The Garies and Their Friends

“It isn’t as though he was a white child. What use can Latin or Greek be to a coloured boy? None in the world—he’ll have to be a common mechanic, or, perhaps, a servant, or barber, or something of that kind, and then what use would all his fine education be to him?”

This quote from Mrs. Thomas expresses the prevailing view of wealthy white people in the antebellum North: that an education, though legal, is wasted on Black children who are destined for a life of servitude or labor. This quote highlights The Impact of Race and Racism on Personal Identity, as the Black children of the novel are defined by their race and ridiculed for stepping outside of the societal norm.

“‘One thing I must tell you,’ rejoined Mr. Ellis; ‘if you should settle down here, you'll have to be either one thing or other—white or coloured. Either you must live exclusively amongst coloured people, or go to the whites and remain with them. But to do the latter, you must bear in mind that it must never be known that you have a drop of African blood in your veins, or you would be shunned as if you were a pestilence; no matter how fair in complexion or how white you may be.’”

Mr. Ellis has no illusions about the segregation that results from the Racism and Discrimination in the Antebellum North. In this quote, he warns Mr. Winston about the reality that he will have choose to either live as a Black man, and face the same discrimination other Black people face, or live as a white man and hide his Black ancestry. The biblical language of “pestilence” that Mr. Ellis uses is an indication of how these racist views are held by white people as an article of faith.

“‘I love America too much to ever think of living anywhere else. I am much too thorough a democrat to ever swear allegiance to a king. No, no—that would never do—give me a free country.’

‘That is just what I say,’ rejoined Mrs. Garie; ‘that is exactly what I want; that is why I should like to get away from here, because this is not a free country—God knows it is not!’”

Mrs. Garie expresses a radical view for her time, one closely associated with the abolitionist movement. She says that America “is not a free country” because of the persistence of enslavement. However, unlike Mr. Winston, who plans to move abroad to avoid racism and discrimination, Mr. Garie is reluctant to make a similar choice because he is a “democrat,” meaning that he believes in democracy, rather than a monarchist, which was the dominant mode of governance elsewhere in the Western world at the time.

“I don’t pretend to be better than most men; but my conscience will not permit me to be the owner of my own flesh and blood. I’m going north, because I wish to emancipate and educate my children—you know I can’t do it here.”

In this quote, Mr. Garie explains to his uncle why he is choosing to move his family north despite the acknowledged racism and discrimination that they will experience there. In the South, Mr. Garie cannot legally marry his wife or send his children to school. His wife and children could be sold into enslavement if he were to die. He hopes to legally emancipate them by moving north.

“‘Why don’t you hustle the old thing out,’ remarked a bystander, the respectability of whose appearance contrasted broadly with his manners; ‘she is some crack-brained abolitionist. Making so much fuss about a little n-! Let her go into the n- car—she’ll be more at home there.’

Mrs. Bird, seeing the uselessness of contention, accepted the proffered escort of the gentleman before mentioned, and was followed out of the cars by the conductor and his black-guard assistants, all of them highly elated by the victory they had won over a defenceless old woman and a feeble little boy.”

In this passage, Mrs. Bird is harassed into taking Charlie into the train car for Black people, even though he is sick. The ironic tone shows how Northern racists use their prejudices to bully “a defenceless old woman and a feeble little boy.”

“Mrs. Garie, who had been reclining on the lounge, partially raised herself and gave Mrs. Stevens a withering look. ‘I presume, madam,’ said she, in a hurried and agitated tone, ‘that you are very ignorant of the people upon whom you have just been heaping such unmerited abuse, and therefore I shall not think so hardly of you as I should, did I deem your language dictated by pure hatred; but, be its origin what it may, it is quite evident that our farther acquaintance could be productive of no pleasure to either of us—you will, therefore, permit me,’ continued she, rising with great dignity, ‘to wish you good evening’; and thus speaking, she left the room.”

The Stevens family acts as the antagonists in The Garies and Their Friends. They are initially unaware that Mrs. Garie is Black, and in her presence, Mrs. Stevens denigrates Black people. In response, Mrs. Garie exercises her resistance to this cruelty by revealing her Black identity to Mrs. Stevens and asking Mrs. Stevens to leave her home.

“‘My children,’ he said, tremulously, ‘you are entering upon a path which, to the most favoured, is full of disappointment, care, and anxieties; but to you who have come together under such peculiar circumstances, in the face of so many difficulties, and in direct opposition to the prejudices of society, it will be fraught with more danger, and open to more annoyances, than if you were both of one race. But if men revile you, revile not again; bear it patiently for the sake of Him who has borne so much for you. God bless you, my children,’ said he, and after shaking hands with them all, he departed.”

This prayer and warning message from Father Banks to Mr. and Mrs. Garie after their marriage ceremony foreshadows the “danger” that the couple will face. Soon after, Mr. Garie is murdered by his racist neighbor, Mr. Stevens, and Mrs. Garie dies in childbirth.

