Never Caught

by

Erica Armstrong Dunbar

Elizabeth Parke “Eliza” Custis Law Character Analysis

Elizabeth, or Eliza, was one of George and Martha Washington’s grandchildren. As one of the eldest—and their favorite—the volatile Eliza was able to bend her grandparents’ wills to suit her needs. When Eliza was still a teenager, she married the controversial figure Thomas Law—a much-older British businessman who already had three illegitimate children from an affair that took place in India. The demanding Eliza, however, secured her grandparents’ blessing—and after only a few years of marriage, began a legal separation from her new husband which forced her into a nomadic existence. Dunbar uses examples of Eliza and Ona’s extremely different (yet contemporaneous) paths to marriage and motherhood to demonstrate just how profoundly unequally early American society treated its free and enslaved populations.

Elizabeth Parke “Eliza” Custis Law Quotes in Never Caught

The Never Caught quotes below are all either spoken by Elizabeth Parke “Eliza” Custis Law or refer to Elizabeth Parke “Eliza” Custis Law . For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Slavery and Paternalism Theme Icon
).
Chapter 7 Quotes

In an effort to help Eliza ease into her new matrimony, Martha Washington stepped in, and offered Eliza the support she needed: she would bequeath Judge to Eliza Law as a wedding gift.

If Judge ever believed that her close and intimate responsibilities for her owner yielded preferential treatment, she now understood better. The bondwoman now knew for certain that in the eyes of her owner, she was replaceable, just like any of the hundreds of slaves who toiled for the Washingtons.

Related Characters: Erica Armstrong Dunbar (speaker), Ona Maria “Oney” Judge Staines, Martha Washington, Elizabeth Parke “Eliza” Custis Law
Page Number: 95
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 8 Quotes

But still, she was willing to face dog-sniffing kidnappers and bounty hunters for the rest of her life. Yes, her fear was consuming but so, too, was her anger. Judge could no longer stomach her enslavement, and it was the change in her ownership that pulled the trigger on Judge's fury. She had given everything to the Washingtons. For twelve years she had served her mistress faithfully, and now she was to be discarded like the scraps of material that she cut from Martha Washington's dresses. Any false illusions she had clung to had evaporated, and Judge knew that no matter how obedient or loyal she may have appeared to her owners, she would never be considered fully human.

Related Characters: Erica Armstrong Dunbar (speaker), Ona Maria “Oney” Judge Staines, George Washington, Martha Washington, Elizabeth Parke “Eliza” Custis Law
Related Symbols: Clothing
Page Number: 109
Explanation and Analysis:
Epilogue Quotes

Only sixteen years old, Philadelphia was saddled with the responsibility of serving the new Mrs. Law. Perhaps Philadelphia had proven herself to be trustworthy and reliable and was therefore the natural replacement for her older sister. Or maybe, in a fit of anger, Mrs. Washington purposely selected Philadelphia to serve the new Mrs. Law, a duty that would require her to leave Mount Vernon and head for a new home in the Federal City. If vindictiveness was her motive, Martha Washington was successful. Philadelphia followed in her older sister's footsteps, leaving behind the world she knew at Mount Vernon.

Related Characters: Erica Armstrong Dunbar (speaker), Ona Maria “Oney” Judge Staines, Martha Washington, Elizabeth Parke “Eliza” Custis Law , Philadelphia
Page Number: 189
Explanation and Analysis:
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Elizabeth Parke “Eliza” Custis Law Quotes in Never Caught

The Never Caught quotes below are all either spoken by Elizabeth Parke “Eliza” Custis Law or refer to Elizabeth Parke “Eliza” Custis Law . For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Slavery and Paternalism Theme Icon
).
Chapter 7 Quotes

In an effort to help Eliza ease into her new matrimony, Martha Washington stepped in, and offered Eliza the support she needed: she would bequeath Judge to Eliza Law as a wedding gift.

If Judge ever believed that her close and intimate responsibilities for her owner yielded preferential treatment, she now understood better. The bondwoman now knew for certain that in the eyes of her owner, she was replaceable, just like any of the hundreds of slaves who toiled for the Washingtons.

Related Characters: Erica Armstrong Dunbar (speaker), Ona Maria “Oney” Judge Staines, Martha Washington, Elizabeth Parke “Eliza” Custis Law
Page Number: 95
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 8 Quotes

But still, she was willing to face dog-sniffing kidnappers and bounty hunters for the rest of her life. Yes, her fear was consuming but so, too, was her anger. Judge could no longer stomach her enslavement, and it was the change in her ownership that pulled the trigger on Judge's fury. She had given everything to the Washingtons. For twelve years she had served her mistress faithfully, and now she was to be discarded like the scraps of material that she cut from Martha Washington's dresses. Any false illusions she had clung to had evaporated, and Judge knew that no matter how obedient or loyal she may have appeared to her owners, she would never be considered fully human.

Related Characters: Erica Armstrong Dunbar (speaker), Ona Maria “Oney” Judge Staines, George Washington, Martha Washington, Elizabeth Parke “Eliza” Custis Law
Related Symbols: Clothing
Page Number: 109
Explanation and Analysis:
Epilogue Quotes

Only sixteen years old, Philadelphia was saddled with the responsibility of serving the new Mrs. Law. Perhaps Philadelphia had proven herself to be trustworthy and reliable and was therefore the natural replacement for her older sister. Or maybe, in a fit of anger, Mrs. Washington purposely selected Philadelphia to serve the new Mrs. Law, a duty that would require her to leave Mount Vernon and head for a new home in the Federal City. If vindictiveness was her motive, Martha Washington was successful. Philadelphia followed in her older sister's footsteps, leaving behind the world she knew at Mount Vernon.

Related Characters: Erica Armstrong Dunbar (speaker), Ona Maria “Oney” Judge Staines, Martha Washington, Elizabeth Parke “Eliza” Custis Law , Philadelphia
Page Number: 189
Explanation and Analysis: