The Bondwoman's Narrative

The imprisonment improves the lady’s mental condition. A doctor tells the jailer to allow her whatever she needs, and the jailer moves the women to a bigger cell. The women believe that Trappe may be nearby, but they do not see him. Someone sends them new clothes. The jailer becomes friendlier. One day, he brings them fruits and sweetmeats. Though he will not say who sent them, Hannah correctly describes Trappe. The jailer admits that Trappe is concerned about the lady, as her losing her beauty might cost him money.

After an undetermined amount of time, they finally leave the jail. They meet a man named Hayes who is to take them to their new enslaver. He talks to them, asking them to be polite and reasonable. If they will not, he has his gun. Hayes handcuffs their wrists and manacles their feet. He leads them out to a wagon, places them in the back, and then lays a large blanket on them. They travel far, stopping occasionally. Hannah convinces Hayes to remove the handcuffs.

They arrive at a white house, where the women’s journey will end. They meet an ogre-like old man on the road who will act as the overseer when the women’s new enslaver is absent. The old man leads them to the house as Hayes departs. He shows them to a room with a fire and leaves them to their own devices, with a bell-ring to pull should they require anything. They were trapped there for a month. Though they seem to have everything they need, Hannah is painfully aware that she is not free.

Though they only ever see the old man, they become aware of another person in the house. Eventually, the enslaver wishes to see them. He collects them an hour later; the women have neither changed clothes nor brushed their hair. Hannah comforts the trembling lady. The old man leads them through the dark house and into a room. There, Mr. Trappe is waiting for them. He seems satisfied, Hannah believes, that the women’s destiny is in his hands.

Trappe asks how the women have enjoyed themselves. The lady’s departure, he says, accelerated events and “hurried [the enslaver] to the grave” (138). He knows that they will blame him for their circumstances, but he believes that it is not his fault that he discovered the truth about the lady’s lineage. This is not the first time he has discovered such a truth, Trappe says, but he merely takes advantage of his rights as set out by the law. He reveals that he never had any intention of revealing the lady’s secret until she fled but, when she did, he “wished to see [her] humbled at [his] feet” (140).

Tomorrow, a man will visit who may purchase the lady, and Trappe instructs that she must look her best. She screams and buries her face in the pillows of a chair, leaving behind a blood stain. Hannah jumps to help, seeing that “her excessive agitation had ruptured a blood vessel” (140). Trappe approaches, discovers her dying, and an expression of “pecuniary loss” flashes across his face. He kisses her on the brow. In death, the lady looks satisfied, and Hannah comments, “She was free” (141).

Hannah does not know where Trappe buries her former enslaver’s wife. She returns to her quarters and prays for death. After a sleepless night, she awakes feeling unwell and cannot eat. Trappe informs Hannah that she has been sold to an enslaver called Saddler. Trappe shows Hannah to Saddler, who trades pretty enslaved women and complains about those who are too “fiery” and independent. Trappe sells Hannah for $1,200, and she begins to cry. Trappe enquires as to why she is crying, but Saddler tells him to let her cry. Trappe advises Hannah that “submission and obedience must be the Alpha and Omega of all your actions” (148), and any attempts to run away will fail.

After a moment of silence, Saddler asks Hannah if she will leave with him, his voice kind. He flatters her and says this is his preferred choice before resorting to more violent methods of coaxing enslaved people. Hannah promises that she will “be good” and cries again.

Saddler and Hannah ride away on the little wagon. Hannah reflects on her life, becoming so distracted that she almost slips from the wagon. Saddler laughs, and they discuss Trappe. Saddler believes himself to be an honest and honorable trader of enslaved people. He gives Hannah a piece of cake, but Hannah only eats a small amount. Suddenly, something spooks the horse, and the wagon hurtles along the road, breaking up. Hannah passes out.

Hannah wakes in a bed surrounded by people she does not know. A woman tells Hannah that she is badly injured; her limbs are “splintered and fastened down as in the cases of broken bones” (153). Hannah asks after Saddler, and the woman, Mrs. Henry, reluctantly reveals that he is dead. Hannah tells her that she was not Saddler’s friend or family, but he enslaved her. Hannah spends a long time in recovery at Mrs. Henry’s estate, Forget Me Not, watched over by Mrs. Henry.

One day, Hannah has recovered enough to leave the room. She sees a wedding party, thrown for Mrs. Henry’s favorite enslaved person. Mr. Henry performs the nuptials. There is so much feasting and celebration that Hannah is “quite confused and hardly knew what to do with [herself]” (157). The quiet and balmy night ends with the sudden arrival of a storm. Hannah wonders whether this is an ominous sign.

Hannah fully recovers by May the following year, and she begins to explore the Henry household. It is a large house, full of personality. Mrs. Henry has adorned one room with flowers, another with shells, and another with pictures of birds. Hannah notices that the enslaved people on the estate live well: “[T]he overseer was gentle and kind, and the slaves were industrious and obedient, not through fear of punishment, but because they felt it to be their duty” (160). Mr. and Mrs. Henry have two children, Charley and Anna. The family treats Hannah as though she’s socially somewhere between a servant and a guest.

One day, Mrs. Henry tells Hannah that Saddler’s next of kin is coming to collect her. Hannah begs to stay at the Henry household, but it is impossible, Mrs. Henry explains, because she promised her father on his deathbed that she would never buy or sell an enslaved person. As an alternative, Mrs. Henry proposes to convince the new enslaver to transfer Hannah to Mrs. Henry’s relatives, the Wheeler family, in North Carolina. Though Hannah is upset, Mrs. Henry consoles her. As Hannah returns to her room, she encounters Anna, who reveals that Lotty, the enslaved woman who was just married, is also weeping.