“Well, Mrs. Bird, let us grant him admitted—what benefit can accrue to the lad from an education beyond his station? He cannot enter into any of the learned professions: both whilst he is there, and after his education is finished, he will be like a fish out of water. You must pardon me if I say I think, in this case, your benevolence misdirected.”

Mrs. Bird, a white woman who works at Charlie’s school, takes Charlie to her summer home while he recovers from a broken arm. She asks her white friend Mr. Whately if he will help her enroll Charlie in the all-white academy. In this quote, Mr. Whately responds using rhetoric similar to that used by Mrs. Thomas earlier in the text, implying that such an education would be wasted on a child destined for service or labor rather than a white-collar profession.

“‘Don’t cry, teacher, I love you,’ said the little blue-eyed angel, whose lip began to quiver in sympathy; ‘don’t cry, I'll come back again to-morrow.’ This was too much for the poor teacher, who clasped the child in her arms, and gave way to a burst of uncontrollable sorrow. At last, conquering herself with an effort, she led the children down stairs, kissed them both again, and then opening the door she turned them forth into the street—turned away from her school these two little children, such as God received into his arms and blessed, because they were the children of a ‘n- woman.’”

The schoolteacher Miss Jordan is pressured by Mrs. Stevens into expelling Clarence and Emily Garie once their Black heritage is discovered. Although Miss Jordan is not an abolitionist or anti-racist—she elsewhere claims that she “could not be induced to receive [a Black child] on any account” (156)—she is heartbroken at being forced to make the children leave. This is one way that The Impact of Race and Racism on Personal Identity affects white people as well as Black individuals.

“Leading articles daily appeared in the public journals (particularly those that circulated amongst the lowest classes), in which the negroes were denounced, in the strongest terms. It was averred that their insolence, since the commencement of the abolition agitation, had become unbearable; and from many quarters was suggested the absolute necessity for inflicting some general chastisement, to convince them that they were still negroes, and to teach them to remain in their proper place in the body politic.”

Mr. Stevens uses his connections in the media to write articles to create divisions between the white working class and Black people and to encourage violence against Black people. He capitalizes on the Racism and Discrimination in the Antebellum North for personal gain: to get his hands on Mr. Garie’s fortune.

“Although the authorities of the district had received the most positive information of the nefarious schemes of the rioters, they had not made the slightest efforts to protect the poor creatures threatened in their persons and property, but let the tide of lawlessness flow on unchecked.”

As a result of racism and discrimination, the police and other authorities do not attempt to protect Black residents of Philadelphia from attacks by the white mob. Solidarity and Resistance Within Black Communities is a necessity for these characters as they seek safety and protection with other persecuted individuals.

“The women gazed in mournful silence on the touching scene before them. Clarence was on his knees, regarding with fear and wonder the unnatural stillness of his mother—the child had never before looked on death, and could not recognize its presence. Laying his hand on her cold cheek, he cried, with faltering voice, ‘Mother, can’t you speak?’ but there was no answering light in the fixed stare of those glassy eyes, and the lips of the dead could not move.”

This passage is exemplary of the melodramatic sentimentality that characterizes the language of The Garies and Their Friends. The “mournful silence,” “unnatural stillness,” and “glassy eyes” conjure up an image of a scene wherein the reader sympathizes with Mrs. Garie and her son Clarence, innocents who have been wrongfully hurt by the Racism and Discrimination in the Antebellum North.

“With a pale face, and trembling lips, she said to Mr. Walters, ‘God give us strength to bear up under these misfortunes; we are homeless—almost beggars—our friends have been murdered, and my father is now trembling on the brink of the grave; such troubles as these,’ said she, sinking into a chair, ‘are enough to crush any one.’”

In this quote, Esther Ellis describes the series of unfortunate events that have befallen her and those around her. For the first time, her optimism and hope falter. In response, Mr. Walters expresses his support for the Ellis family, a key example of Solidarity and Resistance Within Black Communities in the text.

“‘Oh, I begin to believe it’s all sham, this prejudice; I’m getting quite disgusted with myself for having had it—or rather thinking I had it. As for saying it is innate, or that there is any natural antipathy to that class, it’s all perfect folly; children are not born with it, or why shouldn’t they shrink from a black nurse or playmate? It’s all bosh,’ concluded he, indignantly, as he brought his cane down with a rap.”

Mrs. Bird’s friend Mr. Whately is outraged when he is not able to get Charlie enrolled in the local academy. Although he held anti-abolitionist and even racist views prior to this experience, after being personally acquainted with the discrimination that Black people face, Mr. Whately’s racist views begin to change. Author Frank J. Webb notes later that this is often how people’s views on controversial or complex issues are changed.

“‘If you are that, you are more,’ said Walters, fiercely—‘you’re his murderer!’ At this charge Mr. Stevens turned deathly pale. ‘Yes,’ continued Walters; ‘you either murdered him, or instigated others to do so! It was you who directed the rioters against both him and me—I have proof of what I say and can produce it. Now your motive is clear as day—you wanted his money, and destroyed him to obtain it! His blood is on your hands!’ hissed Walters through his clenched teeth.”

