Abstract This paper reviews Harriet Jacobs' autobiography "Incidents in the Life of a SlaveGirl". This paper discusses how, in her autobiography, Harriet Jacobs used domestic ideology of violated womanhood to sway her Northern audience to the cause of abolition.
From the Paper "In Chapter 1, Jacobs stresses the angelic quality of her early upbringing, much like the idealized version of childhood cherished in the 19th century portrayal of a happy home. " I was so fondly shielded that I never dreamed I was a piece of merchandise, trusted to them for safe keeping, and liable to be demanded of them at any moment." She also notes that "in complexion my parents were a light shade of brownish yellow, and were termed mulattos," a not-so subtle mention of the fact that her parents were at least partially white, creating an evident racial as well as domestic sense of sympathy between herself and her white readers whom she wished to convert to the abolitionist cause." Her uncle "inherited the complexion my grandmother had derived from Anglo-Saxon ancestors." (Jacobs, Chapter 1, http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/JACOBS/hjch1.htm)
The plantation owner of Jacobs' maternal grandmother set her free. Thus Jacobs stresses that she was born, in some sense, free, in a venue of conventional, almost white hearth and home. This sense of conversation with the reader is further underlined by Jacobs' reference to the reader in an intimate fashion, as if she or he is beside her side. "The reader probably knows that no promise or writing given to a slave is legally binding; for, according to Southern laws, a slave, being property, can hold no property. When my grandmother lent her hard earnings to her mistress, she trusted solely to her honor. The honor of a slaveholder to a slave!".
Abstract This paper reports on several chapters from the book "Incidents in the Life of a SlaveGirl" by Harriet Jacobs, telling of her life as a slave to Dr. Flint, who wants her body and soul but whom she hates more and more as time passes. The paper explains how the book shows the nature of slave life, especially for women, and the inability of the slave to have any control over her own life.
From the Paper "Harriet Jacobs in her book Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl states that she was born a slave and had a happy childhood until she learned that she was a slave at six years of age. Her father was a carpenter allowed to work at his trade, and though he wanted to purchase his children, he was never able to do so. She had a younger brother. She discusses the travails of members of her family and notes how all were treated as property and little more by their masters."
Abstract The paper discusses Harriet Jacobs' "Incidents in the Life of a SlaveGirl" and asserts that it remains one of the most captivating and compelling autobiographical slave narratives. The paper looks at the major themes explored, including the different types of slavery, the Fugitive Slave Law, religion and spiritual salvation and the fight for freedom. The paper opines that Harriet Jacobs' book is interesting, historically relevant and easy to read.
From the Paper "Harriet Jacobs' Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl is an autobiographical narrative recounting the author's journey to freedom and the impact she made on the abolitionist movement. She has no formal credentials for writing the narrative and in fact was assisted in compiling it by the abolitionist activist Lydia Maria Child. However, her personal experiences are all Jacobs needs to bring her story to the world: a heart-wrenching series of anecdotes that illustrate the horrors of slavery. Her credibility lies mainly in there having been accurate records of her life, and the entire book is comprised of her stories and personal reflection on them."
Abstract This paper discusses "The Lost German SlaveGirl," by John Bailey, a re-telling of the life of Salome Muller who claimed to have been sold into slavery as a child in the early 19th century. The writer explains that Bailey's book is based on newspaper accounts, first person statements from the actual participants, and transcripts of her court case. The main events in the story and in her trial are described. The writer points out, however, that since Bailey took exceptional license to recreate the saga, inventing a great deal of dialogue and color in order to make it more interesting, it is difficult to separate fact from fiction in his book, and this is problematic for a work purported to be historically accurate.
From the Paper "Sally Miller, nee Salome Muller, had litigated a matter in which she claimed that she was a freeborn white woman who had beer wrongfully enslaved as a five-year-old orphan child in New Orleans. Bailey put down the Louisiana law books he had been poring over and read all that was available on the old case. He realized that what he was looking at was much more of a story befitting an author than would be the work he had contemplated. He dropped what he was doing and devoted his time to the telling of Sally Miller's story."
Tags: birthmark orphan community freedom famine Mississippi, slave trader, immigrant
Presents an argument that the main character's sexuality in "Incidents in the Life of a SlaveGirl" was a mediated space that included both degradation and power.
Abstract This paper examines the sexual duality in the life of Linda, a slavegirl and the main character from Harriet Jacobs's "Incidents in the Life of a SlaveGirl". The paper shows how sexuality informs the life of an African American slave woman in ways that cannot be articulated by free women from the North or even by African American male slaves.
