Mary Prince: Questions for Discussion and Further Research
Mary Prince was one of a number of former slaves who later wrote about their experiences. Their accounts are collectively known as slave narratives, and helped sway public opinion among white audiences on both sides of the Atlantic, convincing many readers to favor the abolitionist cause.
Discuss:
- A number of slave narratives function as religious texts, either by describing conversion events or by invoking Christian doctrine, calling slave owners to repent of their sins against the enslaved. Where and how does Mary Prince use religion in her account? What effect would this have had upon contemporary audiences?
- Analyze the role of gender in Prince’s world. What was the status of women, at the time and in the place where she was writing? How do slavery, racial and legal status further complicate this?
- Effective writers pay attention to framing, the art of selecting which issues, stories, and perspectives to highlight. What type(s) of events does Prince focus upon, in her account? Why do you think she chose to focus on them? What is their effect upon the reader?
Do further research:
- Mary Prince’s editor, the activist Thomas Pringle, sued the editor of a Scottish newspaper for libel in 1833. Soon afterward, Prince’s former owner sued Pringle. Look up historical accounts surrounding both cases, and discuss the outcome of each one. How were they covered in the periodical press of the day? Finally what do these courtroom affairs suggest about the political climate of Britain at the time?
