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Barbara Chase-Riboud, Sally Hemings: A Novel: Chapter Log
Chapter 1:
The novel begins with Sally Hemings, as a fifty-six-year-old woman, watching a white man approach her house. The man is Nathan Langdon, a census taker. Upon reaching her doorstep, Nathan finds himself shocked by her beauty. He begins his work by asking her routine questions for the census and, politely, Sally invites him inside out of the hot sun. They soon begin talking about other things, and their conversation lasts until the late afternoon. Nathan is surprised by Sally's intriguing and mysterious personality. After leaving, he lists all three occupants -- Sally, Eston, and Madison -- as white.
Chapter 2:
The second chapter consists mainly of a letter Jefferson has addressed to Mr. Francis C. Gray on March 4, 1815. He begins by defining the term "mulatto" according to the law, followed by multiple mathematic equations illustrating his explanation. He goes through every possible scenario of interracial breeding and determines which matches would result in mulatto offspring and which would create offspring of enough white blood to be considered white. Jefferson is seventy-two years old now and has been out of office for six years.
Chapter 3:
Sally Hemings after her long conversation with Langdon. She is berated by Madison Hemings about the irresponsibility of talking so long to a white man. Sally replies that the man was a census data collector, but Madison believes that Sally is naive to believe this. Madison then recollects about his childhood and how he was never told about how he was Jefferson's son.
Chapter 4:
Sally Hemings reflects on the death of her mother, Elizabeth Hemings. Then Sally dictates her mother's last words, which consisted of a story about Elizabeth's origin. It is revealed that Elizabeth was born of a black mother and white sea captain and then was taken mistress by her white master, John Wayles, for whom she bore five children. Then Elizabeth recalls the transition to Monticello with Martha and the death of Martha. The story continues to describe Thomas Jefferson's responses to his wife and his mother's death, as well as Elizabeth's day-to-day life at Monticello. Finally, the chapter ends in Elizabeth's death and funeral.
Chapter 5:
A year has passed since Nathan's first visit, and we are told that he visits Sally at her home frequently. The two sit down, and Nathan begins talking of new poetry that has arrived for him from London. Sally asks Nathan if keeps a journal, and he does. Nathan then discovers that Sally herself has kept a journal from when she was fifteen, and he subtly tries to persuade her to reveal it by assuring its importance. Sally feels uncomfortable in his attempts, and Nathan realizes this, so they change the subject and talk about Phillis Wheatley and the use of the terms "ex-slave" versus "freedwoman." Although she feels uncomfortable around him at times, she finds herself disappointed when Nathan doesn't come visit her. She tries to hide the disappointment by telling herself that Nathan and others are "just men."
Chapter 6:
Nathan still regularly visits Sally, both of whom have grown fond of each other. Nathan has discovered the secrets of Sally Heming's life with the late Jefferson. During one visit, Sally's urges cause her to go up and take Nathan by the hand. She presses his head into the folds of her dress. Nathan confesses his jealousy over the late Jefferson's hold on Sally. The scene then skips ahead to Eston and Madison discussing Nathan's constant visits to the Hemings household, where Madison voices his cynicism over Nathan while Eston half-heartedly defends him because he realizes that the visits make his mother happy. Both, however, don't have the courage to voice their opinions to their mother. The scene skips ahead to another meeting between Sally and Nathan. Nathan suggests that Sally should attempt to publicize her history and life and that he would help. Sally refuses to be a historical monument and realizes that soon enough her friendship with Nathan will end. Nathan leaves promising Sally to "bring the latest ending to the Randolph saga of 'look-alike chickens coming home to the roost.'"
Chapter 7:
Nathan continues to meet with Sally but now meets resistance to his questions. He reflects on how he could not find success in the north and now feels somewhat of a stranger in the south. On the day of the Turner rebellion Nathan told Sally that he marked her as white in the census. To this she responded furiously, at one point saying, "You did it for him. To make him not guilty. To shield him . . . so that he wouldn't have a slave wife!" (51). After Nathan had fled the scene, Sally takes out a picture of her as a girl in Paris -- the "one sole image of herself that belonged only to her" (53)-- and throws it into the fire, followed by her journals from her times with Jefferson.
