Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl is the story of Harriet Jacobs, who, for her safety, called herself Linda Brent in the narrative. Harriet begins by discussing her childhood. She does not know she is a slave until after her mother dies when she is six. Her earliest years were not unpleasant, but she is soon given to the daughter of Dr. Flint and his wife Mrs. Flint. Dr. Flint was wealthy and cruel, and Harriet and her brother William found solace only in the kindness of their elderly grandmother Aunt Marthy. This grandmother was a favorite in the southern town where the events of the story take place, and another elderly woman purchased her freedom for her when Harriet was still a child.Harriet writes of the horrors of slavery, dwelling on the theme of mothers being divided from their children and any sense of individuality or humanity in a slave being routed out by avaricious slaveholders. Her uncle Benjamin refuses to stand for the cruel treatment he receives, and eventually runs away to the north. Harriet's grandmother helps free her son Phillip as well, purchasing his freedom.As Harriet grows older, she begins to experience the lascivious persecutions of Dr. Flint. He was intoxicated by her and haunted her every step. She could not escape him and used all of her faculties to dissuade him from raping her. She could not count on Mrs. Flint for any help, however, for the mistresses of slaveholders were often jealous of the young female slaves their husbands lusted for and found their presence intolerable.Harriet finally decides that she will give herself to a white man named Mr. Sands. She had developed feelings for him and he always treated her kindly. She also knows that bearing another man's child would stave off the attentions of Dr. Flint. Harriet's plan works to some degree, but the Dr. is viciously cruel to her and tries to force her to tell him the identity of the child's father. Harriet refuses.
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Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
THIS EDITION HAS BEEN REPLACED BY A NEWER EDITION. This enlarged edition of the most significant and celebrated slave narrative now completes the Jacobs family saga, surely one of the...
Harriet Jacobs' narrative of a life as a slave girl is unabridged, and contains an additional annotation at the start of the book.
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl is an autobiography by a young mother and fugitive slave published in 1861 by L. Maria Childs, who bravely and generously edited the book for its author, Harriet Ann Jacobs, who used the pseudonym Linda ...
Long thought to be the work of a white writer, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl is the captivating and terrifying story of Jacobs' daily life on a plantation in North Carolina, her seven years of hiding, and her ultimate triumph.Jacobs ...
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, written by herself is an autobiography by Harriet Ann Jacobs, a young mother and fugitive slave, published in 1861 by L. Maria Child, who edited the book for its author.
It is one of the seminal books written on the theme of slavery from a woman's point of view and appreciated worldwide academically as well. Harriet Jacobs (1813–1897) was an African-American writer who was formerly a fugitive slave.
In this volume, Jennifer Fleischner examines the first- and best-known female account of life under, and escape from, slavery — Harriet Jacobs’ autobiography.
The "Criticism" selection examines a variety of topics, ranging from the form of the text to discussions on oral tradition, activism, the intersection of race and gender, and print culture.