Conflict of Interest: Clashing Emotions in Frederick Douglass's Autobiography

I read Frederick Douglass's autobiography last semester in a history course focused on the Antebellum South. As one might imagine, this setting didn't exactly call for any sort of literary textual analysis, the professors instead asking for parsings of the master-slave relationships displayed in the account. Coincidentally (or perhaps not), it's in exploring these junctions that Douglass exhibits some of his most literary moments. Interestingly, though perhaps not unexpectedly, Douglass seems to undergo a change as a narrator over the course of his autobiography. The early portions are characterized by a deadpan tone that paints even the most lurid passages in dull, if painful shades. Douglass sounds callous here, with no real spark behind his words. He simply seeks, through the recounting of his life's tale, to tell his reader of the iniquitous nature of slavery. However, as Douglass's narrative progresses, so too does his narrative voice, often in unexpected ways. There's a moment, for example, when Douglass reflects on the excitement he feels as he cleans himself up to look presentable for his new masters in Baltimore. However, it's revealed during this part of the narrative that Douglass was covered in a layer of what pig keepers would purportedly refer to as mange so thick that three days of intensive scrubbing are required to remove it. It's sobering, as a comfortable reader, to hear of such circumstances and the reactions they engender. Douglass's repeated assertion that slavery morally degrades not only the slave but also the master presents a similarly complex set of feelings for the reader to decipher. Despite the poor, often malicious character of those entrusted with the 'care' of Douglass, the reader is still forced to consider their humanity due to Douglass's descriptions of them and of the effects of slavery upon them.