Earlier today my mom gave me an article from the New York Times that my older brother sent to her about a widowed plantation mistress' diary (http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/11/a-slaveholders-diary/). The plantation owner, Mrs. Brevard, writes that her slaves are actually happy in their role as slaves, and that the northerner's outrage is the reason the slaves became "restless" in their role. She also describes how she is angry at female slaves for being "impudent".
This reminds me of "Sambo", the black boy who was not smart, but always happy, an idea many white people believed in. Also, describing female slaves as impudent women reminds me of how in "The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass", Frederick Douglass describes how a housewife was jealous of the female slaves for their sexual relationships with her husband, even though the female slaves were likely forced to do so.
The most interesting part of this article is how the widower describes herself very fair, and that "no soul on this earth is more willing for justice" than she. I find this so interesting because she herself has over two-hundred slaves, and is upset with the election of Lincoln because she cannot think of a world where she lives side by side with blacks. Also, it is very interesting that she says that slaves are happy in their role, but also admits they hate her for being their slaveowner. In addition, she is angry at the female slaves for their sexual relations with the men, when in reality she must know that it is not their choice. She brushes off the fact that her logic is flawed, blaming the women for the men's infidelity, and admitting that slaves would prefer to be free.
No comments:
Post a Comment