Frederick Douglass did not really get to have a family, not in the traditional sense. Due to the
effects of slavery a lot of people were separated from their families due to being sold or dying or
because they had to work so much they did not get to be there for their loved ones due to being
busy. Frederick Douglass however did not get to have a relationship with his birth mother because
they were separated when he was very young in order to probably dehumanize and break his spirit, he
also never knew his birthday even though there had to be records of the date, this worked because
he did not develop a relationship with his mother who died when he was young and did not get to see
her regularly, his father was probably white and exploited his status to solicit sex, which due to
her inability to say no because she was a slave and because consent is important, this would mean
she had been raped. This is further supported by the whipping of Aunt Hester the slave owner
punished for seeing her boyfriend because he was interested in her himself and did not want her to
see other men. His somewhat of a mother appears to be his owner’s wife who treated him somewhat
well for a slave such as enough food and clothes which was an improvement to being on the farm
however this was only brief as she too became cruel towards him as he got a bit older. Another
important note is that she taught him to read a little, she however turned cruel too she seems to
represent corruption of motherly character based on racism as after her husband forbid her she hid
reading material in belief that an educated slave would be hard to control, this later proved to be
true but it was very cruel and led to Frederic rebelling by learning on his own which was a good
thing because he learned his capabilities and self-reliance and gained self-esteem which helped him
in his escape and future career this also helped him when he had the big fight with the overseer
because he knew he could rely on himself. His most likely half siblings are not at all nice to him,
they are in fact exceedingly cruel as they grew up being corrupted by slavery from young age
meaning they were used to seeing the horrors as normal. Another important motherly figure is his
grandmother who raised him, she raised a lot of children including her grandchildren, however this
was also not long term as he was soon separated from his family again, preventing a development of
family bond. His surname is also a proof of this as he was born with his mother’s surname but ended
up changing it multiple times not feeling the expected familial connection to the family name he
was given, it also shows his struggle with his identity because he had to choose his surname
instead of having the surname of his father, this being denied by his status and his fathers
unwillingness to be involved in his life. While it was not possible for them to be together due to
him being a white rapist, he could have freed Douglass and his mother. Another point is how early
he was separated from his family covering up memories of his family in the curtains of time meaning
he does not remember because he was a small child.