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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The Persistence of Structural Racism in Black Enslavement and Freedom
Taking place in the antebellum period, Our Nig: Stories from the Life of a Free Black portrays the story of hardship befalling free black people in the US North as the system of slavery persists in other parts of the country. While the horrors of black enslavement proceed in the US South, free black people also experience the extensions of structural racism through their social marginalization in the North. Frado’s story is one such example of how racial prejudice against black people and interracial relationships forge the difficulties through which the mixed-race child has to navigate the world. Not only does racial oppression force her white mother into deeper poverty following her union with a black man, but the circumstances of her abandonment are also the result of the racism that still persists in the North. Understanding that mixed-race people with light-skinned complexions are more socially amenable to white society, Mag and Seth decide that Frado is the child they must leave behind as her complexion, in addition to pluckiness of spirit, may give her a better chance of being accepted and surviving. This becomes true when the Bellmonts discuss what to do with Frado. Jack argues that the family should house her, as she is “not very black” (16).
Wilson’s portrayal of Frado’s suffering also conveys the parallels between black enslavement in the US South and black indentured servitude in the US North. These parallels suggest that while the system of slavery is what distinguishes the conditions of black people living in the South from the North, both spaces are heavily impacted by the forces of structural racism, through which white people justify the subjugation of free and enslaved black people. This attitude towards blackness is embodied by people like Mrs. Bellmont, who excuses her torture of Frado by claiming that “these niggers are just like black snakes; you can’t kill them” (49). This assumption about Frado’s stamina employs the same logic used by white slave-owners who opt for black labor, believing that black people are more capable of performing hard work than white laborers. However, this belief undermines the cruelty of punishment that looms over forced labor, the fear of which possesses a young Frado when she first enters the Bellmont house.
Spiritual and Personal Transformation
Through the influence of James and Aunt Abby, Frado undergoes a deep spiritual and personal transformation that allows her to imagine a greater life for herself beyond the oppressive authority of the Bellmonts. While Mrs. Bellmont considers herself to be a pious woman, she deters Frado from pursuing religious education, as she senses that the young girl’s spiritual exposure will grant her bigger prospects for her life beyond the Bellmont house. Expressing her concerns to Mr. Bellmont, Mrs. Bellmont woefully declares, “Why, according to you and James, we should very soon have her in the parlor, as smart as our own girls?” (50). In this statement, Mrs. Bellmont expresses her fear that Frado’s attendance of religious services will advance her literacy skills and make her socially equal to her white children. The prospect of racial equality suggests that Mrs. Bellmont would lose her ability to control and keep Frado in her home. With the skills and knowledge acquired through religious education, Frado can become independent and will not have to rely on the Bellmonts for shelter and sustenance.
Frado’s spiritual and personal transformation is connected to the recognition of a sense of racial equivalence with white people. Whereas her early questions about religion rely on racially-segregated notions of heaven and afterlife, James offers a vision of an integrated world. In a conversation with Aunt Abby, James relays, “When I think of what [Frado] might be, of what she will be, I feel like grasping time till opinions change, and thousands like her rise into a noble freedom” (41). He projects a racially-equitable world, one in which black people like Frado can live side by side white people. Frado gradually accepts this vision of the world as her religious education makes this dream feel possible. Upon learning from a preacher that “all, young or old, white or black […] [can] come all to Christ for pardon; repent, believe” (47), Frado gains a sense of hope for a more socially-just world. She commits herself to repenting her sins to build her relationship to God and to grow closer to this possibility for the future. This realization that growing one’s spiritual self can transform their status in life becomes Frado’s personal goal throughout the novel.
Breaking the Cycle of Familial Trauma
Our Nig: Stories from the Life of a Free Black opens with the tale of Mag Smith to portray an instance of deep suffering that contrasts the autobiographical novel’s victorious end. This contrast speaks to the journey through familial trauma that Frado undergoes, stemming from her mother’s social ostracization to her eventual independence from her past. For Frado, the familial trauma encompasses not only her abandonment, but also her severance from understanding her racial identity. Without her black father or white mother present to contextualize her racial identity, Frado is frequently at the mercy of white society to define her social worth. On one occasion, she begs an answer from James about God’s intention for giving her a white mother, exclaiming, “Why didn’t he make us both white?” (29). In this instance, Frado learns to loathe her black identity, as it seems to be the source of her social pain, but it also suggests the loss of connection to her white mother. Rather than find reconciliation in her mixed-race identity, she receives no answers from those around her.
Frado’s spiritual education grants her a way of developing a sense of self-worth that elevates her from her confusion and strife over her mixed-race identity. Whereas Mag isolates herself from society following her disgrace, Frado demonstrates a will to advance herself, despite the many obstacles befalling her during and after her time at the Bellmont house. By the autobiographical novel’s end, Frado creates a community for herself, which Mag is unable to do. Frado finds God, which encourages her to commit to the “steadfast purpose of elevating herself” (72). She achieves the social mobility that Mag has struggled to access as an ostracized white woman. Frado’s exceptional achievement implies the possibilities for breaking from the cycle of familial trauma to achieve social advancement, despite the structures of racism operating against her.
