Harriet E. Wilson's novel Our Nig; or, Sketches from the Life of a Free Black, in a Two-Story House, in the North. Demonstrating that the shadows of slavery fall there too. follows the life of Frado, a young mulatto woman living in a white family living in New England. She was abandoned to this family at the age of six because her mother could not afford to care for her and was resentful of her and the difficulties to which her birth had contributed. The landlady Frado is left with is a cruel and spiteful woman, especially towards blacks. From this account the reader is shown that racism, and to some extent slavery, were prevalent even in areas that professed abolitionism and equal rights. When Frado is left in the care of the Bellmont residence as a young woman, she has no idea of ​​the tribulations that will test her for much of her life. From the beginning, neither Mrs. Bellmont, the main antagonist, nor her equally cruel daughter Mary, show any hint of compassion for the young Frado. Mary allegedly had the girl kicked out of the house, saying, "I don't want a nigger around me, do I, Mama?" (Wilson 26). The initial use of the word "nigger" sets the tone for how Frado will be seen and treated for the majority of the story. The very morning after her arrival, Frado is put to work feeding and caring for animals, cooking, and other chores unbecoming a six-year-old. Frado is told from the beginning that if she does not carry out her duties correctly, she will be whipped and beaten. Barely into the story are we introduced to the severe amount of oppression Frado will have to endure simply because of the color of his skin. She is even given the degrading nickname "Nig". Being a strong-willed girl, even at such a young age, she endures all this as best she can, especially since she doesn't know anything else she can do. Her mind can't get around any reason why she should be treated this way simply because she's black. When he can find no reason for such treatment, he retreats into pain and despair. She finds blame in the only place she can think of: God. In a conversation with James, one of the Bellmont sons who returned home after some years away, Frado confides in him that she doesn't like God.