Sensbach’s work is a captivating narration about a strong black woman, called Rebecca who manages to overcome life constraints and preserve the moral and religious entity of her spirit. Her long time wandering from the West Indies through Europe with a final destination in Africa symbolizes her eternal fight against slavery and racial pressure. In the book, the author portrays Rebecca as a bright representative of Black Protestantism in the first half of the eighteenth century. By her vigorous struggle, the main heroine deserves to be acknowledged as personality. Rebecca is torn apart by her racial and religious issues; as she “stood where the three main currents of the eighteen-century black Atlantic world flowed together: the dramatic expansion of the slave trade; the Afro-Atlantic freedom struggle; and the rise of black Christianity” (Sensbach 235).
The above shows that the novel reflects a clear representation of exceptionalism, as the woman is described as one of the bravest evangelists desperately devoted to her goals and ambitions. Despite her Moravian origins, she managed to save her fidelity for Christianity. The book also reflects the story of the international slave trade concentrated in the Caribbean region. It is also the representation of the fate of the Moravian culture and black inheritance being under the threat of extinction. Therefore, Rebecca is considered as the main hope and example for black people to follow.
The book is a kind of decent biography of a former slave who undergoes severe adversities for the sake one hope. Rebecca’s heroic story can be also regarded as a spiritual and religious revolution that influenced the fate of other slaves.