Analysis

Eliza holds a significant place in Northup’s narrative, often symbolizing the plight of the female slave in the antebellum (pre-Civil War) South. Her story also serves as a negative commentary on the role and status of women in that society. Northup’s pre-feminist sympathies can be seen throughout his book, and Eliza’s tragic life is Northup’s first example in that regard.

As a female slave in Elisha Berry’s house, Eliza had little recourse when her master forced her to be his lover. She eventually bore her master a daughter, Emily, whose destiny would be to grow to womanhood vulnerable to the same kinds of feminine exploitation her mother faced at the hands of her master. Fortunately, though, Mr. Berry treated Eliza with kindness and elevated her status among the slaves.

However, instead of sympathizing with the black woman’s plight, Berry’s white daughter, Mrs. Brooks, despised Eliza and Emily because of her father’s affection for them. Yet, like Eliza, Mrs. Brooks was helpless to oppose her father’s will and actions. To exact revenge against Eliza, she needed the help and consent of a man. Thus, when Mr. Berry passed away, Mrs. Brooks conspired with her husband to thwart her dead father’s promise of freedom for Eliza. Jacob Brooks, in turn, promised Eliza a trip to get her free papers and instead handed her over to the cruel machinations of James H. Burch. Helpless to do anything but submit again to a man’s evil desires, Eliza was left only to mourn the loss of her freedom, her family, and her children’s future.

Through Eliza’s eyes, Northup demonstrates that while it was awful for him to be held captive, it was even worse for a black woman to be a white man’s slave.