Mary, having being hired out to work for Mr. Woods who was later planning to move to Antigua had asked him to take her to Antigua because she wanted to get away from her Master, Mr. D. After their arrival in Antigua Mr. Woods wrote a letter to Mr. D to purchase Mary and he replied “that she was not to be sold to anyone who would treat her ill.” (pp. 21-2) This statement stands out most to me because it is ironic that an abusive master would not want to sell his slave to anyone who will not treat her well.

I believe, although Mr. D was a brutal master he had a heart of human potentials. He seems to know that the harsh punishment he unloads on his slaves were not a kind and humanly thing to do, but that he had to do it anyway since that is the norm in his kind of business. Another important reason for Mr. D to write such note to Mr. Woods before selling Mary could be because Mary has been his slave for quite some time and he wanted her to get better treatment by someone else.

Mr. Woods was perceived to be a decent owner for Mary, but his wife influenced him to cause her much grief and ill-treatment. In my opinion Mrs. Woods is more evil than the Master himself. I just could not understand though, why the Woods told Mary to seek another owner, to find another place of refuge, that she is free to go where ever she pleases, and even gave her a note to support her claim on many occasions but, when it’s time set her free he refuses.