Quantavia Ealy
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The construction of freedom
The paper is a discussion of the works of Harriet Jacobs named the Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. Over the discussion will be a description of who the author is and following will be an analysis of some of the content in this book. In 1813, Jacobs was born. She was born near Edenton in North Carolina. Harriet enjoyed being born in a good family until the age of six when her mother died, “When I was six years old, my mother died; and then, for the first time, I learned, by the talk around me, that I was a slave” (Chapter 1). Margaret Horniblow who was Jacob’s mistress cared for her while teaching her how to sew, read and write. When Margaret died, she left her niece to take care of her. Since then Harriet’s life became miserable since she was subjected to sexual harassment which was unrelenting and aggressive. At the age of sixteen, she feared that Dr. James Norcom, the father’s mistress would rape her, and she thus began a relationship with a white neighbor, Samuel Sawyer. While still at her teens, she had two children with Samuel. In this paper, I will analyze the book, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl and expound on how Harriet Jacobs constructed the concept of freedom.
James was enraged by Harriet’s affair, and he eventually sent her away to get subjected to hard labor in one of the plantations which he owned. Harriet ran away from the farm and hid in a crawl space for seven years in the granny’s house. Jacobs was not in a position to stand or sit, and she hence finally became partially disabled physically. Jacobs ran away to the New York in 1842 where she was employed as a nanny in a house of a well-known writer who was similarly and abolitionist. The writer was named Nathaniel Parker Willis. It was then when Jacobs was unified with her kids. Harriet later joined the anti-slavery movement. According to Washington, the civil war began in 1861, and it was then when she established the writing “incidents in the life of a slave girl.” Harriet wrote it herself but under the alias Linda Brent.
When Jacobs was composing this book, serfdom was expanding profoundly in the USA. The Americans disagreed bitterly on if or not slavery should be introduced in some of the territories such as Kansas, California, and Nebraska. In 1950, the union declared freedom in California state but still established the Fugitive Slave Act that fastened evoke of the slaves who were running away. The slave’s narratives, such as Jacobs writing, played a crucial part during this time. Critics have compared the structure and style of the "incidents" to the favorite sentimental novels of the 19th century that explain the incident of a young girl who fought to protect her virtual from a man who was sexually aggressive (Jacobs & Lydia). Harriet had in mind that her contemporaries would see her as a fallen woman other than a virtuous woman and they would be surprised about her relationship with Sawyer and the children they had produced. Despite Jacobs’ embarrassment, she insisted telling her story entirely and honestly. Jacobs was determined to make all the white Americans ware of the sexual harassment which the save women were facing and to the further dramatise that they, had no choice other than giving in (Jacobs and Lydia).
The Book begins, with an introduction whereby the writer states the motive for writing her autobiography. The content in this book is hurting, and Jacobs could have privately kept it, but she felt that she should publicise it so that it would help in the anti-slavery movement. Jacobs used Linda Brent to explain her story. Linda was brought up in bondage, and she spends the early years with her parents who were well off slaves. When her mother passed on, Linda went to live with the mother’s mistress who treated her appropriately and taught her how to read. A few years later, she died, and she was willed to one of her relatives. The masters were neglectful and harsh and the father, Dr. Flint began coercing her to engage in sexual relations with him (Washington).
Linda struggled for some years with the father, and since she knew that he would eventually get his way, she decided to get into a relationship with a white neighbour, Mr. Sands. However, Linda claimed that she was afraid of this illicit relationship that she found it better than Dr. Raping Flint. Linda had two children with Mr. Sands named Benny and Ellen. According to Jacobs & Lydia, Linda argued that a helpless slave girl could not be confined to the same levels of morality as a woman who was free. Linda also said that she had some practical reasons for giving in to the affair. Linda had the hope that when Dr. Flint discovers the relationship, then he would in disgust sell her to Mr. Sands. Dr. Flint instead was vengeful, and he eventually sends Linda to his plantation. Linda realised that her children were going through the same treatment. After seven years, she managed to escape and reunite with her family. The escape was a way of looking for freedom. The account is the same as the one described in the paragraph above, but in this case, the character names changed. Harriet used fictional names to make the names of some of the characters unknown in this case Linda was Harriet while Mr Sands was Sawyer.
Everything in the Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl is quite significant. To start with is the crawl space in which Jacobs hide until she became partially disabled. Jacob’s confined herself in the space of the crawl space for seven years. When Jacobs was initially in the “loophole of retreat”, she stated that the “continued darkness was oppressive …without one glim of light…and with no object for my eye to rest upon” (H. A. Jacobs). Jacobs, nevertheless, bore a hole in the space and creates a chance for herself to be away from the mistreatment in the plantation. It indicates the creative concerns in which women could use with geography to get themselves their freedom. Despite the hard condition in the small space, it was better off than being mistreated on the Flint’s farm. It was a way of obtaining her freedom from oppression. It significantly indicates that people and especially women can use creativity to secure their freedom from abuse. The garret served as a meaningful response to slavery and similarly as a space for liberation.
Overall, Jacobs wants to reveal the degrading power of slavery. Jacobs took great agonies to demonstrate that there were no excellent slave master. She argued that slavery was the destruction of the morality of the slaveholders with no exception. Some of the slaveholders such as Dr. Flint had become coldhearted monsters. There were not any legal checks on these people’s behavior, and they inflicted every type of mistreatment on their servants. Many of the slave masters saw the slave as little over items and animals, without recognising their humanity. Even kindly some of the slaveholders betrayed their slaves; Mr. Sands was an example. At some instance in the book, Mr. Sands promised to free his children. In the slave systems however, such actions tend to be forgotten faster. If a slave owner such as Mr. Sands experience some economic problems, then some may sell their children to get themselves out of trouble. It hence reveals how slavery destroys even the most emotional character, which is the love that a father or mother has for their child. With the aim of showing the degrading power of slavery, it would help slaves and individuals fight for their freedom.
