The relationship between master and slave is often considered a one track form of service and obedience from one individual to another; however, this relationship actually results with both individuals being slaves to one another and there being no master. We can find this shift in power in the slave narratives by both Fredrick Douglass and Harriet Jacobs.
Ultimately, the master and slave relationship causes both persons to become obsessed with the other, to act in a continuous power struggle against one another. Both individuals must dedicate their lives to besting their "master" or "slave," and therefore fall into slavery by the other. In Jacobs' "Incidents," we are told about the great hide and seek game between Jacobs and Dr. Flint. Both Jacobs and Flint lose their lives to this slavery power struggle, because neither will admit defeat, which is accepting slavery. This relationship even becomes hereditary when Flint's daughter continues to seek out Jacobs. In Douglas's text, there is the struggle of literacy for slaves. The slave owners focus on preventing their slaves from learning to read (which would lead to further uprisings and power struggles), while Douglass focuses on educating as many slaves as possible. Yes, either might be considered more of a free man by law, but because neither master or slave wished to accept defeat, both become slaves to one another. This theory is mostly taken from Georg Hegel's idea of "the master/slave dialectic" in "The Phenomenology of Spirit."
We also find different morals among masters and slaves in both Douglass and Jacobs's narratives. Douglass and Jacobs admit that there were certain masters throughout their lives who did not treat them poorly, and some free men who would help them in their causes (such as the jailer who allowed Jacobs and her grandmother to visit Benjamin). However, there were also slaves who began to give up on their quests for freedom and accept their slavery (such as Benjamin begins to do).
Perhaps I am forfeiting a portion of my manhood here, but the first modern master-slave relationship that comes to mind is in the movie "The Devil Wears Prada." I will not go into that. Yet, the movie's depiction of a powerful financial figure and her peons must comment on our obsessive desires for high paying jobs and popularity. I would not be surprised to find an over controlling, perhaps abusive, relationship between Donald Trump and his many employees, or in foreign countries ruled by a dictatorship.
Ultimately, the master and slave relationship causes both persons to become obsessed with the other, to act in a continuous power struggle against one another. Both individuals must dedicate their lives to besting their "master" or "slave," and therefore fall into slavery by the other. In Jacobs' "Incidents," we are told about the great hide and seek game between Jacobs and Dr. Flint. Both Jacobs and Flint lose their lives to this slavery power struggle, because neither will admit defeat, which is accepting slavery. This relationship even becomes hereditary when Flint's daughter continues to seek out Jacobs. In Douglas's text, there is the struggle of literacy for slaves. The slave owners focus on preventing their slaves from learning to read (which would lead to further uprisings and power struggles), while Douglass focuses on educating as many slaves as possible. Yes, either might be considered more of a free man by law, but because neither master or slave wished to accept defeat, both become slaves to one another. This theory is mostly taken from Georg Hegel's idea of "the master/slave dialectic" in "The Phenomenology of Spirit."
We also find different morals among masters and slaves in both Douglass and Jacobs's narratives. Douglass and Jacobs admit that there were certain masters throughout their lives who did not treat them poorly, and some free men who would help them in their causes (such as the jailer who allowed Jacobs and her grandmother to visit Benjamin). However, there were also slaves who began to give up on their quests for freedom and accept their slavery (such as Benjamin begins to do).
Perhaps I am forfeiting a portion of my manhood here, but the first modern master-slave relationship that comes to mind is in the movie "The Devil Wears Prada." I will not go into that. Yet, the movie's depiction of a powerful financial figure and her peons must comment on our obsessive desires for high paying jobs and popularity. I would not be surprised to find an over controlling, perhaps abusive, relationship between Donald Trump and his many employees, or in foreign countries ruled by a dictatorship.
It is more than a hide and seek game; it is a life and death struggle.
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