Introduction: Interpreting and Reinterpreting Stowe and Douglass

Summary

Apivotal scene in Uncle Tom’s Cabin involves the question of textual interpretation over time. On a riverboat headed south on the Mississippi River, two clergymen are discussing the scriptural merits of the case for and against slavery. A proslavery clergyman endorses the idea that the biblical curse on Canaan justifies the perpetual enslavement of those of African descent, arguing that because of biblical precedent, people of African descent were destined to be “hewers of wood and drawers of water” in perpetuity.

In response, his fellow clergyman identifies an alternative means of reading the scriptures. “Cursed be Canaan,” aside from any questions one might have about the legitimacy of the association of Canaan with African Americans, is trumped by biblical passages that are central to the Gospels and to Christian ethics: “Love your neighbor as yourself” is at the heart of Christianity, and so slavery is itself a violation of a central Christian theological and ethical tenet. Interestingly, a nonexpert interpreter joins the fray on the second minister’s side, reflecting: “There’s differences in parsons, an’t there? ‘Cussed be Canaan’ don’t seem to go down with this un, does it?” (Stowe, Uncle Tom’s Cabin 114). What Stowe’s use of these biblical passages suggests is that we are always in the act of interpreting and reinterpreting the texts our culture values, and that ultimately ethical concerns must trump proof-texts. This insinuation is useful to keep in mind when we consider Stowe’s own work as well as when we consider how Stowe uses her sources.

A similar sort of contest over the meaning of Christian religious texts and symbols appears in the first of Frederick Douglass’s autobiographies when he reports his fight with the slave breaker Covey in one of the most frequently analyzed passages in his entire body of writing. Douglass describes Covey as an ostensibly devout Christian who is a leader in his church and uses his piety as a cover for his consistent and sadistic violence against the enslaved. Douglass at this point in his young life is a spiritual seeker of sorts who is and continues to be drawn to some aspects of Christianity while being repelled by the hypocrisy that justifies slavery. In this famous scene, Covey attempts to punish Douglass with extreme violence and attempts to enlist other enslaved people from his farm to assist him.