A Mercy

Slavery takes on different forms, be it through Rebekka who is sold to Jacob in marriage, Lina whose tribe and family are slaughtered due to colonialism and expansion, Scully and Willard who are indentured servants, or Minha mãe and Florens who are sold into slavery. Enslaved Black people, Indigenous people, those with a diverse racial background, and indentured white servants all existed under the umbrella of the slave system. There are important questions that arise as a result of the inherently transracial aspect to slavery. Did the differentiation between free and enslaved exist before the solidification of race designation? Or were these conditions based upon the perception of one’s skin color? When there have been so many races entangled and bound up with the institution of slavery, why and when did the word “slaves” become synonymous with Black people? These are only a small collection of some of the questions that Morrison’s A Mercy inspires.

Morrison further subverts the many themes commonly seen in slave narratives. For example, instead of a group of runaway Black slaves, Lina and Florens instead come across a group of indentured servants who are trying to escape their contracts and flee to the North.