Fugitive Slave Narratives and the (Re)presentation of the Self? The Cases of Frederick Douglass and William Brown
By focusing on a selection of Frederick Douglass’s and William Wells Brown’s antebellum works, this article examines how representations of slavery evolved through time. It shows how the historical and material conditions in which slave autobiographies were produced influenced their content. By anal...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Institut Pluridisciplinaire pour les Etudes sur l'Amérique Latine
2014-11-01
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| Series: | L'Ordinaire des Amériques |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/orda/507 |
| _version_ | 1826548839375437824 |
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| author | Lawrence Aje |
| author_facet | Lawrence Aje |
| author_sort | Lawrence Aje |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | By focusing on a selection of Frederick Douglass’s and William Wells Brown’s antebellum works, this article examines how representations of slavery evolved through time. It shows how the historical and material conditions in which slave autobiographies were produced influenced their content. By analyzing the narrative sequencing and thematic choices made in Douglass’s and Brown’s seminal accounts, this article demonstrates that slave authors had little leeway for freedom of expression as they were merely representatives of an ideological cause. Abolitionists instrumentalized slave authors’ lives in an effort to make slave narratives encompassing and representative of slaves’ experiences under slavery - albeit at the expense of absolute veracity. An examination of these authors’ later works assesses to what extent their growing literary and editorial freedom modified their representation of slavery. Interestingly enough, the latter reveals that Douglass and Brown chose to fictionalize other people’s lives while rewriting themselves in the process. |
| first_indexed | 2025-03-14T06:11:55Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a79f16eab1e24c21b288bf93160ab207 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2273-0095 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-03-14T06:11:55Z |
| publishDate | 2014-11-01 |
| publisher | Institut Pluridisciplinaire pour les Etudes sur l'Amérique Latine |
| record_format | Article |
| series | L'Ordinaire des Amériques |
| spelling | doaj.art-a79f16eab1e24c21b288bf93160ab2072025-03-05T10:39:24ZengInstitut Pluridisciplinaire pour les Etudes sur l'Amérique LatineL'Ordinaire des Amériques2273-00952014-11-0121510.4000/orda.507Fugitive Slave Narratives and the (Re)presentation of the Self? The Cases of Frederick Douglass and William BrownLawrence AjeBy focusing on a selection of Frederick Douglass’s and William Wells Brown’s antebellum works, this article examines how representations of slavery evolved through time. It shows how the historical and material conditions in which slave autobiographies were produced influenced their content. By analyzing the narrative sequencing and thematic choices made in Douglass’s and Brown’s seminal accounts, this article demonstrates that slave authors had little leeway for freedom of expression as they were merely representatives of an ideological cause. Abolitionists instrumentalized slave authors’ lives in an effort to make slave narratives encompassing and representative of slaves’ experiences under slavery - albeit at the expense of absolute veracity. An examination of these authors’ later works assesses to what extent their growing literary and editorial freedom modified their representation of slavery. Interestingly enough, the latter reveals that Douglass and Brown chose to fictionalize other people’s lives while rewriting themselves in the process.https://journals.openedition.org/orda/507slaveryslave narrativesautobiographyrepresentationabolitionism |
| spellingShingle | Lawrence Aje Fugitive Slave Narratives and the (Re)presentation of the Self? The Cases of Frederick Douglass and William Brown L'Ordinaire des Amériques slavery slave narratives autobiography representation abolitionism |
| title | Fugitive Slave Narratives and the (Re)presentation of the Self? The Cases of Frederick Douglass and William Brown |
| title_full | Fugitive Slave Narratives and the (Re)presentation of the Self? The Cases of Frederick Douglass and William Brown |
| title_fullStr | Fugitive Slave Narratives and the (Re)presentation of the Self? The Cases of Frederick Douglass and William Brown |
| title_full_unstemmed | Fugitive Slave Narratives and the (Re)presentation of the Self? The Cases of Frederick Douglass and William Brown |
| title_short | Fugitive Slave Narratives and the (Re)presentation of the Self? The Cases of Frederick Douglass and William Brown |
| title_sort | fugitive slave narratives and the re presentation of the self the cases of frederick douglass and william brown |
| topic | slavery slave narratives autobiography representation abolitionism |
| url | https://journals.openedition.org/orda/507 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT lawrenceaje fugitiveslavenarrativesandtherepresentationoftheselfthecasesoffrederickdouglassandwilliambrown |