Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass Written by Himself

Reading Journal – Session 9 - 20/12/2016

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas

I remember I had to read an extract of the Narrative of Frederick Douglass a few years ago for a Proseminar about the Puritans. It is the most famous narrative of slavery written by a slave that became a free man and it is a really striking text. Douglass’s rhetoric is really impressive, the way in which he can describe the most cruel and gruesome scenes so matter of fact, depicting just how these actions were considered by both the slave owners and the slaves, often only adding the really strong adjectives when describing the people themselves, but not the actions with which they treated the slaves.

The beginning itself already hits many emotional notes on a very basic level, with Douglass stating that he does not even know how old he is because it is not an information deemed necessary for the slaves to know. It goes on to depict his early separation from his mother, a woman he has never seen in the light, and the cruel treatment black children have to suffer at the hands of their white fathers and brothers. Especially because of this matter of fact tone does the treatment seem as horrible as it is, because the readers have to judge for themselves. At least nowadays it is generally received that way, during the time of slavery, it was probably received as entirely normal and Douglass was probably heavily criticized for even daring to voice this treatment.

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Gilbert and Gubar - The Madwoman in the Attic

Reading Journal – Session 7 – 6/12/2016

Sandra M. Gilbert and Susan Gubar – The Madwoman in the Attic: A Dialogue of Self and Soul: Plain Jane’s Progress

·         Matthew Arnold: Charlotte Bronte’s mind contains nothing but “hunger, rebellion and rage”

·         “alarming revolution” following the “invasion of Jane Eyre”

·         contemporary critics shocked by “anti-Christian” refusal to accept the forms, customs, and standards of society = rebellious feminism

·         Jane’s anger perceived as horrifying: a heroine who wishes to escape society’s conventions far more dangerous to the audience than one interested in sexuality (as was another point of critique)

·         example for female Bildungsroman: problems encountered by the protagonist as she struggles from the imprisonment of her childhood toward an almost unthinkable goal of mature freedom are symptomatic of difficulties Everywoman in patriarchal society must meet and overcome:

o   oppression (Gateshead)

o   starvation (Lowood)

o   madness (Thornfield)

o   coldness (Marsh End)

·         Jane’s encounter with Bertha is the books central confrontation, it is an encounter not with her own sexuality but with her own “imprisoned hunger, rebellion and rage”, a secret dialogue with self and soul

·         metaphor of fire and ice to represent Jane’s experiences

·         escape through flight or escape through starvation, or escape through madness

·         deliberate allusions to pilgrimage

·         both Miss Temple and Helen Burns are something like mothers to Jane, feeding her, embracing her, counseling her

·         Adèle Varens, Blanche Ingram, Grace Pool all serve as negative role models for her

·         Jane and Rochester set up as spiritual equals

·         Rochester with secret of masculine potency and male sexual guilt and through this is her superior instead of her equal

·         Bertha as the most threatening avatar of Jane, doing what Jane wants to do, being her truest and darkest double

o   not only acts for, but also like her

·         “true” relatives with names from the Bible

·         Rochester’s proposal as fire of passion, St. John’s as ice

·         only through Rochester’s injuries can they shed society’s restraints on their different ranks and finally see each other as equal

This text certainly raises important points concerning Jane’s journey throughout the text, the important stations she has to live through as well as the meaning and purpose of the people she encounters in these symbolic settings. Analysis of the prominent metaphors of fire and ice, prophetic dreams and female sexuality and yearning for freedom are interwoven with the prominent position of Bertha Rochester as Jane’s darker evil double, living out the secret desires that Jane has to suppress. The text gives a comprehensive account of the most important aspects of the book. I especially like the interpretation of the function of Bertha Rochester. While the book itself subjects her to the most cruel treatment, physically, mentally and verbally, reducing her in a way that can only be done because she is a racial other, her role seems more profound through this interpretation, as a representation of Jane’s deepest and darkest desires.