Our Nig Theme

In Our Nig (1859), author Harriet Wilson depicts the life of a mixed-race girl named Alfrado “Frado” Smith, an enslaved individual who undergoes sexual, racial, and moral inequality. While motherhood and taking care of the home and children were considered suitable roles for white women, enslaved women were excluded from the representation of true women. Society outlined a separate definition of womanhood and motherhood for black women in comparison to white women. Through her writing, Wilson points out that slave women were, in a significant sense, beyond the morality of the time and therefore were considered material possessions whose “use” could be dictated by their masters. For example, by perpetually denying Frado the right to marry and

have children, Dr. Flint claimed full possession of her being and her sexuality. In essence, therefore, Frado was equated to a material possession such as land whose purpose was dictated not by herself, but by the master. Wilson explores this hypocritical dynamic by juxtaposing two women of different races, each of which has taken part in promiscuous behavior, and showing the inequality and resulting harm of judging black and white women according to different moral standards. Mag Smith, being a fallen white woman, lost her status in society and married Jim, an Afro-American, in order to resolve her poverty. Her daughter Frado, on the other hand, is black and has no status in the society, no position in the community, no title, no profession and no rights. Ultimately, Frado cannot be defined as a fallen woman because there is no other level that could possibly exist for enslaved women that is lower than the one they already occupy. Ultimately, then, the definition of a “fallen woman” could only apply to a white woman, since a white woman alone was bound to this ethical system. Although a substantial amount of literature has been dedicated to better understand the life of Frado and her struggle in Bellmont’s family, it is important to note that her mother Mag Smith, a very important opening character, represents a fallen woman. Mag belongs to a lower class in society and has no experience in life, love, education, or parenthood. She falls in love with an upper class white gentleman who impregnates Mag and subsequently abandons her, illustrating the social inequity present in society. The downfall of their relationship is a direct result of the social disparity that exists between Mag Smith and the upper class white gentlemen. She describes his voice as a voice that “seemed like an angel’s, alluring her upward and onward. She thought she could ascend to him and become an equal” (Wilson, 6). With this passage, it is possible to see Mag’s urge to have a better life, which has ignited her desire to love the white gentleman. According to her logic, attaining a better life is only possible by entering into a good marriage. Nevertheless, Mag’s inadequate experience with love hinders her ability to keenly scrutinize the true nature of the man for whom she falls. Mag becomes a victim of her unjust social climate, an experience her daughter will undergo later on.
Wilson also uses religious imagery to specifically point out the class hierarchy between Mag and her seducer in the same way she later highlights the racial and class differences between Frado and the Bellmont family. Such racial differences play a significant role in the dissolutions of marriage, a phenomenon that is replicated and explored in Wilson’s novel. Mag, “surrounded him a priceless gem,” her virginity, and later gives birth to a child who dies within a few weeks (6). In this regard, women are portrayed as assets that are at the disposal of men, who use them not only for procreation but also for the satisfaction of their sexual desires. Afterwards, the white gentleman disowns the woman, making her life miserable and her future gloomy. Fundamentally, the loss of virginity to a person who is neither a husband nor a prospective mate is considered a disgraceful failure. After being faced with temptation and falling from grace just like Eve, Mag is forced to endure the scorn and disdain of her own family and community, and she becomes an outcast.
Upon her untimely separation from the white gentleman, it is evident that life will no longer be a bed of roses for Mag considering the fact that the child who might have served as a unifying link between her and the man dies only days after being born. She has lost her position in society and has no money to support herself, two circumstances that lead Mag to make the decision to wed a black man who feels sympathy towards her and wants to improve her future. It seems that in order to survive, Mag has no other choice but to marry a black man despite the “evil amalgamation” (13). The white community sees such an act as another degradation of her dignity and completely turns away from both them. In light of this event, the purported separation cements an earlier school of thought that postulates the nature of marriage today notably on racial grounds. Because she is already a fallen woman, Mag feels that breaking the social rules and marrying a black man will not change her status but rather will help her to survive. The author suggests that society places a stigma on interracial mingling, making it impossible for a respectable white woman to marry a black man unless she has fallen from society and has been cast out from the community.
Another important theme in “Our Nig” that directly relates to racism and expectations placed upon women is that of motherhood.