In this quote, Mr. Walters reveals to Mr. Stevens that he is aware of Mr. Stevens’s plot to murder Mr. Garie to obtain his fortune. In the only instance of violence by a Black person against a white person in the text, Mr. Walters acts with uncharacteristic violence and attacks Mr. Stevens.

“Charlie was almost petrified at the change wrought in his father. A few months before he had left him in the prime of healthful manhood; now he was bent and spectrelike, and old in appearance as if the frosts of eighty winters had suddenly fallen on him.”

Mr. Ellis is one of the characters most impacted by race and racism. As a result of the attack by a white mob, Mr. Ellis transforms from a healthy, happy, hardworking man into a ghost of his former self; he is described as “spectrelike.”

“There’s no doubt, my dear sir, but what I fully appreciate the advantage of being white. Yet, with all I have endured, and yet endure from day to day, I esteem myself happy in comparison with that man, who, mingling in the society of whites, is at the same time aware that he has African blood in his veins, and is liable at any moment to be ignominiously hurled from his position by the discovery of his origin. He is never safe.”

In this quote, Mr. Walters explains his reasoning for why it is better to live openly as a Black man rather than pretend to be white. Keeping a dangerous secret like this can have negative effects on one’s personal identity, as shown in the case of Clarence Ellis.

“‘We cannot take the boy—it is impossible; it would create a rumpus amongst the clerks, who would all feel dreadfully insulted by our placing a n- child on an equality with them. I assure you the thing is out of the question.’

‘Well, I must say you Northern people are perfectly incompwehensible. You pay taxes to have n- educated, and made fit for such places—and then won’t let them fill them when they are pwepared to do so.’”

In this conversation between Mr. Twining, a Northerner, and Mr. Western, a Southerner, Mr. Western (who has a lisp) expresses bafflement at the form Racism and Discrimination in the Antebellum North takes. He is confused about why Black children can have access to literacy in the North but are not permitted into the white-collar professions.

“‘And haven’t I suffered,’ said he, shaking his bald head mournfully; ‘haven’t I suffered—look at my grey hairs and half-palsied frame, decrepit before I’m old—sinking into the tomb with a weight of guilt and sin upon me that will crush me down to the lowest depth of hell. Think you,’ he continued, ‘that because I am surrounded with all that money can buy, that I am happy, or ever shall be, with this secret gnawing at my heart; every piece of gold I count out, I see his hands outstretched over it, and hear him whisper “Mine!” He gives me no peace night or day; he is always by me; I have no rest.’”

In an example of the melodramatic sentimentality that permeates the text, Mr. Stevens describes how he is haunted by Mr. Garie following his murder. In 19th-century sentimental texts, evil people are punished for their immoral actions; Mr. Stevens is prematurely old and infirm as a result of becoming a murderer and taking Mr. Garie’s fortune from the Garie children.

“‘I don’t avoid coloured people, because I esteem them my inferiors in refinement, education, or intelligence; but because they are subjected to degradations that I shall be compelled to share by too freely associating with them.’

‘It is a pity,’ continued he, with a sigh, ‘that I was not suffered to grow up with them, then I should have learnt to bear their burthens, and in the course of time might have walked over my path of life, bearing the load almost unconsciously.’”

In this quote, Clarence reflects on The Impact of Race and Racism on Personal Identity. Because he was obliged to hide his Black heritage and never had the courage to reveal it, he has grown up isolated from the support and love of the Black community that would make his life less precarious, and he does not know how to navigate the prejudice that Black people experience.

“Do not entertain a fear that I, or my future husband, will ever interfere with your happiness by thrusting ourselves upon you, or endanger your social position by proclaiming our relationship. Our paths lie so widely apart that they need never cross. You walk on the side of the oppressor—I, thank God, am with the oppressed.”

In this quote, Emily writes to her brother, Clarence, that she is proud of being Black, a sign of Solidarity and Resistance Within Black Communities. She criticizes her brother for living as a white person and foregoing these relationships.

“A few drops of negro blood in a man’s veins do not entirely deprive him of noble sentiments. ‘Tis true my past concealment does not argue in my favour.—I concealed that which was no fault of my own, but what the injustice of society has made a crime.”

Toward the end of his life, Clarence realizes the error of his ways in living as a white man and foregoing strong relationships with the Black community. He argues that his actions were the result of Racism and Discrimination in the Antebellum North, though he regrets his lack of perseverance and dedication to his own sense of identity.

“There, lying on the pavement, was the mangled form of her father, who had desperately sprung from the balcony above, to escape arrest from the man with the keen grey eyes, who, with the warrant in his hand, stood contemplating the lifeless body.”

Unable to face the consequences of being a murderer, Mr. Stevens jumps out of his window and dies by suicide. Webb uses this as an example of how white racists exploit racism to their own gain without ever having to apologize for their actions or face real consequences.