shares with her a vision of a heaven where black and white people can be together, assuring Frado that if she is “a good girl, and love[s] and serve[s] God, it will be but a short time before we are in a heavenly home together” (53). Through James’s influence, Frado is encouraged to continue her religious education after his death, building her sense of self-worth so that she can survive on her own after leaving the Bellmonts.
Mag Smith
Mag Smith is based on author Harriet E. Wilson’s real-life white mother. The autobiographical novel begins with her shunned by white society for bearing a child out of wedlock. Due to social ostracization, her poverty is compounded, leading her to make the decision to wed Jim, a black man who promises to support her. Prior to Jim’s entry into her life, she had been “disheartened” (6) by her station in life. Mistrustful of those around her, she opts not to “ask favor or friendship from a sneering world” (6), isolating herself. While her companionship with Jim offers her some reprieve from her isolation, his eventual death returns her to social ostracization for having had mixed-race children with a black man. She is once again returned to material and social poverty.
In Wilson’s characterization of Mag, Frado’s mother is a sympathetic figure who is forced to make a difficult choice given her oppressive circumstances. When Frado first ends up away from home, Mag panics and wonders if “she might never see her again” (13). Her concern for Frado suggests that she is leaving her daughter unwillingly and that she does not want her child to feel that she is abandoning her out of choice.