Wilson opens the novel with Mag’s story and goes on to describe the life of Frado. As she does so, Wilson points out the distinct similarities between mother and daughter. Frado, like her mother, is forced to live among a racially different family, and she is also an outcast of the community. She leads a life of poverty and experiences an unhappy marriage to an unfaithful man. These parallels between their lives accurately show the intricacies of the lives of fallen women who are unable to educate their daughters on how to become proper women capable of attracting a good husband and starting a family. Furthermore, the author seems to suggest that all humans, regardless of race, are capable of suffering at the whims of destructive spouses, and that it is possible for any individual to become an outcast. If we realize that we are all capable of suffering in the same manner, then we have taken a significant step towards ensuring equality among people. Because Wilson depicts Frado and her life as a reflection of her mother and her mother’s life, the author signifies the importance of motherhood rather than race. Obviously, being black or white affected one’s life drastically at that time, but the author demonstrates that anyone can be dishonored or fall from grace or become unhappy. If the society places these restrictions and expectations on all people, then in the long run, a difference in color of skin does not necessarily affect one’s status, and consequently, that person’s

rights.
Besides unhappy families and poor mothering practices, home is another central thematic issue that influences the concept of fallen women. In nineteenth-century sentimental novels, the home is mostly pictured as a secure, peaceful place. However, such an image does not account for the reality of work and labor, especially the labor that was becoming more prominent in the industrial world during that time. For Frado, the Bellmont home is definitely not a secure and heavenly space. Besides the physical abuse she endures at the hands of Mrs. Bellmont and Mary, Frado is also responsible for numerous tough jobs that are placed on her shoulders. Wilson repeatedly reminds us of the tranquility one typically expects to see in a domestic space as she gives her depiction of life in the Bellmont family circle. Homes, as previously mentioned, are normally considered safe havens, but the Bellmont homestead is the complete opposite of this vision. According to Wilson (13) Frado faced the wrath of the homeowners when her new mistress demanded that she begins to work in the early morning while the family enjoyed breakfast at their leisure. She was shown the proper way of feeding the hens and informed that a departure from these chores would not go unpunished. At this point, Wilson (13) illustrates the different interpretations that are possible for the word “home.” These various interpretations exist because, while some enjoy their homes immensely, others are busy cursing their meager survival in the same environment.
Social class plays a significant role in the novel along with the concept of the fallen woman. The discrepancy between social classes is illustrated when Mrs. Bellmont cuts Frado’s hair and cruelly prohibits her from avoiding the scorching sun in an attempt to protect her newly exposed skin. This command is aimed at making Frado as distinctly different from the Bellmont women as possible. Despite her natural beauty, her darker skin and hairstyle place her outside of the conventional standards of beauty at the time. In reference to this scenario, it is clear that the society lacks accountability, and that unfair treatment on the basis of social class is to blame for many problems.
Conclusion
Wilson does more than simply forcing the reader to reconsider ideas of race; she also shows the ways in which certain forms of suffering are endemic to every community and, unfortunately, to nearly every family. The novel illustrates not only the racial disparities present in marital institutions but also the place a black person typically occupies in a white dominated society. Having no rights, protection from either government or family, poor slaves and women were entirely at the mercy of their masters’ will. Their situation, however, is not so different from that of many “fallen” women who are suddenly cut off from everything that is familiar to them and forced to find their own ways to survive; oftentimes, they struggle to merely survive. Black women, on the other hand cannot become fallen women, because they have no legal rights to marriage. In this novel, as well as in the time period in which the novel is set, these women were property, and the male owner controlled their every movement. At the end of the day, if any woman can be fallen and cast out from her community due to a pregnancy that has taken place outside of marriage or shows any other sign of dishonor, then there is no difference between black or white womanhood or motherhood.