In the narrative, Frado was continuously mistreated by members of the Bellmont family because of her race. The inhumane cruelties dealt upon her by this family deeply affected Frado’s psychological and physical state. Frado was constantly beaten by Mrs. Bellmont and Mary Bellmont until she turned 18 years old. The narrative says, “No sooner was he out of sight than Mrs. B. and Mary commenced beating her inhumanly; then propping her mouth open with a piece of wood, shut her up in a dark room, without any supper (Chapter III).” Frado becomes vulnerable and a victim to vicious attacks like these because of her mother abandoning her. Racism fueled these encounters because if Frado was white this probably would never have happened. She probably would have been properly cared for and taken in as one of their own.
Even though Mary and Mrs. Bellmont are the ones that physically torture her, all of the Bellmont family is to blame for Frado’s inhumane treatment. They are all aware that Frado is suffering at the hands of the two wicked Bellmonts, but they do nothing. They remain idle even though they don’t like how Frado is being treated. Doing nothing was just as bad as the physical abuse. If Frado was white and Mrs. Bellmont was seen beating her so savagely, someone would have probably intervened. The constant physical torment negatively affected Frado. The abuse Frado endured over the years led her to chronic illness in adulthood. Which I believe played a role in her son’s sickness as well.
The narrative says, “Three years of weary sickness wasted her, without extinguishing a life apparently so feeble (Chapter XI).” Frado had to depend on others to help take care of her because of her illness. Even though she was free from the Bellmonts in adulthood, she was not free mentally and physically. Frado had now become a slave of her sickness. Though slaves were considered to be valuable property, their physical treatment was often terrible. Whites considered physical abuse of their slaves merely as discipline. Blacks were despised, oppressed, and considered inferior. Slavery also caused severe psychological and emotional trauma. This sometimes resulted in self-hatred because blacks were taught that white was superior and worthy while everything black was inferior.
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Some black people started to hate their physical features, the color of their skin, and the texture of their hair because they were told that they were ugly and it didn’t conform to European beauty standards. Frado was affected psychologically and emotionally as well. In the narrative, James overhears Frado saying, “Oh! oh!’ I heard, ‘why was I made? why can’t I die? Oh, what have I to live for? No one cares for me only to get my work…You lazy nigger, lazy nigger—all because I am black! Oh, if I could die (Chapter VII)!” When reading the narrative, I noticed that Frado is suffering from inferiority complex which is lack of self-worth. There are other instances in the text where she questions her self-worth and also plead for death. Many Black people suffered from an inferiority complex, which resulted from slavery and the forced disconnection from their identity.
Black people also suffered from self-loathing and depression. Forced to work without payment hauled the African American people further into the psychological depths of depression and self-loathing. Slaveholders performed multiple acts to damage the psyche of black people and to lower their self-esteem. Some acts were addressing black people as “niggers” and constantly informing them of their inferiority. Even though Frado was not born a slave, she becomes an indentured servant for the Bellmont family. Frado’s experiences in the Bellmont household mirror and to an extent are worse than some of her enslaved brethren. The ex-slave narratives that we have read in class all include scenes of physical torture inflicted by owners but, Frado’s experiences was the most brutal that we have read up to date.
