While Douglass’ private and public life were often at odds, he did believe that an ideal world was “color-blind,” and he tried to live his life accordingly. Without question, Douglass was an extraordinary man. But as in the case of all men (and women), Douglass was human, embodying complexities and contradictions of mind, personality, and the human heart.
My intent as an artist was not to diminish Douglass but, rather, to “lift the veil,” to “reimagine” the emotional truth of two women loving Douglass in an era of sweeping social change.
What would it have felt like emotionally, psychologically, and spiritually to love, support, and cherish such a great man? What were the costs? The pleasures? The pains? Why does a lover continue to love, continue to “hold on,” despite years of heartache and infidelity?
In this novel, I tried to convey the emotional truth of two brave women who lived vastly different lives. While inspired by history, the women’s characters were spun in my imagination.
Anna, in her domesticity and in her refusal to read, was possibly trying to make Douglass and her world recognize that societies are built upon many people’s differing strengths.
It is also questionable whether Douglass would’ve made it to freedom without Anna Murray’s help. It is certainly true that she kept house and home while Douglass traveled extensively.
Ottilie Assing was a surprise to me. I had expected to write about Helen Pitts, Douglass’ second wife. Yet Ottilie appeared, brash and bold, with steadfast loyalty to abolition and to Douglass.
Ottilie Assing did indeed commit suicide and leave her estate to Douglass. I consider it a tragedy that she could never merge love and intellectualism into a healthy union.
This is true: Frederick Douglass had a huge burial ceremony for Anna. Her casket was strewn with flowers, pulled in a wagon by white-plumed, black horses. She was lowered six feet into the ground.
In my fictional world, I dream Anna was buried in water.
For those interested in more history, I’d suggest the following wonderful sources: Frederick Douglass by William S. McFeely (W. W. Norton, 1991), Love Across Color Lines by Maria Diedrich (Hill and Wang, 1999), and The Oxford Frederick Douglass Reader, edited by William L. Andrews (Oxford University Press, 1996). There are numerous editions of Douglass’ major writings: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Written by Himself; My Bondage and My Freedom; and Life and Times of Frederick Douglass.
The PBS Video, “When the Lion Wrote History,” is excellent.
Citations
For background, insight, and inspiration on Frederick Douglass’ life, relationships, and speeches, I drew upon several key sources: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, edited by Houston A. Baker, Jr. (Penguin American Library, 1982); Life and Times of Frederick Douglass, edited by Rayford Logan (Crowell-Collier Publishing, 1962); My Bondage and My Freedom, edited by William Andrews (University of Illinois Press, 1987); The Oxford Frederick Douglass Reader, edited by William L. Andrews (Oxford University Press, 1996); Frederick Douglass by William S. McFeely (W. W. Norton, 1991); and Love Across Color Lines by Maria Diedrich (Hill and Wang, 1999).
While my story is fictional, there are lines that can be attributed to the actual historical figures:
Page 111: Ottilie’s mother, Rosa Maria, did indeed write the poetry attributed to her. (See Diedrich’s book, Love Across Color Lines, p. 38.)
Page 171: The italicized paragraphs about Mr. Gore’s murder of Demby are excerpted from Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (Penguin American Library edition cited above, p. 67).
Page 195: The stanza from “A Parody” was written by Douglass. The poem appears in Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (Penguin American Library, p. 157).
Page 195: The italicized lines are from Christopher Marlowe’s poem “The Passionate Shepherd to His Love.”
Pages 232–33: This speech is an excerpt from Douglass’ “Letter to His Old Master.” The Oxford Frederick Douglass Reader (Oxford edition cited above, pp. 103–104).
Pages 361–65: The italicized passages are excerpts from Life and Times of Frederick Douglass (Crowell-Collier edition cited above, pp. 466–74).
Page 384: Douglass did send this brief invitation to John Brown. (See McFeely’s Frederick Douglass, p. 198.)
Page 440: The stanzas are from Douglass’ poem, “The Meeting of Two Friends after Long Separation.” (See Diedrich’s book Love Across Color Lines, p. 360.)
Douglass’ Women
Jewell Parker Rhodes
A Readers Club Guide
About This Guide
The suggested questions are intended to help your reading group find new and interesting angles and topics for discussion for Douglass’ Women by Jewell Parker Rhodes. We hope that these ideas will enrich your conversation and increase your enjoyment of the book.
A Conversation with Jewell Parker Rhodes
Q: What sparked your interest in the personal life and loving relationships of Frederick Douglass?
A: I had long admired Douglass’ writing but, one day, I stumbled upon a quote attributed to him: “My first wife was the color of my mother, my second wife was the color of my father,” and the strong inference that Douglass had considered his first wife an old, black log. It seemed odd to me that a man would categorize his wives by color, as though they were objects, rather than individuals. Also, I found it remarkable that, given the racism of the nineteenth century, Douglass was able to remain married to a white woman. Given the era, it was an extremely dangerous and radical act. Black men had been lynched for merely looking at a white woman.
