Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

9. Who were Mr. and Mrs. Auld ? Douglass' discovery while in Miss Sophia’s care? Hugh's reponse?

Frederick Douglass

Narratives of a Slave

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Hugh Auld - Thomas Auld’s brother and Douglass’s occasional master. Hugh lives in Baltimore with his wife, Sophia. Thomas and Lucretia Auld allow Hugh to borrow Douglass as a servant for Hugh’s son, Thomas. Hugh is well aware that whites maintain power over blacks by depriving them of education, and he unwittingly enlightens Douglass in this matter. Hugh is not as cruel as his brother Thomas, but he becomes harsher due to a drinking habit in his later years. Hugh seems to suffer some consciousness that slavery and the law’s treatment of blacks are inhumane, but he does not allow this consciousness to interfere with his exercising power over Douglass.

Sophia Auld - Hugh Auld’s wife. Sophia was a working woman before marrying Hugh, and she had never owned slaves. The corruption of owning a slave transforms Sophia from a sympathetic, kind woman into a vengeful monster.

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