The Bondwoman's Narrative -- An Introduction & Summary -- Blog Post One

The Bondwoman’s Narrative, An Introduction

The Bondwoman’s Narrative was first published in 2002. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. bought the narrative at an auction held at Swann Galleries in New York. The auction catalogue describes the text as an “Unpublished Original Manuscript…a fictionalized biography, written in effusive style, purporting to be the story of the early life and escape of one Hannah Crafts, a mulatto, born in Virginia” (Gates XI). Although Gates conducted a thorough search of census records and historical documents, he could not find much information about Crafts. More information about Gates’ research will be discussed in my second blog post.

Gates describes the narrative as “an unusual amalgam of conventions from gothic novels, sentimental novels, and the slave narratives” (Gates XXI). I will discuss the conventions of gothic and sentimental novels further along in the blog assignment. The following is a summary of the narrative.

The Bondwoman’s Narrative, A Summary

The Bondwoman’s Narrative opens with a preface by the author Hannah Crafts. In the preface, as with many of the other narratives that we have read, Crafts expresses her uncertainty about writing her narrative, posing the question “how will such a literary venture, coming from a sphere so humble be received?” (Crafts 4). Additionally, she expresses concern that she hasn’t met her purpose for writing the narrative, to show “how it [slavery] blights the happiness of the white as well as the black race” (Crafts 4).

Crafts opens the actual text of her narrative by describing her childhood on a southern plantation. She places great emphasis on her yearning for literacy, asserting that she “had from the first an instinctive desire for knowledge and the means of mental improvement” (Crafts 6). She also describes occasions when she “would steal away…to ponder of the pages of some old book or newspaper…though I [Crafts] knew not the meaning of a single letter…” (Crafts 7). Crafts learned how to read and write at the instruction of an elderly white woman who lived in the vicinity of the plantation where Crafts resided. Crafts would steal away from the plantation to visit the woman and the woman’s husband whenever she knew that she would not be missed. Hannah continued these secret visits until one night she was discovered by the overseer of the plantation. Although Hannah was not punished, the overseer threatened the old couple and forced them to vacate their home and move away from the area.

After this story, Crafts’ narrative shifts to a description of the events that would change the course of her life as a slave. Although exact dates aren’t known, it is safe to estimate that around the time that Crafts was in her early twenties, her master, previously single, made plans to marry. Crafts asserts that while the event should have been a happy and joyous occasion, it was marred by unsettling, almost “supernatural” occurrences on the plantation. These occurrences struck a chord with Hannah, and she became wary of her new mistress before even meeting her. While she praises her mistress’s appearance and kind demeanor, Crafts asserts that “she [the mistress] seemed haunted by a shadow or phantom apparent only to herself…” (Crafts 27). She also notes that her mistress seemed especially wary of a man named Mr. Trappe, who was staying at the plantation as an extended guest of the bridal party.

As the narrative progresses, we learn that Crafts’ mistress is actually the child of a slave who was switched at birth with the stillborn infant of her mother’s mistress. We also learn that it was Mr. Trappe who “discovered the secret of” Hannah’s mistress’s birth and that he had used his knowledge to blackmail the mistress. Eventually forced to flee from Mr. Trappe, Hannah’s mistress made plans to leave the plantation. Hannah, fearing for her mistress’s safety, chooses to flee with her. Unfortunately, they get lost in the wilderness for a great length of time and are eventually captured by three slave hunters. After being returned to the plantation, they learn that the master killed himself when Mr. Trappe informed him of his wife’s heritage. Mr. Trappe also informs Hannah and her mistress that they are to be sold to a slave trader. Upon hearing this news, Hannah’s mistress keels over and dies suddenly.

After the death of her mistress, Hannah is sold to a slave trader who subsequently sells Hannah to another master. However, Hannah never makes it to her new master because the trader accidentally crashes the wagon they are riding in and is killed. Crafts, though, escapes death and wakes up on a plantation owned by a kind woman, Mrs. Henry, who is anti-slavery but owns slaves that she inherited from her father. As Hannah recovers from her injuries, she becomes very fond of the people and atmosphere of the plantation and asks Mrs. Henry to purchase her. Mrs. Henry refuses, asserting that it would violate a promise she made to her father on his deathbed — a promise that she would never purchase or sell a human being. However, she does inform Crafts that a “friend and distant relative in North Carolina…wishes to purchase a maid-servant” and that Hannah may suit her needs (Crafts 128). Hannah grudgingly agrees because Mrs. Henry describes her relative as “very kind and humane to their slaves” (Crafts 128).