The book even reveals that the influence of the slave system also affected the ethical development of the slaves. Jacobs does not denounce the slaves for the immoral and unlawful acts like adultery or theft by saying that they usually lack choices other than behaving that way. “Slaves lack no choices that engaging in immoral behaviour,” is what Linda stated (H. A. Jacobs). Jacobs further reveals that slaves lack a reason to develop strong ethical sense since slaves are denied self-ownership and final charge over the deeds they undertake (Jacobs). It is not the slave’s liability, but as a result of the system which dehumanises them. I support that slaves aren’t as malicious, like their masters, and they suffer underdevelopment of some of their personalities. The literature also reveals domesticity as prison and paradise. Towards the end of the writing, Jacobs says that she still is waiting for her most prominent dreams to be accomplished. Her highest goal was to have a home constructed for her children and herself. Throughout the whole of the book, the desire to build a safe and comfortable home continued to be shown. It, in turn, reflects the cult of domesticity which would be famous for Jacobs’ white feminine readers in the 19th century (Jacobs). In Jacobs’ time, the ladies were downgraded to the household sphere where they were required to find all the fulfilment in taking care of their children and homes. By their very natures, women were considered housewives, meaning that they were unfit for any other type of life. It is understandable for Jacobs to yearn for a home since as a “black woman” she had been exempted from the value system and was not even in a position to live with her two children.
In her writing, Jacobs does not see the domestic spheres as complicated. Aunt Martha who in this case takes Molly Horniblow’s fictional character is a representative of domesticity. Aunt Martha is the lone black woman whom Jacobs recognises with a real home; she is both a negative and positive person in writing. Martha is stable and caring, and she acts as the backbone of her family. Martha has a tidy home which is lifeline and refuge for Linda since the time her mother passed on. Aunt Martha put the needs of her children first. Jacobs remained a virtue captive in this house until she became partially disabled.
The Incidents in the Live of a Slave Girl also reveal the psychological exploitation of slavery. In most of the slave stories, deprivation and physical denial are emphasised whereby the slaves are forced to endure. Jacobs also did not overlook such encounters; she focused on the mental and spiritual anxiety which the slaves went through. Jacobs was a slave with a moderately good life, and she thus did not have to bear endless beatings or harsh, physical labor. Nonetheless, most of the slaves undergo denial of some of the fundamental human rights or legal protection. Some women or men were not allowed to get married when they wanted to. Frequently, women were compelled into sexual relations with the masters they hated. Awful of all, families were separated and the kids were being hawked into places that were far away from the parents. From the narrative, it was clear that Linda got herself into a relationship with a person she did not love to free herself from sexual harassment. Despite that effort, she was still subject to slavery in the plantation. Linda was also separated from her children for seven years until she managed to flee. It is thus evident that the slaves who are not beaten are denied humanity. Linda also explained the point that the mental cruelty of slavery is disturbing like the physical abuse.
The incidents also describes some motifs. One of them is graphic violence. Hostility is evident to all the slave stories and events. Jacobs has one of the first memories when she had Dr. Flint beat one of the slaves in the plantation. Linda even remembers seeing gores and blood on the walls the following morning. Mrs. Flint also ordered that the slaves are beaten until they start bleeding, she even goes as far as to spit in the slaves’ food, in an effort that they will remain hungry. Mrs. Flint also compels Aunt Nancy to spend her nights on the ground outside her room, while she was expecting. This ultimately resulted in the death of many of Aunt Nancy’s babies. This treatment that Mrs. Flint subjected Nancy to could be referred to as murder which happened very slowly. The slaves were subjected to more torture by washing their wound with brine. Revealing some of these incidents she went through would help people look for ways to get liberated.
Jacobs narrated such incidences in the book so that she could shock the readers and instil some sympathy for slaves in them. Jacobs had the aim of making them join the abolitionist movements, which in return would help prevent, if not stop, slavery. Jacobs gave every detail of the incidences so that she would help change the people’s perspectives regarding slaves. She needed every reader of her work to understand what slaves were experiencing. From the book, it is evident that fictional characters have been used since she wanted to hide the real identity of the characters. In this case, Linda represented Jacobs. The characters are believed to match the people in her life. Mr. Sands represented Samuel Sawyer while Dr. Flint represented Dr. James Norcom. Each of the characters has a role to play in the book. For instance, Dr. Flint is considered a perfect person who is accurate. Flint expected nothing but total submission from the slaves. Aunt Martha, on the other hand, was found as religious and patient. Aunt Martha lived for her home and family, and she always wanted to make sure that her family was intact. In other words, the book reveals what slavery entails and how some of it effects especially the women.
Works cited
Brent, Linda. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. Simon and Schuster, 2013.
Jacobs, Harriet A and Lydia, Maria Child. Incidents in the life of a slave girl. Research Publications, 2016. 851-875.
Warner, Anne Bradford. "Harriet Jacobs at Home in Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl." The Past Is Not Dead: Essays from the Southern Quarterly 45 (2012): 324.
Jacobs, Harriet. Incidents in the life of a slave girl. Sparks notes LLC, 2017. 1-28. Retrieved from, http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/incidents/symbols/.Accessed, March 2018.
Washington, Durthy A. CliffsNotes on Jacobs' incidents in the life of a slave girl jacobs' incidents in the life of a slave girl. Hoboken: Wiley Pub, 2014. 5-84.