Mary Prince’s battle against the abuse of her master does seem largely based on the principle of gender integrity.  Her refusal to submit to the depradations of a sexually charged nature would seem to indicate that here was a line she was absolutely unwilling to cross, slave status notwithstanding.  It is an interesting psychological point that her rebellion should take such a personal form, rather than a cultural or racial one.  It seems likely that Mary might have been affected by a strong female character during the course of her life, someone she admired and sought to emulate.  In any event, one is left with the impression that here was a resilient person who found a source of remarkable inner strength that allowed her to survive and fight back in spite of unimaginable torture.

It is an unavoidable but sad truth that victims of the slave culture, which flourished in the early 19^th century, often exhibited a morbid acceptance of their lot.  In other words, slavery to them was a fact of life, one they had no hope of altering.  This could explain the incongruity of Mary’s willingness to accept the physical and mental abuse that was part of every slave’s life, while refusing to wash her master.  As a woman born into slavery, beatings would have seemed “normal.”  But as a woman, Mary found a moral high ground that she felt compelled to defend.

Mary’s act of defiance was no isolated incident.  Her fight continued after she was taken to England in 1828 by John Wood, who eventually abandoned her in London.  Through the Anti-Slavery Society in London, Mary saw to it that her story made it into print.  She also fought back in the courts, winning libel suits against Wood and others she felt had impugned her character.  Though she acted through the Anti-Slavery Society, her fight retained a highly personal nature, a matter more of character than of high-minded morality.  One sometimes encounters an individual with a defiant nature, someone willing to take a principled stand in spite of the external cost, though that nature sometimes requires a catalyst.  Mary Prince appears to have been that type of person.