Douglass on Slaveholders

I think Douglass's work is literary, even so beyond its time, in his depiction of slaveholders as a varied species rather than a homogenous, purely evil group. Though "Narrative of the Life" is obviously based in his own experiences, it seems to me that it would be easy to portray all of one's "owners" as cruel and completely inhumane — I felt that Douglass minimized his authorial bias by descriptions such as that of Mistress Hugh.  He self-establishes his credibility by the assumed validity of these descriptions.

In his portrayal of Mistress Hugh, Douglass describes a "kind and tender woman" (1198) overruled by her husband and ruined by slavery. Mistress Hugh's description as a round character (or rather, figure) gives credibility to his most harsh descriptions, like that of Mr. Covey. When reading of Mr. Covey, I did see a purely evil man, and the epitome of a cruel, Southern slaveholder, which I found increased the effect of the narration.