Our Nig: Analysis of Major Characters
"Our Nig" is a novel that explores the harrowing experiences of Frado, a mulatto girl forced into servitude by a white family, the Bellmonts. Beginning her life as a servant at the tender age of six, Frado endures a brutal existence marked by harsh treatment and emotional deprivation for twelve years. At eighteen, seeking independence, she marries Samuel, the first man to show her kindness, but her hopes for a better life are dashed when he abandons her and eventually dies, leaving her to fend for herself and her child.
The novel's antagonist, Mrs. Bellmont, embodies cruelty, particularly towards Frado, but her character arc reveals her own suffering, which intensifies with the deaths of her son and daughter. James Bellmont, Mrs. Bellmont’s son, offers a glimmer of friendship and kindness to Frado, forming a bond that endures despite his frequent absences. His eventual illness and conversion attempts highlight themes of faith and suffering, further complicating Frado’s struggle for identity and belonging. Overall, "Our Nig" presents a poignant examination of race, class, and the quest for love and acceptance in a deeply divided society.
Our Nig: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Harriet E. Wilson
First published: 1859
Genre: Novel
Locale: Boston, Massachusetts, and surrounding areas
Plot: Social realism
Time: The mid-1800's, before the Civil War
Frado, a pretty mulatto girl who, at the age of six, becomes the servant of the Bellmonts, a middle-class white family. For the next twelve years, Frado's life is brutal and unremittingly harsh. When she turns eighteen, the age of independence, Frado, frail and sickly from years of drudgery, leaves the Bellmonts. Starved for affection, she marries Samuel, the first black man who is kind to her. After Frado becomes pregnant, Samuel deserts her, leaving both mother and child dependent on charity. After Samuel dies of a fever, Frado, without hope of rescue, writes her story to earn money.
Mrs. Bellmont, the book's principal antagonist, who, with her evil daughter, Mary, makes Frado's life miserable. Mrs. Bellmont's great cruelty is matched by her great suffering in the end. Her pain begins with the death of her son, James, followed by the death of her beloved Mary. Her own death, several years later, is accompanied by unspeakable pain.
James Bellmont, the son of the Bellmont family. Frado and James build a strong friendship that survives his frequent absences. Between James's visits, Frado's remembrances of his kindness cheer her heart. When Frado hears that James is getting married, she is overjoyed. She hopes that he and his new wife will take her. After his wedding, however, James fails to return home for several years. When he finally comes back, he is quite ill. During his final visit, James becomes increasingly disabled and finally dies after a year of suffering. As he approaches death, James tries to convert Frado to Christianity, but she cannot accept the god of her persecutors as her savior.