I have thoroughly enjoyed reading Douglass’ work thus far. Of course, the experiences that he writes about are very heavy, demonstrating the immense cruelty of slavery during the 1800s. The severity of the events Douglass has had to endure are barbaric and inhumane; nevertheless, I sincerely admire his courage and determination. Something that stood out to me the most was Douglass’ relationship with his mother, Harriet Bailey. In chapter 1, it is described that Douglass had been separated from his mother at birth, which was a common practice among slave owners. The purpose of this, Douglass suggests, was intended to break the natural connection between a mother and her child. Of course, this wasn’t a necessary detail, yet the slave owners still did it for the sole purpose of making Douglass’–and others’–experiences as miserable and unbearable as humanely possible. Douglass never would have even gotten the chance to see his mother if it wasn’t for her walking 12 miles every once in a while just to sleep beside him. Even though the slave owners tried to separate Douglass and his mother, their bond remained strong, allowing his mother to sneak out to see him at night, despite the risks of disobeying their owner’s rules. We soon learn that Douglass’ mother died when he was about 7. However, when he is finally told about her passing, he describes himself as having “much the same emotions I should have probably felt at the death of a stranger,” which really stood out to me. It’s honestly devastating that Douglass was stripped of a relationship with his mother. Despite her attempting to reinstate whatever connection she could, their bond was visibly affected by their intentional separation. So much so, that Douglass didn’t even feel much grief at her death. I know that if my mother were to pass suddenly, it would be the hardest time of my entire life–as you’d expect for everyone. Of course, without a solid maternal relationship, Douglass didn’t have to suffer with these feelings of loss, but the fact that he was never even given the opportunity to get to know his mother or spend time with her willingly is really tragic.
-Siena Rose
That sentence also stood out to me when I was reading. There is something so indescribably sad about a child not being allowed to know his mother, even while she was inches away. There’s so many reasons that a kid needs their parents for development and support, and to be deprived of this is cruel in ways I can’t even describe.
His mother’s dedication to seeing him was something that caught my attention the first time I read Douglass’s autobiography that continues to move me. Throughout the narrative Douglass describes the purposeful mechanisms used to rid slaves of their humanity. His mother’s love stands in direct opposition to the dehumanization of the enslaved. It is because of her compassion that she travels by foot in order to spend short moments with her son. The deep connection that a person feels with their kin serves to remind the reader of the humanity of those forced apart from their family.
Hi Siena,
I was also struck by the relationship between Douglas and his mother. It hurt to see how they were separated when Douglas was so young and he was deprived of the opportunity to build a relationship with her. One think that really stood out to me was the fact that Douglas never saw his mother in the light of day, due to the fact that she could only sneak out to see him at night. So much of their relationship had to be hidden.