Throughout the novel, Stowe presents varying accounts of slaves – some had “kind” masters, some had their children stolen from them, some had their families separated, and some incurred physical abuse – but no experience is more profound than that of Prue’s. Towards the end of chapter XVIII, Prue is introduced as a gruff, scowling, miserable woman who those of the St. Clare residence look down upon – slaves and masters alike. Prue repeatedly wishes for death during her interaction at the St. Clare residence, where those present unrelentingly criticize her habit of stealing from her master and getting drunk. Miss Ophelia, specifically, tells Prue that she is “very wicked and very foolish.” Jane, a chambermaid tells her that it, “serves [her] right” to be beaten for stealing from her master. Another slave, Adolph, calls Prue a “disgusting old beast,” stating, “if I was her master, I’d cut her up worse than she is” (Stowe, 104). Prue is equally scrutinized by a white woman in Miss Ophelia, and by two others who, like Prue, are victims of slavery. They all largely ignore Prue’s commentary on her miserable life and the apparent psychological toll that it has taken on her.
In the following chapter, XIX, Miss Ophelia and the slaves of the St. Clare residence learn that Prue has been beaten to death by her master for getting drunk. After learning of this news and Prue’s backstory, Miss Ophelia is appalled by the death of Prue, stating that this was “an abominable business, – perfectly horrible!” (Stowe, 107). Miss Ophelia urges her cousin to take action regarding the death of Prue, and is horrified to find that he expected this eventual outcome and had done nothing to stop it.
This reaction from the St. Clare household is starkly juxtaposed with their reaction to Prue’s hardships just a few days prior. Prue’s life had virtually gone unchanged since the last time these people had seen her, yet Miss Ophelia has an entirely different reaction to Prue’s situation once she learns of her death. The intense mental toll that a life in slavery has taken on Prue does not resonate with Miss Ophelia, nor the other slaves. They are so horrified by the fact that Prue has been killed, yet they have largely ignored the fact that Prue, just days prior, explained to them all that she already felt beaten down to the point where she would welcome death as relief.
Stowe highlights the invisible harm of slavery, that of the mind and heart, by depicting Prue as someone who would rather dull that pain through alcohol than stop drinking to avoid a physical beating. She reveals that people like Miss Ophelia, who find themselves opposing slavery but also not acting to stop it, are only able to sympathize with physical harm that is so glaring and impossible to ignore. These people are not at a place where they can sympathize with wounds unseen, such as those plaguing Prue, and Stowe includes this account to show how the two types of harm, physical and mental, must be equally appreciated and accounted for if one is to truly oppose slavery and advocate for its abolition.
Questions:
- Can Stowe’s portrayal of Prue’s experience be seen as a before-her-time commentary on mental health and how it is often treated with far less severity than physical health?
- Could a part of the reason Prue continued drinking, aside from her identifying it as a means to escape her pain associated with slavery and losing her children, be that she knew that one day her master would have enough of her antics and give her death – what she claimed to wish so much for – thereby ending her slavery-caused suffering?