Howsoever the slaveholder may allow himself to act toward his slave, and, whatever cruelty he may deem it wise, for example’s sake, or for the gratification of his humor, to inflict, he cannot, in the absence of all provocation, look with pleasure upon the bleeding wounds of a defenseless slave-woman.
Douglass explores the complex psychology of slaveholders, suggesting that even they may not inherently enjoy inflicting suffering without provocation.
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More from Frederick Douglass
I believed I should get enough to eat at Covey’s, even if I suffered in other respects, and this to a hungry man is not a prospect to be regarded with indifference.
It was perhaps better for the country and for mankind that the good man could not know the end from the beginning.
It only abolished slavery where it did not exist, and left it intact where it did exist.