| Episodes |
The Sale of Thomas Jefferson
Greg Jakes
[1] How does it feel to be sold? To have a monetary value placed on a human soul? To be considered property only needed to pay off a debt? Barbara Chase-Riboud explores these questions in one of the final scenes of her 1979 historical fiction novel Sally Hemings. Although she delves into the property versus freedom conflict at various points throughout the book, the slave auction scene is the place at which it reaches its climax. In chapters 43 and 44, she not only depicts the tragedy of bartering away Thomas Jefferson's slaves, furniture, and belongings, but extends the idea of property to encompass the man himself. Thomas Jefferson is deceased by this point, leaving Chase-Riboud only able to give Sally Hemings's view on the whole situation, thus enabling the audience to observe her final development as a character through her response to the troublesome ordeal.
[2] Sally's observations reveal her emotions about the current situation. The auctioning has a "county-fair atmosphere" to the prospective buyers walking around Monticello, and Sally absolutely despises it. She sees all of Jefferson's personal belongings from linens to animals "probed and handled, weighed, inspected, and priced" (334) and realizes this was his life, and it's all up for sale. She almost curses Jefferson, asking why he had to love all his possessions so much and why he had to attach such memories to those items, knowing that if he hadn't, this process would have been so much easier (334). No one else seems conscious of this, though. The rest of Jefferson's family is only concerned about the money needed to repay the large debt, not the irreplaceable sentimental value of the possessions themselves or the astonishing fact that these are actual human souls being sold. Only Sally appears to recognize the distress of the January day, as if only she still has a fundamental connection to Jefferson. Although the relationship was volatile, and Sally may not have truly loved Jefferson, she feels overwhelming sadness for what is happening. As his life is torn apart and sold piece by piece, her life is too. Those sheets were her sheets, those memories were her memories, and his slaves were her kin. Sally recognizes the immense effect the auction will have on her life and vows to "engrave every moment" into her memory (335), essentially becoming Jefferson's witness to the sale of his life.
[3] The best description Chase-Riboud gives to Sally in this ordeal is how she refers to Sally as the "survivor of a shipwreck" (337). The comparison resonates even stronger when considering that only a few pages before, in the unsettling scene with Martha, Sally states that she has "survived love" (330). Both comparisons refer to the same predicament: Sally and Jefferson's relationship -- their "love." Tragically, Sally is the only survivor of that shipwreck. All she can do is helplessly watch the shards of the broken ship wash away to sea with every passing buyer. It is all out of her control, but is that new to her? Has she ever really had control? Throughout the course of the novel, Sally transforms from a naïve, impressionable slave girl to a strong, independent woman, and Chase-Riboud continues that transformation in the auction scene. Sally is all alone. There are no interactions with others mentioned in the narrative while she's miserably wandering around, only her observations. She disguises herself under a fake name, trying to remain inconspicuous, while still attempting to save some of the younger children from the horrors of the slave trade. Unfortunately, she has too little money and has no way of selling her accursed locket. Although the scene doesn't have any joyful moments for Sally, it does succeed in showing her complete autonomy. She does not have to lean on anyone anymore, instead she becomes active and tries to help others avoid what she has suffered through. She knows how to accept the misfortunes that compose her life, and even though she continues to have no control over the events surrounding her, nothing can take her freedom away -- not even this "shipwreck."
[4] The other victim of that shipwreck, Thomas Jefferson, has absolutely no control either. The closest approximation to what Jefferson's response to the auction would have been is Sally's, yet Chase-Riboud still manages to give final development to his character, even though he's not physically in the scene. Jefferson's possessions come to represent Jefferson himself. It's a fitting way to perceive him. Jefferson, as a man of prestige and power, took great pride in what he owned. Even love, which traditionally involves no materialism, was based on property for Jefferson. Chase-Riboud explores that troublesome relationship between master and slave throughout the novel, but in the end she raises the question: did that disparity even exist? When Sally imagines a young, strong Thomas Jefferson presented on the auction block, Chase-Riboud shows his life becoming exactly what he cherished most: property. As all his possessions are sold, he is sold, and the auction truly becomes the "sale of Thomas Jefferson" (335).
[5] Jefferson is placed on the same level as his property, his slaves, and, most importantly, his lover. At this point, Sally and Jefferson are equals, both suffering the aftermath of their relationship. Throughout the book, Jefferson's character is depicted as weak, selfish, and self-important, but the final insult is at the auction when Chase-Riboud degrades him to the level of a slave with the climactic visualization. He is put up naked for all to see, open to the embarrassment of examination just as all his other property had been. Then he's valued at a price of seven hundred dollars. Seven hundred dollars can buy a founding father. Chase-Riboud really shocks readers with that final image. Who could ever put a price on the writer of the Declaration of Independence? Chase-Riboud does exactly that, just as she depicts a slave girl as a stronger character than the revered President. She overtly challenges the conventional images Americans held of Thomas Jefferson and thus has opened up the conversation on the true character of Sally Hemings.
