Sally Hemings: Analysis of Major Characters
Sally Hemings, a central figure in American history, was an enslaved woman who had a long-term relationship with Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States. Hemings is portrayed as a complex character, who, despite the constraints of slavery, bears seven children with Jefferson and navigates the treacherous waters of love and autonomy. Born to a slave mother, Elizabeth Hemings, and the father of her half-sister Martha Wayles Jefferson, Sally's upbringing at Monticello is steeped in the contradictions of her status as both a slave and a companion.
The narrative also explores other key characters, such as Jefferson, who struggles with his legacy and the implications of his relationship with Hemings amidst a politically charged environment regarding slavery. Nathan Langdon, a fictional lawyer, provides an outsider perspective, adding depth to the story by documenting Hemings and her sons in a way that challenges their social identities. Sally's brother, James Hemings, who also seeks freedom, faces internal conflict over his sister’s relationship with Jefferson, mirroring the complex dynamics of power and familial loyalty. Lastly, Martha Jefferson Randolph, Jefferson's daughter, embodies the struggle for affection and status within the confines of her father's estate, as she ultimately takes steps to free Sally after Jefferson's death.
This overview of characters highlights the intricate interplay of love, power, and identity in the context of slavery, inviting deeper exploration into their lives and the historical implications of their stories.
Sally Hemings: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Barbara Chase-Riboud
First published: 1979
Genre: Novel
Locale: Albemarle County, Virginia, and Paris, France
Plot: Historical realism
Time: 1787–1835
Sally Hemings, the protagonist, based on a female slave owned by Thomas Jefferson. She is characterized as Jefferson's mistress and mother of seven children by him. Sally grows up at Monticello, the daughter of the slave Elizabeth Hemings and John Wayles, Jefferson's father-in-law; she is thus the half sister of Martha Wayles Jefferson, who dies at the age of thirty-four. When she is fourteen years old, Sally is sent to France as servant and companion to her niece, Jefferson's daughter Maria (Polly). For love of Thomas Jefferson, she resists her brother James's urging to remain in France, where she is legally free, and returns, pregnant, to Monticello as Jefferson's unacknowledged “wife.” Although Jefferson frees her sons, Sally herself is not freed until after his death, by his daughter Martha Jefferson Randolph (Patsy). Once free, she is permitted to remain in Virginia only by a special dispensation of the state legislature.
Thomas Jefferson, who is based on the historical author of the Declaration of Independence, ambassador to France, and third president of the United States. Jefferson, having promised his dying wife that he would not remarry, retains possession of her image in her half sister Sally, who is doubly bound to him by slavery and love. When published allegations about his relationship with Sally create a scandal, the Jefferson family denies the charges, but Jefferson himself remains silent, and his political stance on slavery is fraught with ambivalence.
Nathan Langdon, a fictional character, a white Southern lawyer educated in the North. While working as census taker in Albemarle County in 1830, he becomes fascinated by Sally and records her and her sons in the census as white. That action is recorded in actual history.
James Hemings, Sally's older brother, based on the historical son of John Wayles and Elizabeth Hemings. James accompanies Jefferson to France and becomes a master chef. James is determined to be free but equally determined that Jefferson should take the responsibility of freeing him. He returns, like Sally, to Monticello. James's recurring nightmare of retribution for his sister's concubinage haunts him for the rest of his life. Eventually freed by Jefferson, James has a complex love-hate relationship with his former master. His ambivalent feelings about his family prevent his attaining a satisfactory independent identity.
Elizabeth Hemings, a historical character, the slave mother of twelve children, including James, Sally, and three others by John Wayles. She was sent with her children to Monticello when Martha Wayles married Thomas Jefferson; she was part of Martha Wayles's dowry. She insists that her children be addressed by their own family name, Hemings. Working as best she can to secure their freedom, she advises her daughters, “don't love no masta if he don't promise in writing to free your children.” Having chosen Sally to accompany Polly to France, she is angry when Sally returns to slavery.
Martha Jefferson Randolph, called Patsy, who is based on the historical daughter of Thomas Jefferson and Martha Wayles. She wages a lifelong battle with Sally for the love of her father and role of mistress of Monticello, with combined feelings of affection and jealous arrogance. Tall, red-haired, and freckled, she is trapped in an unhappy marriage to an alcoholic. Martha carries out her father's unwritten request to free Sally after his death, though the rest of the slave family, along with Monticello itself, are auctioned off to pay Jefferson's debts.