Q: How did your research lead you to an inspired character study of Frederick Douglass’ first wife, Anna Murray, and his longtime mistress, Ottilie Assing?
A: It has always been important to me to celebrate and empower women. There was no way, in my mind, that Anna Douglass could ever have been an “old black log,” as Frederick Douglass once referred to her. So, immediately, I wanted to discover more about her as a woman, as a mother, and as a wife. Because Anna did not learn how to read or write fluently, she left few direct clues about herself. On the other hand, Douglass, who was a brilliant rhetorician, rarely spoke of her. It was as though she “disappeared.” This very “absence” of Anna infuriated me, especially when research seems to indicate that Anna was critical to Douglass’ successful escape from slavery. Should not he, at least, have said “thank you” and acknowledged her contributions in his speeches and prose?
Q: Douglass’ Women is told in the alternating voices of Anna and Ottilie. How did you come to see the complicated relationship with Douglass from the perspective of both women? Did you empathize with each woman’s plight?
A: History very often supports patriarchy and pretends that great men succeed on their own merits. Yet everyone needs someone to help him or her thrive and accomplish great deeds. Very often, if you lift the historical veil, you will find there is a woman whom history erased or simply forgot. Ottilie Assing was not Douglass’ second, white wife. That was Helen Pitts. Ms. Pitts seemed less interesting to me because she seemed to follow the pattern of a much younger girl infatuated with the older, accomplished man. Yet Ottilie was an accomplished woman in her own right—an artist, a journalist, and an intellectual. Ottilie truly believed herself to be Douglass’ equal as well as his “spiritual wife.” She supported Douglass intellectually and emotionally for nearly three decades. She translated his writings into German and discussed political strategy with him. Indeed, Ottilie warned Douglass not to get involved with John Brown. Douglass did, and, consequently, he had to flee to Europe after the Harper’s Ferry Raid. Ottilie was a vibrant woman, ahead of her time in many ways; unfortunately, love enslaved her and blinded her to self-survival.
When I wrote about Anna and Ottilie, I literally “reimagined” them … pretended I was them … thrown into another life, another time. My undergraduate training was in drama so, like an actress, I would sit at my com
puter imagining myself as Anna and Ottilie, experiencing their feelings and passion. Motivations, actions, reactions all became extremely important to me. But voice is the most important ingredient. I needed to hear Anna’s and Ottilie’s voices, and once I did, I felt I could unlock their characters. Anna’s refusal to read and write became, for me, her rebellion against Douglass’ infidelity. Ottilie’s belief in German romanticism, her belief that love was everything, became her tragic flaw. Anna survives by being Anna; Ottilie dies because without Douglass, she felt herself incomplete.
Q: Did your insights into Anna and Ottilie change your image of Douglass? If so, how?
A: I still believe Douglass was an exceptional and brilliant man who fought for the cause of literacy and freedom. But now he is more human to me—his imperfections are more accessible, more rounded as a historical character. To me, there is no disgrace in being wonderfully, imperfectly human.
Q: How would you explain his apparent indifference to the needs and feelings of both his wife and his mistress?
A: In order to fight for his own freedom and abolition, Douglass had to be incredibly focused. I think his political energy—his writing and speeches, his travels, his need to maintain a public persona—left little time for family and for sustaining loving relationships. Was he deliberately indifferent to Anna or Ottilie? I do not think so. He was deliberately focused on his public goals; unfortunately, his private life suffered.
Q: Did his treatment of the women who adored and supported him betray his ideal of a “color-blind” world?
A: I think Douglass thought he was color-blind but his own words, his own color categorization of his wives, betrayed him. The world and era in which Douglass lived were extraordinarily color conscious, and when Douglass married Helen Pitts, both black and white society and his family were outraged. Did Douglass marry Helen because he loved her? Or did he marry her to prove he was free enough to do so despite societal and familial objections? The answer makes all the difference.
Q: How were Anna, Ottilie, and Douglass all shaped and constrained by their times?
A: The nineteenth century was racist and sexist. Douglass, Anna, and Ottilie all asserted their individual empowerment. Douglass broke free of slavery and racist stereotypes. Anna and Ottilie, in my view, freed themselves, to a degree, from sexist stereotypes. Yet, ultimately, as women, I feel they were more constrained.
Divorce was out of the question for Anna—society would have ostracized her; she would have lost legal claim to her children and to any marital property. While Ottilie boldly believed in “free love” and dared to maintain an interracial relationship, she, nonetheless, desired a lifetime commitment, a kind of marriage with Douglass. When Douglass remarried, she discovered her “free love” was not so free after all. On the other hand, Douglass, especially after Emancipation, held all the cards of patriarchy. He could even marry a woman twenty years his junior.
Q: Why do you think Anna never learned to read? Why do you think Douglass never followed through on his promise to teach her?
A: I believe Anna never learned to read because she was trying to prove to Douglass that book learning without religious morality and common sense was deficient. I believe, too, that Anna was trying to win recognition that “women’s work,” nurturing a family and sustaining a household, was just as significant as reading Aristotle and writing an essay.