Chapter 8:
Sally and Eston go to the trial of Nat Turner, who is able to stir her from her home after almost thirty years in Monticello. She experiences a switch in power in her mind from Jefferson to herself that parallels the transfer of power from white hands to black hands for the two days of Turner's terror. Nathan rides down to the trial of Turner from Washington City in order to find out something about Sally and slavery. The words "You haven't understood anything!" haunted him to do so. After the execution Sally becomes hysterical and in the days and weeks after all life starts draining out of her. At one point she says, "now forgive me for ever loving him" (60).
Chapter 9:
Sally recounts her first memory of Master Jefferson. A time when she was sad and he tries to console her by telling her that making a list of all that she sees around her will help her to forget what made her sad in the first place. When Martha Jefferson sees her father with Sally, she fills with jealousy and picks up a boot, slashing Sally with it in a fit of rage. Jefferson helps to stop Sally's bleeding and then picks up Martha so that she can not strike again. The rest of the chapter is an account of Sally's trip across the pond. The main dramatic point of the trip comes when Captain Ramsey tells Sally that she is being too flirtatious and that she quickly needs to learn how to handle herself. At this point, Sally becomes extremely sad and realizes that in fact she IS a slave and feels very alone. Captain Ramsey tries to apologize but the feeling remains, and she is disappointed that she was unable to gain his affection. She is traveling with Polly as well and will serve as her nurse while they stay with the Adams's, despite being only 14 herself.
Chapter 10:
This chapter begins with remarks between John and Abigail Adams over their concern for Sally. Abigail does not feel comfortable with Sally for two reasons. First, she is torn by Sally's light skin, in that she is a slave, but appears to be white. Second, she is concerned that Sally is too young to be a caretaker and that she does not have enough experience. She then shifts from concerned to stubborn as she insists that Sally must leave when Captain Ramsey sets sail. After talk of Abigail's dismay with Jefferson not coming to get Polly himself, she leaves and in two weeks Polly and Sally leave on their road to Paris.
Chapter 11:
Thomas Jefferson is at his house in Paris awaiting the arrival of his daughter, Polly, Petit, a servant, and Sally, the slave who accompanied Polly. His hand is hurting from his fall the year before and his slave James, who is the brother of Sally, tends to him. They are both waiting anxiously for the arrival. Two days later, they reunite. Sally is described as fully formed, wearing a new black silk dress and with pure liquid gold eyes. Sally takes over as nurse to Jefferson and maid to the girls.
Chapter 12:
James tells Sally that in France slavery is outlawed, and she doesn't believe him. She asks what a freeman does, and James explains to her all the rights they have. He also tells her that they are going to refuse to go back to Virginia and become free in Paris. Sally prepares herself, with orders from James, and learns French. James and Petit begin to notice Jefferson's affection for Sally slowly grow daily. James and Jefferson begin to limit her interactions with other people. The last part of the chapter is Sally talking in first person with Martha about their dislike of Jefferson's relationship with Maria Cosway.
Chapter 13:
In France, James continues to speak of how his and Sally's life will be once they are free. Sally remains silent because she knows that she could not free herself because she belongs to Jefferson. Sally feels alone in France and is afraid to talk to the other women in the house. The night before Jefferson goes away, he and Sally have sex for the first time, during which Jefferson yells out the name of her dead half-sister, Martha. Sally realizes that nothing will ever be the same again, and she does not know how to act after this moment.
Chapter 14:
James discovers the concubinage of Sally. This haunts him in his dreams. Sally feels relief, joy, and affection when she is with Marie and Martha. It is now time for Sally to claim her rights as a free woman in France. Each week James delivers a letter to Sally from Jefferson. Sally is fascinated with how the letter is addressed to "Mademoiselle Sally Hemings." It is odd how they are written with fatherly advice.
