Melton A. McLaurin's Celia, A Slave

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Recommended: Slavery in 19th century America

Celia, A Slave is a novel that narrates a teenage girl from located in the banks of the Missouri river in Calloway County. The story of the young girl defined the significance Gender in this historical discourse of this young slave. The newly settled slave holders in Calloway County in 1850 have included Robert Newsom who was a man of statute in terms of wealth and power. This is manifested in the novel because many slaveholders made their living by purchasing slaves. The reflection of this is the case of Robert Newsom who made his living by buying six slaves who will be responsible. He was very successful man both economically and socially and also a very powerful individual among the member of his household. But the death of his wife did take a significant turn of his life. The death of his partner forces him to seek for a replacement by purchasing a slave who will substitute his sexual desire that he was misses from his decease wife. Newsom embarked on a trip and bought Celia, A slave who was then fourteen year old and the relationship between master and slave established a sexual nature that will ever change until tragic took place.
The author Melton A. McLaurin expressed the importance self-motivation with regards to gender role. And also Melton was everything which defines success because he was wealthy, he was a hardworking man, was able to create a strong balance in maintaining a strong family household and at the same time was able to contribute towards the socio-economic development in agricultural industry which the author refers to as the “booming agricultural economic” (McLaurin page 11). The type of balance was a principle requirement for only free white men. In contrast, white females relied solely on t...

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...r 21st 1855. The story just demonstrated that slaves did not have any legal protection when their masters rape them despite that “the second article of Section 29 of the Missouri statutes of 1845 forbade anyone "to take any woman unlawfully against her will and by force, menace or duress, compel her to be defiled," Judge William Hall refused to instruct the jury that the enslaved Celia fell within the meaning of "any woman"—giving the jury no latitude to consider Celia's murder of her sexually abusive master a justifiable act of self-defense”.

Cited:
1. a Slave State of Missouri v. Celia: 1855 - Celia Speaks, The Trial Begins, On To The Missouri Supreme Court, Suggestions For Further Reading
2. McLaurin, Melton A. Celia, a Slave. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1991. Print.

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