The literary representation of the resilience of the slave family and familial relations in Frederick Douglass’ autobiography

Abstract

The thrust of this paper is to make an exploration of the literary representation of the black family under slavery. How the family fared under the peculiar institution of slavery was determined by the social system of the Old South that determined how and to whom goods were produced, to satisfy human wants. An exploration of this capitalist patriarchal ideology shows that the slave was objectified for economic gains, this causing a severe impact on the slaves’ familial relations. Therefore, it is the slave who can give an objective account of how the slave family fared under slavery, which resulted in the slave narrative being labelled “the” mode of expression during that time. The narrative by Douglass has therefore demonstrated that slavery certainly was a horror to the slaves but the resilience of the slaves, their fortitude and inner strength made them to survive and keep their families intact. In the final analysis it has been made clear that despite all the odds against it, the slave family survived the horrors of slavery.