In order to be unfaithful, I believe Douglass must have resented Anna. He might have loved her, but, nonetheless, he had to have resented her. Maybe he resented that she was older than him … or not fair enough … or not smart enough … or not interested in politics. Who knows? But I do believe he lacked empathy for her as a black woman. To me, he should have been more open to the idea that Anna had a great deal to teach him. Both Anna and Douglass could have learned from each other.
Q: What was your initial reaction upon uncovering the fact that Anna and Ottilie had lived together in Douglass’ home in Rochester?
A: I was shocked to discover that for nearly a dozen years, Douglass invited Ottilie to spend the summers with his family. I felt great sympathy for both women, and because they were women, I knew they had to have negotiated a compromise—a way to keep their dignity—a way to get out of bed each morning and to live their lives. Whereas Douglass, as a man, could blithely ignore the women’s inner turmoil and social discomfort.
Q: Beyond their shared love for Douglass, what remarkable qualities did Anna and Ottilie have in common? What traits made them each extraordinary in their own way? Under different circumstances, do you think these two women might have been friends?
A: I do not think Anna and Ottilie could have been friends. Ottilie seemed to value self-expression over family and community and she lacked a firm belief in God. Anna, as I imagined her, was deeply spiritual and praised the connections between herself and her family and community. Both women, however, had passion—a full, loving heart. Both women had enormous loyalty and courage; both women (but in different ways) supported Douglass’ quest for civil rights. It would not be wrong to say that both women sacrificed pieces of themselves to help make the world more free.
Q: Do you think the story of Douglass’ Women is a tragedy?
A: Douglass’ Women is not a tragedy—it has elements of tragedy, but also elements of glory, of love, of redemption. The story is an affirmation of the human spirit, which can endure and triumph despite life’s hardships. The book celebrates two strong, complex and loving women who have been reclaimed from history. Ottilie and Anna are no longer lost, historical figures. They are no longer silent. No longer invisible. I want readers always to remember that Ottilie and Anna had their own voices. They, too, shouted, “I AM,” to the world and lived full, passionate, and enriching lives.
Q: How does Douglass’ Women affirm the power of true love?
A: “Love unlocks a woman’s heart.” It unlocks a man’s heart, too. The key is to allow it—to open yourself to loving and being loved in return. Despite the potential for heartache, I have always believed it is better to live a life loving, rather than not loving at all. But, most important, Douglass’ Women affirms that the truest love is loving and valuing oneself—that’s why Anna is the heroine. Loving Douglass causes Anna pain, but she loves and values herself enough to know that she is, in and of her own self, a wondrous woman. Douglass missed the full glory of Anna, who, true to herself, affirming an imperfect love, took responsibility for her life’s choice and empowered and loved herself as a woman. As she says, “I survived by being me. Anna.” Now isn’t that a good thing?
Questions and Topics for Discussion
1. When Anna first sees Frederick in the shipyard, she finds herself drawn to him even though they do not speak during this initial encounter. What is it about Frederick that attracts Anna to him?
2. How would you describe Anna’s relationship with Frederick from their days in Baltimore through their decades-long marriage? Why do you think Anna remained with Frederick in spite of his flagrant unfaithfulness?
3. How would you describe Frederick’s relationship with Ottilie? Why do you think Ottilie chose to remain with Frederick especially since she, unlike Anna, had the financial means to care for herself?
4. In the author’s note at the end of the book, Jewell Parker Rhodes describes Anna and Ottilie as “two brave women.” Why do you think she chose to describe them as brave? Do you agree with this assessment? Did you empathize with one woman more than the other?
5. The time period in which the novel takes place was marked by political unrest and social change—the fight against slavery, the coming of the Civil War, and the burgeoning women’s movement. To what extent do these political and social circumstances contribute to the individual fates and fortunes of the three main characters—Frederick, Anna, and Ottilie?
6. From the time she first meets Frederick, Anna worries that she “might not be what he wanted” (page 27). She believes that he finds her unattractive, uneducated, too old when they marry, and her
skin not light enough. Are her fears grounded in reality? How does this belief in part define her relationship with Frederick?
7. In the Conversation section of this guide, Jewell Parker Rhodes says that she believes Anna “never learned to read because she was trying to prove to Douglass that book learning without religious morality and common sense was deficient … [and] that Anna was trying to win recognition that ‘women’s work,’ nurturing a family and sustaining a household, was just as significant as reading Aristotle and writing an essay.” Do you agree with this statement? Why do you think Anna never learned to read? How much value do you think Douglass placed on the work that Anna did in their home?
8. Jewell Parker Rhodes also says, “In order to be unfaithful, I believe Douglass must have resented Anna. He might have loved her, but, nonetheless, he had to have resented her.” Do you think Douglass resented Anna? If so, why? Does this justify in any way his unfaithfulness?
9. The story is constructed in alternating chapters told from Anna’s and Ottilie’s perspectives. How does this narrative structure enhance the story? Each woman is looking back on the past and telling her story. Does the vantage point of age influence the telling of each one’s tale?
Douglass’ Women Page 28