Chapter 15:
It is the morning after Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings are intimate, and Jefferson awakes with alarm. For a few moments he does not know where he is and feels as though he does not recognize who he is either. Once he finally deciphers his surroundings, he sees Sally sleeping next to him and quickly draws her closer. He thinks about their odd relationship and how incredible it is that they are together given their histories. He imagines his many lonely journeys throughout the Low Countries to the north and to Prussia and the Rhine Valley. Jefferson recalls voyaging through the impoverished towns of Germany and wonders why he suddenly had been so touched by the sight of poor, worn, and disheveled women. At that moment, Sally awakens and stares at Jefferson whose eyes are hooded and melancholy. After seeing him in close detail, she feels a "piercing flash of pity" for him.
Chapter 16:
Jefferson and Hemings visit Marly, the favorite palace of Louis XIV. She reflects on her status, which has transformed from Virginia slave and daughter's maid to adored Parisian mistress of Thomas Jefferson. As she absorbs the beautiful landscape and gardens before her, she begins to feel like a mature woman who can control and manipulate the feelings of her partner. Sally watches as Martha and her peers giggle within her sight, and she feels extreme pity for their ignorance about real womanhood. However, on the thirteenth of July, a hailstorm finally brings Martha and Polly home from the convent. This ironically makes Sally happy as it gives her a break from the mysteries she encounters being surrounded by a man all the time. She becomes close and naturally attached to Martha until one day there is a discrepancy regarding the hair dresser. Martha realizes that Sally is getting her hair done by the same hairdresser and thinks this isn't fitting since Sally is of different social status. This is the first time Sally blatantly lies to get what she wants, and she succeeds in having Martha keep quiet about the situation. The second time Sally lies is to her brother, James, when he tries to convince her that this is the proper time to break free. After being adored and loved by her master, she tells James that Jefferson is aware of her plan to claim freedom even though she has not brought it up once. This is the time when she decides that she is under the love spell that Jefferson has cast, and although she wants to stay with him, she promises herself that when the time is right, she will run.
Chapter 17:
The chapter opens with James preparing to serve food at a party Jefferson is having. He notes that it has been one year since his sister became Jefferson's "concubine," and James feels as though he sees the true animosity of Sally's relationship with Thomas Jefferson. However, James notes that Jefferson has become obsessed with Sally over the past year and has, to a certain extent, spoiled her by giving her lessons in French, music, and in dressmaking. Sally knows that she is free in Paris but believes through Jefferson's love she will be freed. Martha Jefferson has an intellectually stimulating conversation that borders on an argument with her father about women's roles in Paris compared to America. Later, Martha looks for Sally and finds her with luxuries Jefferson had bought her, and aggressively reminds Sally that she is her mistress. Martha later decides to permanently join the convent and become a nun. As a result Jefferson buys many expensive gifts for Martha and goes to the convent to retrieve her. Upon seeing the gifts in the carriage for her, Martha complies and silently agrees to go home.
Chapter 18:
Sally witnesses the French Revolution from her master's quarters and notes that the people of Paris have chosen red, white, and blue for their flag, their new symbol of their new government. James tells his first-hand account of the siege of the Bastille by the rebellion to Sally, Martha, and Polly. Sally finds it amazing that a slave from Virginia ran with the French Revolution and believes that their freedom is close.
Chapter 19:
Sally finds out that she is pregnant with Thomas Jefferson's child. She tries running away because she wants her child to be free but, after a conversation with Madame Dupre, finds out that Jefferson has been sick in bed with a horrible migraine. Sally returns to him, and he immediately asks her why she would run away from him. She explains that she wants herself and the child to be free. She also wants to stay in France. Jefferson says that they must return to America and promises to free all her children at the age of twenty-one. At first Sally disagrees with this pact, but then she realizes how this man's pain and loneliness is nothing compared to hers, and she agrees to never abandon Jefferson again.
Chapter 20:
Jefferson, his daughters, Sally, and James prepare for the voyage back to America. James is upset and wonders why his master has yet to free him after his years of loyal service. Sally, too, is depressed because she realizes she won't be coming back to France as Jefferson promised. Jefferson seems to be the only cheerful one. Before they leave, John Trumbull gives Sally a miniature portrait of Jefferson, which she cherishes dearly. They all complete the voyage safely and are happily welcomed back at Monticello. Sally's mother, however, doesn't respond to her daughter's calls.
