Black woman throughout U.S. history have attributed so much to the society as a whole. They have formed movements, created new musical sounds and genres, and of course mothered the future generations of strong, Black individuals. Yet, despite having a monumental influence in American society, they are often ignored in their efforts. African-American females were some of the biggest fighters for the feminist movement, but rarely will one hear about their involvement. Sojourner Truth is about the only Black feminist that will be mentioned in a history class, but the roots of Black female liberation run deep and is rich with strong Black woman who fought for their rights. One of those woman is Harriet Jacobs, who wrote about her life as a female slave in Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. As Jacobs tells her story, she tells of both the mistreatment of Black …show more content…
Harriet Jacobs, who uses the pseudonym Linda Brent in her novel, gives the readers of that time all the details of not only the physical pain she experienced, but also the antagonizing sexual exploitation she faced as well. Through Jacobs’ explicit details, the ideas of feminism for and equality for all woman were expressed. When Dr. Flint was whispering vulgar comments and expressing his sexual urges in the cruelest of ways to Linda, Jacobs’ writes that no matter if a woman was Black or White, “there is no shadow of law to protect her from insult, from violence, or even from death” (Jacobs 436). She is informing the readers that mistreatment like what she experienced happens to all women. By doing so, she is evoking empathy in the male readers and urging them to protect all women, because they could see that all women of every color were being treated harshly by men and that the abuse should be
In "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl", Harriet Jacobs writes, "Slavery is terrible for men; but it is far more terrible for women" (64). Jacobs' work shows the evils of slavery as being worse in a woman's case by the gender. Jacobs elucidates the disparity between societal dictates of what the proper roles were for Nineteenth century women and the manner that slavery prevented a woman from fulfilling these roles. The book illustrates the double standard of for white women versus black women. Harriet Jacobs serves as an example of the female slave's desire to maintain the prescribed virtues but how her circumstances often prevented her from practicing.
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs is a personal story that highlights the injustice of slavery. This book was based on the author’s
The narratives of Harriet Jacobs and Frederick Douglas were nothing short of powerful as their unique resilience reflected a gruesome upbringing that would then influence audiences everywhere. Immediately the reader is introduced to the gendered distinctions in narratives as Douglas has letters and statements of prominent men reinforce the validity of his work while Jacobs is forced to create a pleading tone for acknowledgement of her experience as a female slave. Although slavery was an excruciating experience that unjustly plagued millions of African Americans, gender roles and constructs allowed for distinct offenses that forced women to experience unique abuse relative to their male counterparts. The narratives of Harriet Jacobs and Frederick Douglas reinforced the trials of slavery with examples of educational hardship, physical trauma and differing aspirations of freedom. These factors and a few others such as motherhood and masculinity influenced their legacy in context of slavery as a gendered experience.
One particular aspect of Harriet Jacobs' diction in "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl" that I have noticed in the readings for October 4, is the pitying of Jacobs; specifically, the verbal expression of her as "poor". There were three instances I found when the term "poor" was used in relation to Jacobs. The first being where Jacobs describes her being unaware of the situation of her children's emancipation from Dr. Flint and is only able to hear a few voices discussing about it until Betty is able to tell her the true story. Betty calls Jacobs a "poor creeter" for having to wait so long about hearing of her kid's fate (88). Later, Jacobs' grandmother calls her a "poor thing" for having to drag herself from her confined hiding place
Harriet Jacobs wrote, “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl” using the pseudonym Linda Brent, and is among the most well-read female slave narratives in American history. Jacobs faces challenges as both a slave and as a mother. She was exposed to discrimination in numerous fronts including race, gender, and intelligence. Jacobs also appeals to the audience about the sexual harassment and abuse she encountered as well as her escape. Her story also presents the effectiveness of her spirit through fighting racism and showing the importance of women in the community.
Harriet Jacobs said in her opening sentence “I would ten thousand times rather that my children should be the half-starved paupers of Ireland than to be the most pampered among the slaves of America.” (874) She’s giving us an example of how horrific it was to be a slave. She would much rather be poor in Ireland than have to live in America and be a slave to someone. Slavery was an awful time in history, and Harriet Jacobs is making sure she is heard. “I had entered my sixteenth year, and every day it became more apparent that my presence was intolerable to Mrs. flint.” (875) Most wives’ during these times weren’t happy with the way they handled some of their female slaves. They would treat some very nicely not wanting to punish them or be mean to them. There is also the side of rape and the poor slaves couldn’t do anything to stop it. It’s not hard to see why some wife’s would lose some trust in their husbands. Harriet Jacobs
First and foremost, she silences herself when she chooses to tell her story under the pseudonym “Linda Brent”. In this way, she uses someone else as a vessel of power to tell her own story. As a female African-American slave, Jacobs is a member of perhaps the most systemically silenced group of all. However, she learns to use the secrecy forced upon her as power. She lets her voice break the silence as she informs readers about the sexual and emotional abuse that often couples females’ experiences of slavery. As the story progresses, Jacobs begins illustrating silence as a way of loosening the shackles of slavery. She talks to and informs readers through her narrative and communicates the importance of silence through Linda Brent. Linda shares secrets with other slaves and they use their hushed whispers as a way to empower each other and share common experience as silence transforms from something forced upon them to something that forestalls the power of their masters and
Harriet A. Jacobs Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl: Jacobs’s construction of black female empowerment despite the limitations of slavery
The feminist movement sought to gain rights for women. Many feminist during the early nineteenth century fought for the abolition of slavery around the world. The slave narrative became a powerful feminist tool in the nineteenth century. Black and white women are fictionalized and objectified in the slave narrative. White women are idealized as pure, angelic, and chaste while black woman are idealized as exotic and contained an uncontrollable, savage sexuality. Harriet Jacobs’ Incidents in the Life of A Slave Girl, brought the sexual oppression of captive black women into the public and political arena.
