# Mag Smith — Our Nig character guide

> Mag Smith in Our Nig by Harriet E. Wilson.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Moore Lonely Mag Smith, Mag, Poor Mag, poor Mag

**First appearance:** 0003-i-mag-smith-my-mother

## Snapshot

Abandoned by a faithless lover and shunned by neighbors, Mag Smith surrenders her daughter Frado to the Bellmonts rather than raise her in shame.

## Who they are

Mag's early ruin leaves her isolated, and her marriage to Seth Shipley offers no real protection for her children. When the family must move, she agrees to place Frado with the Bellmonts, half-aware of the household's reputation. Her surrender sets the novel's central abandonment in motion and haunts Frado's sense of being unwanted.

## Relationships

### [Jim](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/our_nig_se/characters/jim)

_romantic_

Jim has a romantic relationship with Mag Smith, which produces Frado before his marriage to Susan.

### [Frado](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/our_nig_se/characters/frado)

_family_

Mag Smith is Frado's biological mother, who abandons her, leading to Frado's indenture to the Bellmonts.

### [Seth Shipley](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/our_nig_se/characters/seth_shipley)

_romantic_

Mag Smith has a romantic relationship with Seth Shipley, which leads to her abandoning Frado.

### [Jim](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/our_nig_se/characters/jim)

_romantic_

Jim has a romantic relationship with Mag Smith, which produces Frado before his marriage to Susan.

### [Frado](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/our_nig_se/characters/frado)

_family_

Mag Smith is Frado's biological mother, who abandons her, leading to Frado's indenture to the Bellmonts.

### [Seth Shipley](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/our_nig_se/characters/seth_shipley)

_romantic_

Mag Smith has a romantic relationship with Seth Shipley, which leads to her abandoning Frado.

### [Jim](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/our_nig_se/characters/jim)

_romantic_

Jim has a romantic relationship with Mag Smith, which produces Frado before his marriage to Susan.

### [Seth Shipley](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/our_nig_se/characters/seth_shipley)

_romantic_

Mag Smith has a romantic relationship with Seth Shipley, which leads to her abandoning Frado.

## In the story

### [Our Nig](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/our_nig_se/chapters/our-nig)

Frado's white mother, who descends into poverty and abandonment after the death of her Black husband.

### [Mag Smith, My Mother](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/our_nig_se/chapters/i-mag-smith-my-mother)

Introduced as a lonely, fallen woman abandoned by her lover and shunned by society; she lives in a hovel and struggles to survive.

### [II: My Father’s Death](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/our_nig_se/chapters/ii-my-father-s-death)

Mag, now widowed after Jim's death, descends into poverty and desperation, eventually leaving Frado with the Bellmonts.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/our_nig_se/characters/mag_smith
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/our_nig_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/our_nig_se/characters