Chapter 21:
Nathan meets with John Quincy Adams.
Chapter 22:
Nathan meets with Aaron Burr.
Chapter 23:
Nathan meets with John Trumbull.
Chapter 24:
Sally's first child, Thomas Jefferson Hemings, is born and with his birth Elizabeth Hemings begins to speak with Sally again. Elizabeth is concerned with Sally's "relationship" with Jefferson. She wants Sally to get the freedom for her children. She tells Sally that she is trapped by her bond to Jefferson and will regret not taking the opportunity given to her in France. James returns to Monticello, having a written promise to his freedom. James tries to persuade Sally that her relationship with Jefferson is a facade and that she should come with him. Jefferson promises Sally that there will never be a white mistress at Monticello.
Chapter 25:
Jefferson returns from a ride to find Sally reading the letters he had told her to burn. He throws them into the fire, and Sally goes after them, burning her own hand to try to retrieve them. Jefferson puts out the fire and gets the letters himself for Sally. Martha, with child, and Maria come back to Monticello for the summer. John Trumbull comes to Monticello for a visit, but at dinner a religious debate has him driven from the table. Sally is appalled that Jefferson had allowed this to go on. Jefferson explains to Sally about his time in Philadelphia working on the Declaration of Independence. He emphasizes the debate over the passage about slavery he had written. He told her that he had given up trying to defend his position on slavery and would let God handle it the way he wanted.
Chapter 26:
Elizabeth Hemings anticipates James receiving his freedom and expresses that she does not believe that Sally will ever be freed. Sally calls Elizabeth "Maman," and Elizabeth states that she doesn't like this or any of the other French phrases that Sally uses. Jefferson frees James without any payment for the years he spent serving, even those after returning from France where he was a free man and could have run away.
Chapter 27:
Sally Hemings reviews the plans for renovations at Monticello. She asks Jefferson for her own room, which Jefferson promises to her. Most of the chapter is a conversation between Sally and Elizabeth Hemings. They talk about Martha's marital problems, Jefferson's motives for bringing Sally and James back, the importance of freedom, and whether Jefferson will ever get tired of Sally. A year later Sally Hemings gets her room.
Chapter 28:
Jefferson now is Vice-President, and he brings Sally to the inauguration with him. Sally is nervous in the white world. Burwell points out the freed men, and Sally seems envious of their self-confidence. Jupiter introduces Sally to Aaron Burr as "Sally Hemings of Monticello." Sally is surprised to learn Jefferson has enemies and realizes they are also her enemies. Jefferson and Adams (Federalist) are very cold to each other. Maria marries her cousin Eppes and receives a neighboring plantation as a wedding present. Maria understands the S/J relationship and sees Sally's secret room. Sally buries two children, "white" Edy and Harriet, in the slave cemetery. Martha and Sally have a strained relationship.
Chapter 29:
Sally and Jefferson discuss a slave revolt lead by Gabriel Prosser and Jack Bowler. It would have been successful except two loose-mouthed slaves warned slaveowners and there was a huge storm. Jefferson asks Sally what she recommends that Monroe do with the captured rebels. Sally thinks of "her people" and her own children. Sally asks him to exile them -- they cannot hang every slave. This event fires Sally up, she wants to discuss slavery with Jefferson, but he is busy. Later, Sally hears James Monroe has banished the rebels from Virginia.
Chapter 30:
James comes home from France, preaches a slave rebellion, and is hushed by his mother even though there's no one to hear. He also begs Sally to leave. Sally refuses, and the violence with which James argues scares the unshakable Elizabeth. Sally won't leave because she loves Jefferson, but also because she has power in the household. James realizes that he needs Sally's freedom to truly be free himself.
Chapter 31:
Summer comes and family comes home. Sally, Martha, and Maria all give birth (in that order); Martha forces Sally to nurse her (Martha's) child as an act of power. Sally nurses Maria's child to save it because Maria is very weak. The power struggle between Martha and Sally is put aside in order to save the children of Monticello from whooping cough. Jefferson deals with worries of death after Jupiter (beloved slave of same age) dies. James also dies. Trouble between Peter and Danby Carr (who was imprisoned after a duel) over Peter's slave and Sally's sister, Critta.