From the Paper "Published in 1861, Harriet Jacobs? Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl is the first published narrative authored by a woman who was a former slave. However, despite this distinction and the earlier slave narratives of Frederick Douglass and John Brown, Jacob chose to conceal her identity and to publish under the pseudonym Linda Brent."
Abstract This paper focuses on the most prominent theme in Harriet Jacobs' "Incidents in the Life of a SlaveGirl" that is the unique and severe hardships that women faced under slavery. The paper details the sexual threats female slaves faced from both male slaves and slave owners alike, how slavery affected the relationship of slave mothers and their children, and the severe psychological torment slave women suffered.
From the Paper "When Harriet Jacobs states that, "the condition of a slave confuses all principles of morality and in fact renders the practice of them impossible", she intends to portray the fundamental sin of slavery through the horrific burden it places on a slave's soul and psyche. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl is a based on real life testament of the debilitating effects of this institution on a woman who is enslaved in her earliest years and whose story ends with her still working for a white woman. Jacobs' story, told through the character of Linda, makes a case for the greater difficulty of slavery on women through the psychological torment she endures, and the relationships she has with her children, grandmother, and male owners Dr. Flint and Mr. Sands."
Abstract This paper examines how Harriet Jacob's autobiography, "Incidents in the Life of a SlaveGirl", is a traditionally fashioned slave narrative printed around 1861. In it, one sees a fascinating and tragic personal view of the American past that both parallels traditional histories and also highlights elements of those histories that might otherwise escape notice. It shows how one can see in this story a definite sense of bowing to overwhelming, white preconceptions and moralities, particularly in terms of the expected behavior of a "virtuous" unmarried girl, and how there is also a large amount of what must have then been controversial condemnation of many of the aspects of American culture.
From the Paper "The setting for this tale begins in the more Northernly of the slave-owning states, and at the end is transferred to the actual Northern Free States. These setting allow the author not only criticize the "peculiar institution" of slavery in the South, but also to make cutting and vital observations about problems in the North such as prejudice and laws which returned slaves to their masters. One of Jacobs main points regarding slavery is a refutation of the idea that slavery is in any way beneficial for society at large. She refutes this idea by trying to expose the corruption that exists across Southern culture as a result of slavery. One gets a sense of rot and complicity from her description of the Southern setting which is obviously designed to act against the idea of slavery."
Abstract This paper reviews and summarizes the book, "Incidents in the Life of a SlaveGirl". It looks at the various degrees of treatment of slaves, raised in the book and establishes the stance that slavery was a prevalent practice throughout America before its abolishment, existing in varying degrees of freedom, from slave, through free-colored individual, to white American.
From the Paper "In her book, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Harriet Jacobs relates to the readers her experiences as a slave girl in the Southern part of America. Her story started from her sheltered life as a child to her subordination to her mistress upon her father's death, and her continuing struggle to live a dignified and virtuous life despite being a slave. Her struggle involves her constant degradation from her master; the danger of being sexually exploited by her mistress? husband, Dr Flint; her broken relationship with a free colored man; her pregnancy to a man named Mr Sands; and her fight for her and her children's freedom from slavery. All of these experiences helped Linda learn to fight justly for her right to become a free individual, but most of all, to be subordinated to Dr Flint, the man who wanted so bad to exploit her, yet, was not able to because of Linda's vigilance and determination not to be forever bounded by the rule of slavery, that is, that she, her children, and her descendants will forever be the slaves of the Flint family."
Abstract The paper discusses how "Incidents in the Life of a SlaveGirl", by Harriet Jacobs, is an interesting example of the slave narrative, as it is more a novel than it is a true narrative account. The paper discusses how this story not only represented hope to any slaves of the time who could read the story, but also showed the torture of slavery to the white population of the North. The paper shows how in the longer term, the book serves as a historical record of the institution of slavery and of the cruel life it bestowed upon the victims.
From the Paper "The form of the novel is similar to the style of the romantic novels of the nineteenth century, though the story takes a different tack and offers up a more realistic vision of slavery than was common in fiction. The main character, Linda Brent, learns that she is a slave when she is still a child, and she learns more and more what that means as her first and more kindly mistress dies and she ends up as part of the household of Dr. Flint. That man may be respected in his community, but he is not a respectable man by any means."
Abstract This paper reviews the autobiography "Incidents in the Life of a SlaveGirl", by Harriet Jacobs, written under the pen name Linda Brent. The author classifies the novel as a feminist novel, that takes a strong look into the eyes of a mother who loses her children either by unavailability of doctors, theft, or sale. The paper summarizes Linda's story of tortures of a slave sexually abused by her master, and the dichotomy of the master and slave relationship, which was all too common throughout the history of slavery.
