Content Warning: This section of the guide discusses racism, violence, enslavement, rape, torture, suicide, and abuse.

“White writers of the 1850s (and well beyond) did tend to introduce Negro characters in their works in an awkward manner. Whereas black writers assumed the humanity of black characters as the default, as the baseline of characterization in their texts, white writers, operating on the reverse principle, used whiteness as the default for humanity, introducing even one-dimensional characters with the metaphorical equivalent of a bugle and drum.”

This is one of the key differences between The Bondswoman’s Narrative and texts from a similar time by white authors. As evidenced throughout the novel, Crafts introduces African American characters in a sympathetic, humanistic manner. Crafts writes with an equal level of sympathy for characters, regardless of race. The fact that her way of writing is unique reflects the ideological theories prevalent in pre-Civil War America, in which a fundamental level of humanity was denied to African Americans as well as the African American characters in literature. Crafts’s work is important as it demonstrates this key ideological difference, especially when compared to literature written about similar subjects by white authors, such as Uncle Tom’s Cabin.

“I ask myself for the hundredth time How will such a literary venture, coming from a sphere so humble be received?”

In her introduction to the text, Hannah Crafts makes clear her hesitation and her anxiety about the book she has written. She worries about the way her audience will receive her views on the dynamics of slavery. Just as she describes herself, the preface seems to suggest that she is a humble author but not one who is unaware of the importance of her own work. It is literature with a purpose and literature with a new