Chapter 32:
Sally and Elizabeth Hemings become aware of James Callender's writing concerning Sally's concubinage. Elizabeth worries that Sally and her children will be sold away, but Sally declares that Thomas Jefferson can not live without her. Jefferson and his family remain silent on the matter, and Sally insists that the slaves at Monticello do the same. Fanny and Edy return from Washington, telling Sally that she is the most famous "black lady" in the US. Sally expresses her concern about her master and hopes that the other slaves' silence will be beneficial to him and to herself.
Chapter 33:
Jefferson returns to Monticello, greeted by his slave family. He refuses to give Sally up, and Sally believes that they have triumphed. As Jefferson continues to renovate Monticello, his personal and political problems continue. James Madison intercedes on Jefferson's behalf, and the duel with John Walker is called off. Madison suggests moving the Hemingses to Monroe's in order to ensure Jefferson's political stability, but Jefferson refuses. Before he returns to Washington, Jefferson records a family census, counting Thomas, Beverly, and Harriet as white and free.
Chapter 34:
The chapter starts in 1803 when Jefferson makes the Louisiana Purchase and Callender dies. A year passes and Jefferson is re-elected president. Everything is well until Maria is brought to Monticello, dying. Sally takes the duty of taking care of Maria, until her death. Jefferson's next term begins with Sally accompanying him to his inauguration. Even though Sally's forbidden to come to the White House, she sneaks her way in. Sally is caught by Dolly Madison. Sally names her next child after the Dolly to keep the woman's lips sealed.
Chapter 35:
The chapter begins in 1806 with Jamey, Sally's sister Critta's hotheaded independent son, running away. Soon after, news of the murder of George Wythe, a Declaration signer living in the same region, and his son by his black freed lover, reaches Monticello. Elizabeth Hemings is devastated by the news and decides to refuse food and die. Jefferson also takes the death fairly hard, and Wythe's nephew (the killer) is acquitted. Sally, seeing possible danger and an opportune moment, asks for the freedom of her and her children, and is denied by the account of love. Jefferson's term ends with the disastrous embargo of 1807, the failed treason trial of Aaron Burr, and the birth of Sally's seventh child, Eston.
Chapter 36:
Jefferson arrives at Monticello, for good, after his second term as president. All of the children, Hemingses and Randolphs, prepare for his return. They work until the house is spotless. When he arrives, the children are ecstatic to have their father finally home. James Madison is now president. Jefferson's presidency left behind nothing but slavery and the Louisiana Purchase, which was the only thing he could be proud of. Meriwether Lewis commits suicide and Jefferson is devastated. When Jefferson claims he has no sons of his own left, Sally gets angry and points out his four sons, but he says they are not his. Sally realizes that Jefferson will never consider their mulatto sons as his real sons. They could not be educated and would never amount to white sons in his mind. Sally expresses her regret for remaining. Thomas Jefferson Hemings rides away on his horse. He is only nineteen, but he can pass for white.
Chapter 37:
Twenty-four years later, Sally sulks in her regret of the past. She remembers the departure of Thomas Jefferson Hemings and the story Critta told her of Lilburn and his brother, Isham. Lilburn chopped up his slave, George, just because he broke his dead mother's favorite milk pitcher. Then, Isham shot his brother over their dead mother's grave after the two brothers made a suicide pact. Critta tells Sally that Jefferson and other white masters hide things like this from slaves, and Sally wonders why Jefferson had never told her. Critta, in a rage, accuses Sally of not knowing what being a real slave is like. Sally is "pampered" and oblivious to being lied to. Sally recalls being surprised at her master's silence, because they knew everything about each other. She was also shocked by the silence of the slaves that just watched George get murdered and blames the entire black race for this slave's murder. She never let Jefferson know that she knew about this. While she is remembering all the sons she has lost, Madison tells his mother that Monticello has been sold.
