Monday, July 20, 2009
Motherhood in Our Nig by Harriet Wilson
There are two mother figures present in Our Nig by Harriet Wilson. However, you could still view this novel as fitting into the "missing mother trope" that is so common in the female gothic. The missing mother trope is used to allow the female to come of age independently and allow her to go on a journey. Frado doesn't get much of an adventure. Her original mom abandons her (just like in real life) and leaves her with another family. So mom number one is out of the picture. The other mother figure she is left with is very abusive and treats her like an animal. She beats Frado constantly and makes her feel like a pathetic person. She doesn't mature by going out on an adventure, rather she matures through her spirituality and with the help of the few good people in her life. Poor Frado has extremely bad luck with mother figures. I feel like she would have been better off without a mother like the typical female heroine.
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Brett,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that there seems to be a few maternal characters throughout the story. Although it does seem that these mom-like characters are somewhat absent. We do see the female gothic portrayed in the sense that Frado is truly orphaned by her original mother. She also experiences a form of orphanage with her new mother, Mrs. Bellmont, due to the way that Mrs. Bellmont treats her. I agree also that Frado grows and experiences her life journey through her biblical studies, but, in the end she does go on a journey of escape or experiences some form of running away when she leaves the Bellmont family at eighteen. The reader also sees much of the female gothic portrayed when Frado ends up marrying or goes through courtship, even though it ends unhappily for her.
I agree with your thoughts on the mother figures in Frado's life, but I think that Aunt Abby can also be seen as a mother to Frado. Aunt Abby protected Frado and took her to evening church services. Abby was concerned for Frado's well being and Frado trusted, and had confidence in Abby.
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