Scenes Of Subjection Saidiya Hartman Summary

In her book "Scenes of Subjection," Saidiya Hartman proposes that the definition of freedom we know in the 20th century and beyond is not the exact definition used by those writing about chattel slavery in the US. Currently, freedom is defined as "The state or fact of being free from servitude, constraint, [or] inhibition," equated to liberty or agency, even more, fitting to the topic of slavery in the US as "Exemption or release from slavery or imprisonment." Right now, we conceptualize freedom as the movement from being confined to total control of oneself, having agency over your actions and, thus, the future. This is the exact definition we will use when reading historical pieces. However, Hartman argues that our application of the modern
Prompted by Hartman's argument, we can apply her hypothesis to the radically different definitions of freedom through time by analyzing the word's use in Venture Smith's "A Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Venture," a primary source from 1798, just 22 years after the official start of the American slave economy. Through this analysis, we can determine the applicability of Hartman's argument to Venture's writing, a quintessential example of writing early in chattel slavery, determining if freedom refers to the contemporary definition, Hartman's proposed definition, or something else
Notwithstanding all the losses [he] suffered by fire, by the injustice of knaves, by the cruelty and oppression of false-hearted friends" (Cite). Here, Smith recalls his experience of "freedom." His experience, as described here, is not one of liberty and ownership over oneself. It does not subscribe to our modern definition of freedom. Smith is still a burden. His new label as having obtained freedom does not mean that he lives a life free of constraints or rules. Instead, he lives a new life that is equally rigid and difficult as his unfreed one, just in a different way. In this use of the word freedom, Smith refers to it as a legal standing he has obtained through strife and challenges. Freedom to Smith is not free will and the ability to do anything; it is a new position he has in a society where he still has to follow a strict set of guidelines for his behavior and actions, just ones that are different from those he had when he was not