Chapter 38:
Sally becomes very incensed at the sight of more and more visitors at Monticello; not only does she want to seem them all leave and stop going through their supplies "like a field of cotton, leaving nothing in its wake," but she feels as if they are taking advantage of Thomas Jefferson's hospitality to alleviate their "tavern bills." Jefferson also breaks his promise to Sally when he brings Martha to the plantation as the new mistress. While she has a few laughs with Beverly over nicknames of Master's chamber pot, she also recounts that it took her forty years to learn the "uses of love." Assuming she lives as long as her mother, what else does she have left to learn in the next forty years of her life?
Chapter 39:
Thomas Jefferson is happy finally to be back at Monticello. He's glad that his political career is at last at an end, as he missed Sally and Monticello alike. He reflects also on how well, and fast, Beverly has grown up, and how interested and proud he is to be able to glean knowledge from Jefferson. Jefferson allowed Beverly to be tutored in secret by a schoolmaster in Charlottesville, Mr. Oglesby, after he taught the Randolph boys. He has a hard time understanding, however, why Beverly adores his schoolmaster, who is "opening the door of the world to him," and not Jefferson; could it maybe be the fact that Jefferson has never once acknowledged him as a son? Martha wonders why she has aged so poorly and Sally has not, given their slight age difference, while at the same time pledging to rule Monticello "until the day she dies."
Chapter 40:
Beverly realizes that his father is in a bad financial situation while he decides to sell his library. This means only one thing for Beverly as a slave -- the auction block. Beverly thinks and plans about getting out of the financial situation. During this financial depression, his father speeds up the building of the university. However, still the conditions get worse every day. After that he runs away from his father's house. When his father finds out that Beverly ran away, no one gives an exact explanation to the father about when and where Beverly went.
Chapter 41:
It is Harriet's twenty-first birthday, when she is going to step out on a new life. She will be a white girl with a future in front of her. She says good-bye to Madison first, who doesn't want to leave her. Then Harriet says good-bye to her mother. Later, she meets Adrien Petit, who was the former servant of Harriet's father. Jefferson sends his daughter off, crying. Harriet questions his life after this cry: "Why hasn't he cried twenty one years ago when he could prevent all this."
Chapter 42:
Thomas Jefferson is having a hard time, is feeling ill, and has found himself getting close with his son Eston because most of his other children are gone. Sally speaks passionately to the mistress of Lafayette, Frances Wright. Later, Sally spends time with Thomas Jefferson whose health is failing him at this point. When Thomas Jefferson dies, he frees Sally's children, but not her. Later, Martha tells Sally that Jefferson wanted her to be free and expects gratitude, but then the women get into an argument. They both express the hate and jealousy they felt for each other and the suppressed feelings from the past thirty-eight years.
Chapter 43:
Thomas Jefferson Randolph goes over the inventory of the slaves with an auctioneer. The slaves he had known all his life are not worth as much as they once were because of their ages. Jeff found this to be a very sad and emotional process. When the auctioneer says Sally's price, she says aloud, "Oh my husband." Jeff asked his mother about it, but she said Sally was probably just confused from the auction and that she was never married. There is also a list of the slaves and their prices.
Chapter 44:
After Thomas Jefferson's death, everything he owned was sold because of his debt of $107,000. Sally, in the crowd of hundreds, is completely overwhelmed by the county fair-like commotion that Monticello has become. Sally watched all of her fellow slaves, more than half of them family members, be auctioned off to complete strangers. Families, immediate and extended, were split up and distributed all throughout the south. Sally, having a little money, tries to buy one or two of the small children at the auction; however, she chooses to keep the locket Jefferson gave her. She immediately regrets this decision.
Chapter 45:
Nathan Langdon goes back to Monticello on horseback five years after his first encounter with Sally Hemings. Now a successful Washington lawyer, Nathan reflects on the once great Monticello, offset by its present run-down and grey appearance. He suddenly has an urge to go and check on Sally. Nathan had realized that there was no more to Sally's story than he had originally heard from her. He rides to Sally's cabin and is relieved to see her outside, still alive. Nathan realizes that Sally has come to peace with her life, and he rides away.
