Contextualizing Slavery in The History of Mary Prince:Pamphlet or Literary Narrative

Abstract

The History of Mary Prince is an anti-slavery literary narrative which looks like a pamphlet. In content it is a narrative; in form it is a pamphlet patterned after the anti-slavery pamphlets of the time. Even as a pamphlet it is valuable for its content of the testimony by the victim-narrator. The testimony makes it a literary narrative. The History finally presents the extreme form of domination, cruelty, exertion, discrimination, injustice, brutality and inhumanity inflicted upon Prince herself in particular and all black slaves in general. Slaves were repeatedly sold, victimized, and made sex partner by white masters. This autobiography exposes the dehumanizing effect of slavery.