Douglass and Larsen in Europe
Note: This piece is part of a series of blogs commissioned by the Unsilencing Black Voices team, Sandrine Ndahiro and Catherine Osikoya, in which writers respond to Douglass’s visit to Ireland.
Daniah Khayat
As a researcher in African-American literature, it is interesting to read this literature about genuine feelings of liberation and freedom that can be found in either moving into a new place and, in this case, into a different continent. It is important to know that during Douglass’ visit to Ireland, the country was still part of the British Empire - in contrast to the newly liberated United States, which, in theory, should be more tolerant of other races than a colonial power. Also, in a remark that echoes Daniel O’Connell’s comments on how the Founding Fathers in the United States kept slaves and never abolished slavery, in the newly published series of articles about the impact of slavery in the contemporary life of the American society, Nikole Hannah-Jones in The 1619 Project says that it was never the intention of the Founding Fathers, such as Thomas Jefferson, to free the slaves in America. In contrast, according to Hannah-Jones, they declared war on Britain to keep the slave trade uninterrupted because it was essential to the American economy.
Generally, Europe was a mecca for many well-known African American writers, such as
W.E.B. Du Bois and James Baldwin. For the sake of keeping the article entirely as a literal analysis, though, I want to compare Douglass’ impression in his visit to Europe, Ireland, to a less known African American writer, Nella Larsen, in her semi-autobiographical work Quicksand, in Denmark. Larsen’s work was published around 80 years after Douglass’ trip to Europe.
Larsen shares some similarities to Douglass, as both are biracial children. They are both of African and European, or “White,” descent. This factor adds to their sense of isolation amid high racial tension in the United States. For example, Larsen emphasizes this identity dilemma in both of her novels, Quicksand, and Passing. In the end, the protagonist of Quicksand also leaves Europe to go back to the United States after her trip regardless of the hospitality she has received that contrasts entirely with the treatment they had to deal with back in the United States. This happens not only with Larsen’s fictional character but for Larsen herself.
Likewise, there are differences between the two it comes to two when it come to the nature of their trip to Europe. This created two different narratives about their feelings at the end of their trip, which does not contain any negativity toward the countries they travelled to. The gap between the two travels’ timing is not an essential element in comparing the two narratives, but perhaps only in their voyage from America to Europe. While Douglass had to travel on steerage, Helga was not forced into the lower deck because she was “coloured”. However, in the United States, aspects of the racial situation did not change in those 80 years. The Civil War that happened in America between the years of 1861–1865 indeed abolished slavery, but racism never disappeared. The United States’ political situation led to a harsh post-reconstruction era, one of the consequences of which was Jim Crow.
Douglass travelled to Ireland because of political and educational motivations. Besides fleeing to Europe to avoid being captured by the anti-abolitionists, Douglass went to Ireland, Scotland, and England to attend lectures and promote his autobiography. In Dublin, he met Daniel O’Connell, who was driving a campaign and a series of lectures about abolishing slavery. When Douglass arrived in Ireland, he was expected, welcomed, and celebrated, which gave him all the positive feelings he wrote about in his memoir. Nella Larsen’s fictional character, Helga, on the other hand, travelled to Denmark— besides to escape the racial tension in the United States—as she was bored and wanted to find a place where she could belong. Helga herself made the arrangement to travel to Europe, and she was not expecting any guaranteed welcome there. However, like Douglass, she was well received by her extended family in Denmark. Helga and Douglass were treated well, as equals. Helga’s aunts assured her that this is not America, where she can face racism because she is a biracial woman.
Helga had a change of heart after staying for a considerable time in Denmark and decided to go back to the United States. That because the gender factor plays a part here. While Helga’s (fictional) trip was energetic and full of events like attending lectures, Douglass was in Ireland as a political figure and an advocate in abolishing slavery. On the other hand, although Helga was living a lavish life with her European relatives, the reason that caused her to leave the United States controlled her again – namely boredom. All Helga was doing during her stay in Denmark was to dress up and attend tea parties, as expected from any respectful lady, which made her feel useless, and she did not find any meaning in staying there. That is why Helga, in the end, decided to go back to the United States, and especially to Harlem.
After Douglass returned to the United States after spending two years in Ireland, he continued advocating for Black people and the emancipation of the enslaved. Douglass did not travel to Ireland to find a place to belong to or search for missing relatives. That is why he did not have further reason to stay in Ireland, and his primary mission was in the United States. On the other hand, Larsen presents a comic gesture and a dark irony to the constant unresolved feelings of searching for a place to belong. After spending some time in Harlem, the educated and ambitious Helga decided to marry an unsuitable husband, and she moved with him to the South. There, she had five children by her husband—the same number of children that Douglass had—and exhausted herself rearing them (although she felt no emotional bond with them), together with her impoverished house and husband.
Works Cited
Geoghegan, Patrick M. “O’Connell and the Campaign against Slavery.” History Ireland, 9 July 2020, www.historyireland.com/18th-19th-century-history/a-consistent-advocate-of-nigger- emancipationdaniel-oconnell-and-the-campaign-against-slavery/.
Hannah-Jones, Nikole. “America Wasn’t a Democracy, Until Black Americans Made It One.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 14 Aug. 2019, www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/08/14/magazine/black-history-american- democracy.html.