My Bondage and My Freedom: who's who, timeline and places
Everyone in My Bondage and My Freedom, what happens when, and where, without spoilers: tell us how far you have read and we show only what you already know.
- Frederick DouglassHe dedicates the volume to Gerrit Smith in gratitude for his opposition to slavery.First seen in chapter 1
- The narrator’s grandmotherShe cares for her daughters’ children and earns respect through skilled work.First seen in chapter 2
- AnthonyHe threatens the narrator’s injured cousin and brutally punishes Esther for seeing Edward.First seen in chapter 6
- EstherShe suffers a brutal whipping from Anthony for continuing to see Edward.First seen in chapter 6
- Lucretia AuldShe bandages Freddy’s injured forehead and gives him sympathy and extra food.First seen in chapter 10
- Hugh AuldHe forbids the narrator’s education, strengthening the narrator’s desire to learn.First seen in chapter 11
- Mrs. Hugh AuldShe welcomes the narrator warmly and teaches him letters and short words.First seen in chapter 11
- LawsonHe becomes the narrator’s spiritual mentor and encourages his study and hope for freedom.First seen in chapter 13
- Thomas AuldHis quarrel with Hugh forces Fred to leave Baltimore and his friends.First seen in chapter 14
- CoveyHe is the man to whom Douglass faces being sent to have his resistance broken.First seen in chapter 15
- SandyHe shelters Frederick with his wife and offers him a protective root.First seen in chapter 18
- William FreelandHe provides better working conditions than those the narrator experiences under Covey.First seen in chapter 19
- William Lloyd GarrisonHe helps the narrator understand and join the antislavery movement.First seen in chapter 23
- AnnaShe marries the narrator after he reaches New York.First seen in chapter 23
- Chapter 2
The narrator recalls childhood with his grandmother and learns that they belong to a distant master.
- Chapter 3
His grandmother takes him to his old master’s home and leaves him there among unfamiliar siblings.
- Chapter 4
The narrator remembers his mother’s difficult visits and her defense of him against Aunt Katy.
- Chapter 6
Anthony refuses protection to the narrator’s injured cousin and brutally whips Esther for seeing Edward.
- Chapter 9
Gore kills Denby for refusing to leave a creek and faces no trial.
- Chapter 10
Freddy leaves the plantation for Baltimore, where the Auld household welcomes him warmly.
- Chapter 11
Mrs. Hugh Auld begins teaching the narrator to read, but her husband forbids further lessons.
- Chapter 12
The narrator secretly continues reading through lessons from white boys and speeches in the Columbian Orator.
- Chapter 14
After Anthony’s death, Fred faces appraisal and division as property before returning to Baltimore.
- Chapter 15
Douglass suffers hunger under Thomas Auld, and churchmen destroy the Sunday school he helps start.
- Chapter 16
Covey subjects the narrator to dangerous farm work, repeated beatings, and constant watching.
- Chapter 18
Frederick resists Covey for two hours, regains self-respect, and escapes further whipping from him.
- Chapter 19
The narrator moves to Freeland’s farm, forms close friendships, and builds a secret reading school.
- Chapter 20
Frederick and his companions prepare an escape by canoe, but constables arrest them before departure.
- Chapter 21
Frederick survives a shipyard assault, becomes a skilled caulker, and sees Hugh Auld take his wages.
- Chapter 22
The narrator leaves Baltimore and slavery without revealing his escape route or the assistance he receives.
- Chapter 23
The narrator receives help in New York, marries Anna, and settles in New Bedford.
- Chapter 24
Frederick speaks at Nantucket, becomes an antislavery lecturer, and records identifying facts despite the danger of recapture.
- Chapter 25
Douglass lectures in Britain and Ireland, where friends purchase his legal freedom and supporters fund a newspaper project.
- Chapter 26
Douglass establishes his newspaper in Rochester and changes his views on the Constitution, voting, and disunion.
- Chapter 27
Douglass asks British listeners to condemn slavery and explains how violence, law, and churches sustain it.
- Chapter 31
The speaker contrasts national independence celebrations with enslaved people’s suffering and demands condemnation rather than gentler persuasion.
- Chapter 32
The speaker condemns domestic slave trading and attacks the Fugitive Slave Law for extending slave hunting nationwide.
- Chapter 34
The speaker grounds antislavery hope in human conscience, widening support, and resistance to the Fugitive Slave Bill.
Hidden until you have read that far.
- TuckahoeIt is the narrator’s birthplace, which he describes as poor.First seen in chapter 2
- Col. Lloyd's plantationThis isolated plantation has workshops, waterways, and a Great House, alongside unchecked violence.First seen in chapter 5
- BaltimoreIt is the city where Freddy goes to care for a child in the Auld household.First seen in chapter 10
- RochesterIt is the city where Douglass establishes his newspaper despite friends’ objections.First seen in chapter 26
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