Clotel; or, The President's Daughter by William Wells Brown is an emotional tale imagined based upon the story of Thomas Jefferson's slave Sally Hemmings and her children. Brown explores the horrific truth of these slave wives and their children and the tragic fates which befall them. In the book, Currer is Hemmings' representative. She and her daughters, though Jefferson's kin, is sold after his death. Both of her daughters go on to live remarkably similar lives to her, each ending with their disappointment.
Brown's emphasis on the cyclical nature of the institution of slavery is fascinating. He offers a representation of human progress in the generations of Currier's children. First, she is born a slave but gains favor with her master in exchange for sex. Then both of her daughters do the same with their following masters. While Althesa lives rather happily with her husband until both of their deaths, her daughters are subsequently sold into slavery, a thing they had never experienced before. They both die not long after their enslavement. Clotel is sold by her husband and their daughter is enslaved after he marries a white woman. She spends the rest of her life trying to get back to her daughter, Mary, and rescue her. Finally, Mary is sold to a Frenchman. After his death, she is free and reunites with her long-lost lover from Washington.
Each of these women experiences a similar betrayal by their masters, but generation by generation their circumstances improve. Mary is the promise of restoration for her people because she finally is granted freedom in France. Currer and her children are trapped within a cycle, but it's hopefully a spiral that leads upwards toward deliverance. In this image, these women are being perfected. The spiral is a Buddhist symbol for the nature of life which leads to enlightenment. Their suffering, though deplorable and unnecessary, is meaningful. They are gradual -- generation by generation -- rising to higher states of being. Clotel and Mary evidence this theory. When Clotel falls in love, she helps her lover escape and then leaves him to save her daughter. Mary then sacrifices her lover by taking his place in prison. Of course, she's sold to a new master when her deception is discovered, but she is rewarded eventually by reuniting with him when both of them are free in France. Clotel's achievements are mirrored and improved by her daughter, continuing the cycle once more.
