When Frederick Douglass arrives at Baltimore to meet his new master Thomas Auld and his lovely wife, Sophia Auld, he is astonished to finally interact with a kind, compassionate white woman, who is unlike any white person he has ever met before. Frederick Douglass mentions that he is "utterly astonished by her goodness" and is fortunate to have a caring, gentle female master. Sophia Auld was a weaver by trade and had never owned a slave before. She was unaccustomed to having a black slave under her control and is extraordinarily gracious towards Frederick. She initially treats him like a human and even prefers for Frederick to look her in the eye, which is something he was previously forbidden from doing. Sophia also attempts to educate Frederick and begins to teach him how to read. Tragically, her husband forbids her from teaching Frederick anything related to academics, which motivates him to learn how to read by his own means. As time passes, being a slave owner has a negative effect on Mrs. Auld and she develops into a callous, wretched woman.
What's most remarkable about Mrs. Auld is the kind, considerate way she treats Frederick. He's never come across anyone quite like her before, certainly not among white people. Frederick's always been taught to adopt a posture of cringing servility towards his supposed betters. Yet, Mrs. Auld really doesn't like that at all; she actually believes in treating Frederick as a human being.
Furthermore, she tries to teach Frederick how to read. Unfortunately, Mr. Auld puts a stop to all this. He believes that teaching a slave how to read is not just wrong but against the law. If slaves learn how to read, they'll start getting ideas. They'll soon realize just how wretched their condition really is. At best, they'll be dissatisfied; at worst, they might stage some kind of insurrection against their masters.
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