Skip to main content

  • HOME
  • CURRENT CONTENT
  • ALL CONTENT
  • SUBMIT
  • ABOUT
    • Journal
    • Editorial
  • INFO FOR
    • Librarians
    • Authors
    • Reprints and Permissions
    • Subscriptions and Single Issues
  • MORE
    • Alerts
    • Contact Us

  • Login

  • Advanced search

  • Login
Advanced Search
  • HOME
  • CURRENT CONTENT
  • ALL CONTENT
  • SUBMIT
  • ABOUT
    • Journal
    • Editorial
  • INFO FOR
    • Librarians
    • Authors
    • Reprints and Permissions
    • Subscriptions and Single Issues
  • MORE
    • Alerts
    • Contact Us
Nineteenth-Century Literature

the finest scholarship in the field since 1945

  • Special Section: Frederick Douglass and Theology
Rejecting the Root
The Liberating, Anti-Christ Theology of Douglass’s Narrative
Zachary McLeod Hutchins
NINETEEN CENT LIT, Vol. 68 No. 3, December 2013; (pp. 292-322) DOI: 10.1525/ncl.2013.68.3.292
Zachary McLeod Hutchins
Colorado State University
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Search for this author on this site
  • View author's works on this site
  • Article
  • Info & Metrics
  • PDF
PreviousNext
Loading

Abstract

Investigations of Frederick Douglass’s religiosity too frequently neglect his 1845 Narrative, perhaps because readers continue to accept that the Narrative should be understood as a critique of specific individuals or denominations rather than a challenge to core Christian principles. But in the Narrative Douglass deploys a series of subtle biblical symbols to rewrite the Bible and subvert “Christianity proper.” Most controversially, I claim that the root that Douglass eventually rejects as an impotent totem of “ignorant slaves” is both a representation of hoodoo rootwork and, crucially, Jesus Christ; nineteenth-century readers of the Narrative, including Harriet Beecher Stowe, recognized the atheistic potency of this symbol, but biblical illiteracy has elided it from modern readings.

  • Frederick Douglass
  • Harriet Beecher Stowe
  • Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
  • Uncle Tom’s Cabin
  • Bible/theology
  • © 2013 by The Regents of the University of California

Log in using your username and password

Enter your Nineteenth-Century Literature username.
Enter the password that accompanies your username.
Forgot your user name or password?

Log in through your institution

You may be able to gain access using your login credentials for your institution. Contact your library if you do not have a username and password.
If your organization uses OpenAthens, you can log in using your OpenAthens username and password. To check if your institution is supported, please see this list. Contact your library for more details.

PreviousNext
Back to top

Vol. 68 No. 3, December 2013

Nineteenth-Century Literature: 68 (3)
  • Table of Contents
  • Table of Contents (PDF)
  • Cover (PDF)
  • Index by author
  • Back Matter (PDF)
  • Front Matter (PDF)
eTOC Alert

RSSRSS Icon

Email

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word on Nineteenth-Century Literature.

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Rejecting the Root
(Your Name) has sent you a message from Nineteenth-Century Literature
(Your Name) thought you would like to see the Nineteenth-Century Literature web site.
Alerts
Sign In to Email Alerts with your Email Address
Citation Tools
Rejecting the Root
The Liberating, Anti-Christ Theology of Douglass’s Narrative
Zachary McLeod Hutchins
NINETEEN CENT LIT, Vol. 68 No. 3, December 2013; (pp. 292-322) DOI: 10.1525/ncl.2013.68.3.292
Zachary McLeod Hutchins
Colorado State University
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Search for this author on this site
  • View author's works on this site

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
Request Permissions
Share
Rejecting the Root
The Liberating, Anti-Christ Theology of Douglass’s Narrative
Zachary McLeod Hutchins
NINETEEN CENT LIT, Vol. 68 No. 3, December 2013; (pp. 292-322) DOI: 10.1525/ncl.2013.68.3.292
Zachary McLeod Hutchins
Colorado State University
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Search for this author on this site
  • View author's works on this site
del.icio.us logo Digg logo Reddit logo Technorati logo Twitter logo CiteULike logo Facebook logo Google logo Mendeley logo
View Full Page PDF
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One
  • Top
  • Article
  • Info & Metrics
  • PDF

Related Articles

Cited By...

More in this TOC Section

  • Introduction
  • Douglass Unbound
Show more Special Section: Frederick Douglass and Theology

Similar Articles

FIND US Facebook Account LinkRSS Feeds LinkTwitter Account LinkInstagram Account LinkLinkedin Account LinkYoutube Account LinkEmail Link

Customer Service

  • Reprints and Permissions
  • Contact

UC Press

  • About UC Press

Navigate

  • Home
  • About
  • Submit
  • Editorial
  • Contact

Content

  • Current Issue
  • All Content

Info For

  • Librarians
  • Authors
  • Subscriptions and Single Issues

Copyright © 2019 by the Regents of the University of California  Privacy   Accessibility