Analysis Of Harriet Martineau's Narrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass, a famous abolitionist and social reformer, uses his autobiography Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass to voice consternations about slavery in the late 1800s. Harriet Martineau, an feminist and abolitionist icon, in her essay “Woman”, comments on the social inequality between men and women in the mid-eighteenth century. According to Douglass’s autobiography, one constant that always caused slaveholders to become more ruthless was their conversion to or practice of faith. Martineau, in her work on marriage, education, and religion, recognizes a similar manipulation of religion in order to oppress women’s morality. Despite the authors’ differences in foci -- Martineau’s being marriage and Douglass’s being slavery --
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It could be argued that although it may seem like there is a connection between these two texts, it is obvious that the subjects the authors are discussing are incomparable and on completely different levels. Martineau states, “Her [women’s] case differs from that of the slave, as to the principle, just so far as this; that the indulgence is large and universal, instead of petty and capricious” (Martineau, 1). From this viewpoint, it can be argued that marriage is, at its worst, really bad while slavery is a genocide. Although this argument is valid, in the abstract, both phenomenons are tied together through the same type of religious and social oppression by those in power. Martineau acknowledges this by saying, “In both cases, justice is denied on no better plea than the right of the strongest” (Martineau, 1). This proves that although they are different phenomena, both are tied together through denial of justice. In Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Douglass recognizes the exploitation of religion to justify the oppression of slaves in the late 1800s. In the essay “Woman”, Martineau similarly recognizes the exploitation of religion in order to justify the oppression of women in the mid 1800s. In both of these texts, religion is used as a means of oppression. Despite their differences in foci, religion ties the two different phenomena together through similar exploitation by those in
It could be argued that although it may seem like there is a connection between these two texts, it is obvious that the subjects the authors are discussing are incomparable and on completely different levels. Martineau states, “Her [women’s] case differs from that of the slave, as to the principle, just so far as this; that the indulgence is large and universal, instead of petty and capricious” (Martineau, 1). From this viewpoint, it can be argued that marriage is, at its worst, really bad while slavery is a genocide. Although this argument is valid, in the abstract, both phenomenons are tied together through the same type of religious and social oppression by those in power. Martineau acknowledges this by saying, “In both cases, justice is denied on no better plea than the right of the strongest” (Martineau, 1). This proves that although they are different phenomena, both are tied together through denial of justice. In Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Douglass recognizes the exploitation of religion to justify the oppression of slaves in the late 1800s. In the essay “Woman”, Martineau similarly recognizes the exploitation of religion in order to justify the oppression of women in the mid 1800s. In both of these texts, religion is used as a means of oppression. Despite their differences in foci, religion ties the two different phenomena together through similar exploitation by those in