Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass Characters

Douglass is the book's narrator, and it's a book about him. So in a way, it's hard to really describe him as a character. The entire book describes him as a character. But his personality is also w...

Mr. Covey is a poor white farmer with a reputation of being an effective slave-breaker. When farmers have a troublesome slave, they send him to Covey. Covey's method is to work them and whip them u...

Sandy is a slave who lives near Mr. Covey's plantation, whom Douglass meets while he's hiding in the woods. Before Douglass fights Covey, Sandy gives him a root and tells him it has magical powers:...

Anthony is Douglass's first master and, Douglass suggests, possibly his father. White fathers of slaves were not prone to love or paternal affection, and Anthony is no exception. He completely igno...

Lucretia is Captain Anthony's daughter, who inherits Douglass after his death.

Captain Thomas is Lucretia's husband. Although he is a churchgoing person, his conversion to Christianity only makes him more confident of his right to treat his slaves with great cruelty.

Hugh Auld owns Douglass when he lives in Baltimore. He unknowingly teaches him about the power of education when he tries to prevent Douglass from learning to read.

Hugh Auld's wife Sophia has never owned a slave before Douglass, so she doesn't understand much about the slave-owning culture. As she becomes corrupted by the experience of owning Douglass, she sh...

Mr. Freeland is one of the best masters Douglass has, although Douglass jokes that he would much prefer to live in "free land" than work for "Mr. Freeland."

Garrison first meets Douglass at an anti-slavery convention, where the audience convinces a reluctant Douglass to stand up and talk about his experiences as a slave. Garrison is really impressed wi...

Hester is Douglass's aunt, a very beautiful woman who attracts the attention of Captain Anthony. Douglass implies that Anthony wants Hester all to himself, since he flies into a rage when he catche...

Colonel Lloyd is the richest landowner in the area, and although Douglass belongs to Captain Anthony, Anthony works for Lloyd. Lloyd is so wealthy and remote that he can ride around his lands witho...

Douglass tells us almost nothing about his wife Anna. She was a free woman in Baltimore, and though they were engaged to be married before Douglass became free, he doesn't mention her until they ma...

Wendell Phillips is another important abolitionist, though perhaps not as famous at the time as Garrison. He has less of a personal connection to Douglass, though they were friends. He wrote a lett...

Mr. Severe is one of the many characters whose name indicates his personality; a severe overseer for Colonel Lloyd, the slaves regard his death as a mercy.