A Poetic Call to End Oppression

One of the most detrimental aspects of the human species is the tendency for us to develop cultural structures that grant power to one particular group of people while denying power to other groups of people who are different. All humans are endowed with the same potential to become great thinkers and to reach greatness at various important crafts, and the difficulty of life necessitates that societies can only become prosperous if the members of a society can all become great thinkers and excellent workers Thus, depriving members of a society of opportunities to reach their potential and contribute to society decreases the chances that the society will be capable of developing great ideas to improve the quality of the society. In Elizabeth Barrett Brown’s 1848 poem, The Runaway Slave at Pilgrim Point, the narrator uses powerful language and effective symbols that reflect the struggles and injustices of every type of oppression, including female oppression in a patriarchal culture.

The poem initially seems to specifically address the topic of slavery and the oppression of black people in America. This impression is facilitated by the narrator consistently using the color black in association with the cause of her oppression and with the repetition of the phrase, “I am black, I am black” throughout the poem. Additionally, at the time Brown wrote the poem, the United States was engaged in a contentious struggle regarding slavery, people were fiercely debating the morality of slavery, and many abolitionist movements were passionately arguing that slavery should be prohibited and that black people should acquire the same rights and liberties as white people. Thus, it is understandable to associate The Runaway Slave at Pilgrim Point with American slavery.

However, the language and symbolism of the poem enable the work to reflect oppression in all of its forms. For instance, the image and symbolic value of slavery can apply to all human beings who are inflicted with oppression because of certain characteristics that the society has falsely established as inferior. Thus, the image of slavery in the poem is applicable to all people who are oppressed as a result of skin color, ethnicity, religion or gender. Likewise, although the consistent use of the word black refers to skin color, the symbolism of the word “black” also reflects a black mark like the mark of Cain, or a single characteristic that an individual is born with and that causes the authoritative forces in the society to oppress the individual. The symbolism of the black mark is introduced in verse V, as the narrator says, “I have run through the night, my skin is as dark,/ I bend my knee down on this mark.” The meaning of this line is that the narrator must bear a symbolic black mark because she has been born with a characteristic that guarantees oppression in her culture and that confines her to a low position, with her knee bent down, as a result of the mark. Likewise, the contrast between white and black within the poem symbolizes the contrast of those who are born with favorable characteristics that provide freedom to those who are born with features that cause oppression.

The black mark that the narrator must bear can certainly refer to her female gender and the oppressions that restrict women in a patriarchal society. During Brown’s lifetime and at the time she wrote the poem, women were significantly oppressed by American society and by many European societies. For instance, in America and much of Europe, women had no power to influence the political developments of their society, for they were deprived of a right to vote, attain positions of power or participate in the political system. Although Browning was well-educated, many women were also prohibited from the opportunity to obtain high-quality educations or fulfill important and diverse occupations that would meaningfully contribute to society. Thus, the slavery and black mark images can refer to the oppressive restrictions that confronted and confined women during the 19th century.

The courtship scene reflects the reality of female oppression by male-dominated and patriarchal societies. For instance, in stanza XII the narrator seems to have met a romantic companion, and during the courtship and perhaps marriage passages of the poem the narrator says, “I sang his name instead of a song;/Over and over I sang his name--/Upward and downward I drew it along/My various notes; the same, the same!/I sang it low, that the slave-girls near/Might never guess from aught they could hear,/It was only a name.” These lines entail the action of the narrator being forced to sing a song of the boyfriend or husband’s name instead of being able to sing her own song, which in turn symbolizes that in a patriarchal society females are deprived of individuality, restricted from equal power, robbed of their sexuality, and forced to remain subordinate to their husbands and to men in general. That the narrator sang the song so the “slave-girls near…could hear” also indicates that the poem can apply to the oppression and injustices that girls must encounter and overcome in a patriarchal society.

The baby section of the poem also supports the notion that the poem can refer to female oppression in addition to racial oppression. In these passages, the narrator has apparently had a child but is resentful of the child for being white. This resentment and animosity are established in stanza XVII, as the narrator says, “…And the babe who lay on my bosom so,/Was far too white…too white for me;/As white as the ladies who scorned to pray/Beside me at church but yesterday;/Though my tears had washed a place for my knee.” Furthermore, stanza XVIII states, “…For the white child wanted his liberty--/Ha,ha! He wanted his master right.” These lines indicate that because the child was white, or born with the favorable characteristic, the child reminds the narrator of her oppression and instills her with agony because her child will be a source of oppression. The reappearance of the “place for my knee” image further emphasizes that the child amplifies the sense of low oppression that the narrator is experiencing.

Although one can argue that the baby is a reminder or source of the narrator’s oppression because he is white, the male gender of the baby suggests that the lines can also apply to female oppression and that the baby’s whiteness can symbolize his favorable position as a male. Because presenting the child as a female daughter would have tightened the connection and resemblance between the mother and child, for Brown to instead present the child as a male by referring to the baby with the pronoun “he” is a deliberate choice that allows the reader to interpret the baby as oppressive because he is male.

A common result of female oppression is that patriarchal societies in the 19th century often deprived females of the opportunity to participate in ambitious professions and prestigious occupations that would meaningfully contribute to the endeavors and successes of the society. Instead, during this era, most women were restricted and confined to the exclusive position of being mothers and housewives. Thus, the male child evokes resentment from the mother because the baby represents her confinement to the motherly position of housewife, and the powerful image of a dead eagle symbolizes the limitations that confine females in a patriarchal society. The lines in stanza XXX state, “Ah!—in their ‘stead, their hunter sons!/Ah, ah! They are on me—they hunt in a ring--/Keep off! I brave you all at once--/I throw off your eyes like snakes that sting!/You have killed the black eagle at nest, I think:/Did you never stand still in your triumph, and shrink/From the stroke of her wounded wing?” The symbolism of hunter sons having “killed the black eagle at nest” can represent the restrictions of female oppression and the limited role of motherhood. All human beings, including females and black people, possess the same immense potential to become great thinkers, to achieve excellence, and to help improve the quality of life for their given society. However, female oppression and all oppression deprive certain people of ever being able to reach their incredible potential, and thus the narrator is like an Eagle that is capable of reaching great heights but is deprived of doing so because of the oppressive limitations that restrict her in a patriarchal culture.

The poem serves as a call to action that encourages disenfranchised people to overcome oppression. The rebellious action is the apparent killing of her baby for being the oppressive force, and the image symbolizes the importance of actively resisting and defeating the source that is causing the oppression. For instance, in stanza XXXIII the narrator states, “…Up to the mountains, lift your hands, O slaves, and end what I begun!” This symbolically reflects a call to action by referring to the killing of the baby as a step towards ending oppression, and thus the narrator is a runaway slave for taking action and is encouraging other oppressed people to also take action and to help overcome the mountain of oppression.

Oppression is a detriment that has impaired the quality and diminished the potential of many societies throughout human history. In Browning’s The Runaway Slave at Pilgrim Point, the careful language and symbolic images allow the poem to apply to the problems of slavery and the importance of overcoming all types of oppression, including the female oppression often experienced in 19th century patriarchal societies.