Blog: Week Two - Letter from Ellen to William Craft

Dear William,

Bless the Almighty God for our freedom! I am not one to complain but I do feel the need to record my inner most thoughts about what it felt like. I know that you have a book about our journey. But men have written history for SO long and I think it’s my time to produce behind the pen.

Firstly, I was terrified…the entire time. Yet, I had to be a firm, reasonable, and resolute man and my emotions mean so much to me. Emotions are not for the weak, unless you have the right ones: level-headedness, stoutness, firmness of opinion. Therefore, I believe that women, being valued for their emotional nature (which society likely rewards over less fragile ones), are just as strong for these emotions.

Another thing: Sometimes I wonder why you have never asked me how I knew to maintain that male branded countenance. I realize these are the particulars of the situation, but I reckon that since you wrote a book about our plight, you would care to fancy these nuances. Not to get too becoming of my efforts, but my disguise was only one part of the act of passing for a male: I had to play The Part. It did my soul much good to throw off the pseudo-male apparel because I felt that it was so indicative of oppression! The slave-owning male is the archetype for oppression of the woman, the coloured, and the poor.

When I cried trembling tears upon our first step of the thousand-mile journey, it was in part because of my insecurity about being a convincing white male. Then, I realized that all I had to do was be weak enough to mask those feelings and to speak when I got the courage. I learned something profound about my vocal emotional expression: it takes much more strength to offer one’s thoughts in an oppressed capacity than to shirk inside them in a liberated context. I realized that my act of rebellion and choosing my liberty was much more profound than any slouching tyrant’s cracking of the whip.

I say all of this to make it clear that my part in this liberation should cue you in that I am a leader in my own right and our relationship should never be the same.

Lovingly,
Ellen Craft