Frado never mentions Mr. B as someone she can go to for help like she does Aunt Abby and Jack. Mr. B is of little help to Frado because he cannot stand up to his wife. He lets Mrs. B be in control even past his own objections. Jack and Mary have a similar relationship. Although Jack will speak up for Frado in the presence of his mother when Jack is with Mary he refers to her as "nig" and almost reverts in behavior. Mary and Mrs. B seem to have holds on their male family members and can control how Frado is treated.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Mr. and Mrs. B
Although Mr. B does not agree with Mrs. B's treatment of Frado he does nothing to stop her, which, in my opinion, is just as bad. Mr. B treats Frado like a pet, occasionally putting his foot down when he feels she is being unnecessarily mistreated. He sends Frado to school because he feels she should be educated, but does not stop Mrs. B from withdrawing her from the school. He tells Mrs. B that Frado should not be beaten but leaves the room when she is about to be scolded. Because Mr. B is a white man living in the north one could assume that he is against slavery, and Frado is indeed a free person. However her living conditions are abhorrent and Mr. B tries, only sometimes, to make her life better.
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6 comments:
That's an interesting aspect of the novel. Mr. B, especially given that the only treatment of his character in the novel is his relation to Mrs. B and their occasional disputes over Frado, resembles a number of characters from literature and film who simply lacked the constitution to right a particular wrong. Unlike most of them, though, he lacks a certain compassion--we rarely see evidence of his guilt in his inability to protect Frado, only the infrequent objection to his wife's treatment. He is perhaps, behind Mag, the most tragic figure of the novel, in the way he fails to stop what he knows to be wrong.
As far as yesterday's reading, I didn't recognize a significant difference in the way Jack spoke of Frado in the presence of his mother versus in the presence of Mary. I thought jack just constantly showed a subconscious racism, which compelled him to defend Frado while still treating her more as a pet than a human being. I agree with Ross that Mr. B is the next most tragic figure of the book. I don't think we can say that Mr. B "fails" considering he does not really attempt to make a change, but I do believe that we can take his lack of passion in general the as reason for his ambivalence to Frado's situation.
Jumping off of Ross' idea of Mr. B as a tragic figure, it seems that he is not the only one. Every character in the novel could be considered a tragic, weak character, for all fail to stop Mrs. B's treatment of Frado. While Jack, James, and Aunt Abby try to help, none takes control and ends Frado's torture. They are all seemingly powerless to Mrs. B. Although she is a horrible person and runs her home, she is only one person; I think all the characters in the novel should have been responsible for taking a greater stand to end Frado's miserable treatment. Actions speak louder then words, and there was no significant actions from any of the "heroic" characters in the novel.
You raise an interesting point in your final sentence. It's interesting that Mr. B is so submissive to his wife and Mary. Considering that women in that time had less power then men, Mr. B should not have had any trouble asserting himself. It makes you wonder if he really thought the treatment of Frado was wrong, if he would have been completely in his right within his household to do something about it.
Along with what Virginia is implying, I almost wonder if he is morally opposed to Frado's treatment only because he is expected by Northern society to be. I don't recall any instances in the book where he takes the initiative without prodding from at least someone to come to Frado's aid, and most of the time Frado is completely on her own. Also, Jack, James, and Abbey, despite constantly promising that they wish Frado had a better life, continue to let her live under the oppression of Mrs. B without actually doing anything about it. One by one they move away, and suddenly Frado is no longer their problem, so they aren't concerned with her well-being anymore.
I think the question all of you raise is really important, how guilty are people who see a crime but don't help the victim. I think that relates to the "bystander effect" phenomenon - a person is less likely to help a victim if there are other people around than if they are alone. Here is a wiki article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bystander_effect
So I believe each member of the family saw the injustice but didn't do anything because they were waiting for someone else to help.
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