| Episodes |
A Pivotal Change in Barbara Chase-Riboud's Sally Hemings
Adam Baker
[1] In 1979, Barbara Chase-Riboud released her best-selling, revolutionary novel Sally Hemings, one of the first books to portray Sally Hemings as a powerful, individualized woman. Previously, any reference to Hemings while discussing the Jefferson-Hemings controversy either represented Hemings as a helpless slave under the whim of Thomas Jefferson or as a morally corrupt devil-slave who seduced the morally pristine Jefferson. Since this book is historical fiction, everything presented in the book must be analyzed to determine whether it is a fact or an invention by Chase-Riboud. Hemings begins the novel as a submissive slave who accepts her place as Jefferson's unspoken mistress, but after her slave brother's mysterious death, Hemings pledges to live out her life as a "perfect slave, in perfect love," in order to gain power over Jefferson and insure her children's freedom (242). This pledge manifests itself in Hemings becoming a strong-willed feminist that stands up for her beliefs from then on.
[2] Hemings' epiphany of self-perfection is sparked by the mysterious death and possible suicide of her brother James just before Christmas. James had recently attained his freedom, yet instead of flourishing he found himself lost in a confusing world to which he couldn't adapt. Hemings believed that her brother's death was caused by the moral corruption in white society, and this distrust in whites causes her to reevaluate Jefferson's promise to free her children. Hemings ultimately concludes that James' death "herald[s] the final calamity" of Jefferson breaking his promise, requiring her to force Jefferson to keep his promise by controlling him with love (242). The result of this epiphany manifests itself in a key change in the actions of Hemings as she begins to take control of the relationship with Jefferson. Although Hemings never truly submits to Jefferson before this incident, afterwards she becomes noticeably more unabashed in her relations with Jefferson. This change is most clearly demonstrated in the contrast of her behavior in her arguments with Jefferson over the Prosser Rebellion and the acquittal of George Sweeney.
[3] Before this pledge of perfection, Hemings had been coy in her dealings with Jefferson, even after having his first child. While in France, Hemings timidly accepted Jefferson's advances, and whenever he would tell her that he loved her she would respond with a simple, "thank you, master." She even sacrificed her own freedom and the guaranteed freedom of her children when she allowed herself to be taken back to the United States from France. While discussing the Prosser Rebellion, a failed attempt at a revolution in which an army of almost 1000 slaves nearly launched an attack on Richmond before being captured by the state militia, Hemings attempts to sway Jefferson into exiling the captured slaves instead of hanging them, but she can only muster up a feeble whisper of a plea to set them free.
[4] After her revelation, however, Hemings' newfound resolve to be "perfect" results in a complete transformation in her character. Although her personal beliefs remain the same, she no longer sits idly by and allows others to tell her what to do. Instead, Hemings begins to actively engage others, especially Jefferson, and forces them to acknowledge her beliefs and her wishes. For example, in contrast to her previous argument over the Prosser Rebellion in which Hemings merely whispers her request, Hemings begins to shout at Jefferson while arguing over the acquittal of George Sweeney. Sweeney clearly murdered George Wythe, a close friend of Jefferson who flaunted his mixed blood son and his relationship with a slave. Hemings, appalled at the fact that Jefferson does not believe that Sweeney murdered Wythe, attacks Jefferson for his inability to see any fault in a white man and his reluctance to free her and her children. In the course of the argument, Jefferson states that he cannot set Hemings free because he loves her too much. After this statement, Hemings realizes that her plan to guarantee her children's freedom has truly succeeded; Jefferson is so ensnared in his love for her that he would do anything to keep her from leaving him. The classical use of "perfect" when describing a slave or a wife is synonymous with submissiveness, yet as Hemings becomes "perfect," she begins to become resilient and by doing so achieves her goal. Therefore, Chase-Riboud is able to represent Hemings as a symbol of feminism and abolitionism instead of "noxious blackness" (Suzette Spencer).
[5] Since this book is a work of historical fiction, all events that take place throughout the book must be dissected and analyzed to separate authorial deductions from fact. For example, there are no records of anything that Sally Hemings ever said or thought; yet throughout the book Chase-Riboud analyzes the facts and makes deductions of what Hemings could have possibly been thinking at the time. The culmination of all the details created by Chase-Riboud in this passage create a vivid depiction of Sally Hemings as a powerful, strong-willed woman who radically changed the view of Hemings in history.
