Abigail thinks that she was a coward because she left her children in Haiti rather than killing them, so "they would never again know fear or sadness...." Do you agree? What do you think you would have done in her shoes?

Abigail is forced to leave her two sons in Haiti. She thinks that she was a coward because she didn't "slit their throats, so they would never again know fear or sadness. Not have to wait for the freedom promised by the maroons, for they would already have the one, true freedom." Do you agree? What do you think you would have done in Abigail's shoes?

I thought leaving them in Haiti gave them a chance at life, and gave her hope that they might survive. Killing them is not something she, or I, could do.

I think she did the right thing. How could any loving mother actually kill a child. I know it unfortunately happens but I was glad with her decision and I would do the same.

Leaving my children behind in another country would be very hard. Yet Abigail has done what she felt was in the children's best interest, not her own. That takes a huge amount of courage. In her shoes, I would have made the same choice hard as it is.

I think Abigail had hope that the children would eventually join her, She was giving them a chance. She wasn't a coward to leave them. I think it would have been worse for her if she'd killed them and had to live with that.

I agree with DJCmiinor that it was her only option even though difficult.

I am of mixed feeling on this question. Knowing that there was a life of slavery slavery and all of it's horrors in their futures I can understand wanting to spare them from that. Would parents have killed their children if they knew they would have to live through the horrors of the Nazi death camps? Would they spare them being worked to death in Siberia? Becoming a child soldier in Rwanda? A parent would have to believe they would survive and not be tortured and killed - not so easy if one has lived a life of horror. The main thing is the hope/belief that they would not encounter these circumstances - because no one really knows....
Having read so many books by survivors of wars, child abuse, torture etc I might think letting my children endure that would be cruel.

No, I don't think she was a coward, though I can see why she might have felt that way. I don't think anyone can answer what they would have done in her situation without actually being in that situation.

I agree with Ruthiea. This is such a complex issue and I would not presume to judge Abigail. We all love our children and we all do our best to keep them safe. I can't even imagine her pain and how harshly she judged herself speaks volumes about the love she had for them. It is another example of how as mothers we hold ourselves to such high standards and suffer such harsh penalties even from ourselves, when we feel we didn't measure up - in impossible circumstances.

I agree, it’s about the impossible standard of protecting a child in a world that does not value human life. As a mother, Abigail’s choice would also be subject to an outsiders judgment.

Killing her children wasn't something Abigail could do. Leaving them in Haiti gave her hope they would survive.

She did what she thought was the right thing to do with the hopes of being reunited with them at some point.

Anyone who could kill their children has to be insane and Abigail was definitely not.
Any chance at air is better than none.

I think I'd have left them, alive, to give them a chance. None of us (well, most of us) can see the future. Killing them took away any hope. Leaving them alive meant they had hope.

What a choice for a mother to make! I do not know what choice I would make. I think having to make that choice shows the horrendous of the slavery.

But, I do understand that Abigail made the choice because she would not feel helpless anymore and begin to make decisions for her and her children’s lives.

I do not believe in filicide under any circumstances. However, I understand Abigail's dilemma and her guilt.

I believe Abigail did the right thing under the circumstances.

Abigail was a giver not a taker. She could never have killed her children - before doing that she would have stayed in Haiti. Leaving them behind gave them a chance and I am sure she hoped that in the future they could some how be reunited.