From the Paper "Harriet directs this to white readers, to dissolve any myths that were about at that time, saying that slave narratives were mostly false or exaggerated. She states her main character as a real person, so that any reader will refrain from immediately viewing the novel as fiction. She also tells her story emphasizing the trials of motherhood in slavery. This is an important contribution, because most slave narratives were written by men. Male slave narratives emphasized physical pain, torture, and endurance, while Harriet writes a new type of novel detailing female emotional and physical struggles."
Abstract This paper explores Harriet Jacobs' book "Incidents in the Life of a SlaveGirl" as a means of exploring the sexual use of slaves and the negative impact this practice had upon society.
Abstract This paper describes the life story of a slavegirl, as told in Harriet Jacob's autobiographical narrative. The paper looks at how Jacob's book touches upon the female experience of slavery, an aspect often missing from other slave narratives, and the way blacks had to contend with the scourge of racial inequality, even in the free states and after the Emancipation Proclamation.
From the Paper "Harriet Jacob's autobiographical narrative, published as Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, is a poignant account of one woman's experiences living in bondage. Linda Brent (Jacob's pseudonym) was born as a household slave to a relatively kind mistress who taught her how to read and write by the time she was twelve. When her mistress died, however, she did not grant Linda her freedom: As a result, Linda was sent to Dr. Flint's home, where she suffered the immeasurable brutality described in the bulk of the book. Written to alert a mostly Northern audience to the plight of slaves, the narrative effectively illustrates the horrors not only of slavery as an evil institution but also of the traumas endured on a daily basis by enslaved men and women. Moreover, what makes Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl so unique and historically significant is that it offers special insight into the experiences of female slaves, who encounter such gender-based traumas as sexual assault and the pain of being separated from their children. Jacobs peppers her account with details but changes person and place names to protect them and herself, for she eventually escaped and fled to the North."
Abstract This paper analyzes the slave narrative, "Incidents in the Life of a SlaveGirl", by Harriet Jacobs, and discusses the contradiction Jacobs illuminates concerning America's values of freedom and the institution of slavery in a supposedly free society.
From the Paper "In doing so, Jacobs made a dual claim. On one hand, by making slavery against the liberty of American values, she suggests that America is basically a free nation, and slavery exists in contradiction to its basic values. However, by telling her own tale, she suggests her own uniqueness and alienation from supposedly ordinary American society. Jacob's own complex racial identity, which allowed her to pass for white at times, and yet also resulted in an enforced sexual relationship with one of her "owners" Dr. Flint not only makes for a compelling tale?it forces and forced readers to acknowledge the constructed nature of "blackness" and "whiteness" as identities, rather than as mere shades of skin. Jacobs was, because of her appearance, able to perform both, and because of her identity as a female was able to give birth to a child apparently white, yet deemed a slave by a supposedly liberated American society, because a slave had mothered the child."
Abstract This paper examines how in Harriet Jacobs' novel, "Incidents in the Life of a SlaveGirl", the narrator takes several steps to assert her status as a person and to make a case against the dehumanization inherent in slavery. It looks at how the dehumanization of Jacobs' and other slaves in the novel is clearly shown through the sexual exploitation that they face and the separation of women and their children. Jacobs continually fights against this degradation and asserts herself as a person. It also discusses how ultimately, Jacobs is successful in obtaining her freedom through extraordinary perseverance and force of will.
From the Paper "Slavery soon became a harsh reality for Harriet. Slaves were owned by white masters and were to do exactly what was asked of them with no exceptions. Black slaves were not seen as humans but merely as property. Slavery for men and women was barbaric and inhumane, but for women, slavery had heart wrenching aspects. "Slavery is terrible for men; but it is far more terrible for women" (Chapter 14). What she means by this is that women would have to see their children sold and separated as soon as they became profitable. She wanted to make sure that she and her children would not have to endure that fate."
Abstract This paper discusses the book, written under the pen name Linda Brent, first published in 1861, in which Jacobs tells of her years as a house slave before the Civil War. The paper's author describes the sexual exploitation and the incredible sacrifices Jacobs made to gain her freedom and that of her children. The author feels that it is difficult to think that anyone could read Jacobs's description of slave owners and not feel utter shame that humans could treat humans in such manner.
From the Paper "Jacobs's description of New Years Day was heart wrenching. Mothers and children separated amid pleas for mercy. It was indeed a day of sorrow as slave mothers. Jacobs describes them, "watching the children who may al be torn from her the next morning"she wished that she and they might die before the day dawn?. The desperation and helplessness these women felt, "mother clinging to her child, when they fastened the iron upon his wrists, could you have heard her heart-rending groans"pleading for mercy?. Their pleas were in vain, for slaves were property and therefore undeserving of compassion."
