Our Nig | Our Nig

At a glance:

Author: Harriet E. Adams
First Published: 1859
Type of Work: Novel
Type of Plot: Social criticism
Time of Work: The mid-1800’s, before the Civil War
Setting: Boston, Massachusetts, and surrounding areas
Principal Characters: Frado, Mrs. Bellmont, James
Genres: Long fiction, Social realism
Subjects: Girls, Power, personal or social, Biracial people, Nineteenth century, Interracial relationships, Marriage, Abandoned children, Poverty or poor people, Violence, Single parents or single-parent families, Death or dying, Boston, Servants, Cruelty
Locales: Boston, MA

Our Nig is the story of an abandoned mulatto girl, Frado, who works from the age of six until she is eighteen as an indentured servant for a white, middle-class family in Boston. Before Frado’s narrative moves forward, Harriet E. Wilson swiftly presents the background story, telling how Frado became an orphan. Next, she gives a full account of the protagonist’s suffering at the hands of two cruel mistresses, and then she rapidly summarizes the sad events following Frado’s arduous servitude: a bad marriage ending with desertion, single parenthood, and...

Our Nig | Our Nig

At a glance:

The Novel

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