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

[darkrosetiger.livejournal.com]

I think the Stockholm Syndrome/disconnection with society would run so deep with some that they might not even want to leave their master's/mistress's household.

For slaves like Andy and Sherri in Dylan's household, that household is their family, and they have a long-term emotional investment in everyone there. They also like their jobs, and their work environment as far as working for Dylan. What they want is the ability to go on vacations without having to pretend they're on an errand for Dylan, and to get legally married, and to not have to automatically defer to someone on the street because they don't have a collar.

Since the first step will probably be slaves buying their freedom, and that can't happen without help and support from the master, chances are that the slaves who obtain freedom initially will be more likely to stay, because they're the ones who will be closest to their owners.