In “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl”, Harriet Jacobs shares her experience as a slave, from sexual advances from her master to being safe by being trapped in a crawling space intending to evoke an emotional response from Northern free women. Jacobs writes specifically to this group in order to enlighten them on the specific suffering of female slaves, mainly abuse from masters, and gain their sympathy, so they will move to abolish slavery. In order to complete this, Jacobs is compelled to break the conventions of proper female behavior at the time. Harriet Jacobs demonstrates the suffering of female slaves by creating a feminine connection to her female audience with the intention of earning their sympathy, defying the cult of
In "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl", Harriet Jacobs writes, "Slavery is terrible for men; but it is far more terrible for women" (64). Jacobs' work presents the evils of slavery as being worse in a woman's case due to the tenets of gender identity. Jacobs elucidates the disparity between societal dictates of what the proper roles were for Nineteenth century women and the manner that slavery prevented a woman from fulfilling these roles. The book illustrates the double standard of for white women versus black women. Harriet Jacobs serves as an example of the female slave's desire to maintain the prescribed virtues but how her circumstances often prevented her from practicing.
Harriet Jacobs’s Incidents in the life of a Slave Girl allows Harriet Jacobs, speaking through the narrator, Linda Brent, to reveal her reasons for making public her personal story of enslavement, degradation, and sexual exploitation. Although originally ignored by critics, who often dismissed Jacobs ' story as a fictional account of slavery, today it is reported as the first novel narrative by an ex-slave that reveals the unique brutalities inflicted on enslaved women. Gabby Reyes
Harriet Jacobs, in her narrative, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, was born into slavery in the south. While her youth contained “six years of happy childhood,” a few tragedies and mistresses later, Jacobs spent many years in pain under the possession of her cruel five-year-old mistress, Emily Flint, and Emily’s father, Dr. Flint. Once able to obtain freedom, Jacobs spent most of her life working for the Anti-Slavery office in New York, in hope that one day she could make a difference in the world. “She sought to win the respect and admiration of her readers for the courage with which she forestalled abuse and for the independence with which she chose a lover rather than having one forced on her” (Jacobs 921). Linda Brett, the pseudonym that Jacobs uses to narrate her life story, endures the harsh behavior women slaves were treated with in the south during the nineteenth century. The dominant theme of the corruptive power and psychological abuse of slavery, along with symbolism of good and evil, is demonstrated throughout her narrative to create a story that exposes the terrible captivity woman slaves suffered. The reality of slavery in the past, versus slavery today is used to reveal how the world has changed and grown in the idea of racism and neglect.
To begin, Harriett Jacobs carefully formulates a narrative that depicts the lives of slave girls and women as it truly was lived. Rather than conform to the readers' tastes and avoid the horrible gruesome details of the lives of female slaves, Jacobs grasps these events and passionately depicts them to her readers in hopes of some form of compassion. She knows her readers are never going to completely understand what women in slavery went through (it would take living it to comprehend) but she feels to protect them from these truths is only greater blurring the understanding of these issues. Jacobs details her life in hopes that her audience will begin to understand the hardships undertaken by innocent black women in the south and no longer sit quietly by and watch. Jacobs states that slavery is far more appalling for women; "they have wrongs, and sufferings, and mortifications peculiarly their own" (825). In order to truly touch her intended audience, she brings up topics that all women, free or enslaved, can understand - adultery, family, love. She hopes that by creating a piece that touches the personal lives of women, she will make it difficult for them not to stand in her shoes, even if just for a moment.
The life of a slave woman is far more complex than that of a slave man, although understandably equal in hardships, the experience for a woman is incredibly different. The oppression that women have faced throughout their lives in the struggle to even be considered equal to men is more than evident in slavery, not only because they were thought of as lesser but in some ways many women actually believed it to be true. The experiences that Linda Brent, pseudonym for the author Harriet A. Jacobs, went through in her life story in Incidents In The Life Of A Slave Girl prove that the difficulties for slave women were more than significant in many different cases. For Linda Brent, her life had been a constant fight since she was six years old