Mrs. Henry’s relative, Mrs. Wheeler, purchases Hannah and takes her to Washington D.C., where she and her husband, John Wheeler reside. Hannah quickly learns that Mrs. Wheeler, although not a cruel slave owner, is far from kind. Hannah asserts, “notwithstanding her sociality and freedom of conversation there was something in her manner that I did not like. Her voice was soft and low, but the tone was rather artificial than natural…Then there was a sparkle in her eye, and a tremor in her frame when she became agitated that indicated an effort to keep down strong passion” (Crafts 151-152). Additionally, Hannah describes being over-worked by Mrs. Wheeler, who kept Crafts at her beck and call throughout the day and night.

Mrs. Wheeler’s husband, John, a former U.S. ambassador to Nicaragua, spent most of his days “haunting the bureau of some department or other” in an attempt to find a high-ranking government position (Crafts 159). After being turned away from all of the offices that he pursed, John asks his wife to petition on his behalf. Mrs. Wheeler agrees and asks Hannah to help her get ready for her meeting with the government official. Mrs. Wheeler dresses in her best outfit and applies a “beautifying powder” that transforms the skin from “sallow and unbeautiful” to “soft and delicate” (Crafts 158). Mrs. Wheeler then leaves her house to visit the government official at his home. Hannah describes the spectacle that occurred when Mrs. Wheeler returned home: “the servant admitted a lady, who came directly to Mrs. Wheeler’s apartment. I was greatly surprised; for though the veil, the bonnet, and the dress where those of that lady…the face was black” (Crafts 165).

It is soon deduced that the “beautifying powder” turned Mrs. Wheeler’s face black through some sort of chemical reaction. Hannah describes the city’s reaction to the event, asserting that “a day or two only elapsed before Mrs. Wheeler’s face was the topic of the city” and that “Mrs. Wheeler…woke up in the morning and found herself famous” (Crafts 169). The Wheelers fled the unwanted fame and embarrassment by leaving the city and returning to their plantation in North Carolina. Mrs. Wheeler warns Hannah not to mention the events that spurred their move to those on the plantation and Hannah promises to keep the events to herself.

After a few months on the plantation, Mrs. Wheeler calls Hannah into her room and accuses her of telling the servants about the incident. Crafts denies the allegation, arguing that Maria “a dark mulatto slave…with snaky black eyes” informed the servants of the episode. However, Mrs. Wheeler does not believe Hannah and punishes her by banishing her from the house and making her “go into the fields to work” (Crafts 204). Mrs. Wheeler also tells Crafts that she is to be married to a field slave named Bill. This punishment distresses Crafts greatly and she writes that upon being “doomed to association with the vile, foul, filthy inhabitants of the huts” and “condemned to receive one of them for [her] husband” her “soul…revolted with horror unspeakable” (Crafts 205).

Hannah determines that her only option to escape such misery is to run away. In order to develop an adequate escape plan, she decides to “feign submission” and “place herself under the command of the overseer” (Crafts 208). After working in the fields for a couple of days, Crafts makes her escape. Disguising herself as a man, she flees the plantation and eventually reaches New Jersey, where she settles into life as a free woman. At the close of her narrative, Crafts describes being reunited with her mother, who was sold away from the plantation where Crafts grew up when Hannah was only a small child. Hannah describes their reunion on the last page of her narrative: “With our arms clasped around each other, our heads bowed together, and our tears mingling we went down on our knees, and returned thanks to Him, who had watched over us for good, and whose merciful power we recognized in this the greatest blessing of our lives” (Crafts 238).

Works Cited

Crafts, Hannah. The Bondwoman’s Narrative. New York: Warner Brothers, Inc., 2002. Print.

Gates, Henry Louis, Jr. Introduction. The Bondwoman’s Narrative. By Hannah Crafts. New
          York: Warner Brothers, Inc., 2002. IX-LXXIV. Print.