The correct answer is Frederick Douglass's mistress refuses to continue his education.
Indeed, Douglass was more or less twelve years old when he was taught to read and write by his white mistress, Mrs. Sophia Auld. Her husband very cleverly surmised that teaching slaves to read would make them desire freedom from slavery and convinced his wife that it was dangerous for the institution of slavery to teach slaves to read.
This is definitely a complicating incident in the autobiography of Frederick Douglass since it hindered his efforts to educate himself and rise above his forced servitude.