Topic for discussion - manumission

[epeeblade]

(I haven't done one of these in a while, so here goes...)

I was reading the latest bit of A Kept Boy last night when something occurred to me.

In it Jensen vehemently denies being part of any family, and denies any identity other than that of slave. He's not the only one raised from childhood to be the perfect slave.

So what would happen then if the abolitionist movement does pass a manumission clause? Now granted, it's probably not going to cause hundreds of people freeing their slaves en masse, but I can imagine wealthy owners "freeing their slaves" in their will after they pass. What happens to the slaves who can't imagine a life outside of slavery?

(And yes this would probably be AU like whoah, but it's something I'm interested in seeing explored in fic...)

Comments

[khemlab.livejournal.com]

But what if they had no choice? Would it be possible to be re-enslaved?

I don't know if "not leaving" would necessarily have to be equated with formal re-enslavement. I do suspect some Masters would turn them out rather than not have a formal master/slave relationship. On the other hand, I don't see why one couldn't enter into a sort of "voluntary slavery" even though it would be outside the legal system. If I were a Master, of course, I would require such a slave to sign some sort of documentation releasing me from any future liability as to their labor costs.

Some end up back in prison because they can't function as free people.

Which is exactly the problem with our prison system - it teaches prisoners to be better criminals, rather than rehabilitating them to be better human beings. In the slave parallel, of course, slaves are taught (involuntarily) to be better slaves, not better people.