# The Slave Girl's Address to Her Mother explained — Poetry

> Chapter companion for Poetry by Sarah Louisa Forten Purvis.

## What happens

A slave girl comforts her weeping mother, urging faith in God's protection and justice despite their suffering and separation from home. She condemns the hypocrisy of American freedom, which tolerates slavery, and expresses hope for divine deliverance.

## Themes in this chapter

### Faith and Prayer

The slave girl repeatedly urges her mother not to weep, trusting in God as their guardian and deliverer.

### Hypocrisy of Freedom

The poem directly challenges those who boast of freedom while enslaving others, calling freedom 'nothing but a name.'

## Character check-ins

### Poor Afric

The speaker, a slave girl, addresses her mother and represents the enslaved African voice.

### Mother

The mother is comforted by her daughter and mourns their lost home and freedom.

## Key lines

> Oh! mother, weep not, though our lot be hard, And we are helpless⁠—God will be our guard

Don't cry, mother, even though our situation is difficult and we have no power—God will protect us.

_The speaker reassures her mother with faith in divine protection._

> Freedom, what art thou?⁠—nothing but a name.

Freedom is just an empty word, not a reality for us.

_A direct condemnation of the hypocrisy of American freedom._

> In thine own time deliverance thou wilt give, And bid us rise from slavery, and live.

In your own time, God, you will rescue us and command us to rise up from slavery and truly live.

_The poem ends with a hopeful prayer for eventual liberation._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_20_se/chapters/the-slave-girl-s-address-to-her-mother
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_20_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_20_se/chapters