Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs
"Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl" by Harriet Jacobs is a poignant autobiographical narrative that sheds light on the harsh realities of slavery from the perspective of a female enslaved person. The story follows Linda Brent, a pseudonym for Jacobs, who becomes aware of her enslavement at a young age. Throughout her life, she endures the relentless sexual harassment and abuse by Dr. Flint, her master, while also navigating complex relationships with other enslaved individuals and free African Americans. Linda's experiences reflect the intersection of race, gender, and the struggle for autonomy, as she defies her master’s advances and seeks to protect her children from the brutalities of slavery.
The narrative illustrates the emotional and psychological toll of slavery, as well as the resilience demonstrated by those subjected to it. Linda's desperate quest for freedom leads her to hide for seven years in her grandmother's attic before ultimately escaping to the North. Jacobs' work serves not only as a personal testimony but also as an important commentary on the institution of slavery, emphasizing the moral implications it holds. Her story has significantly influenced subsequent literature and discussions surrounding African American history and women's rights, making it a vital part of the American literary canon.
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Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs
First published: 1861
Type of work: Autobiography
Type of plot: Historical
Time of plot: 1820’s-1850’s
Locale: Edenton, North Carolina; Pennsylvania; New York; Massachusetts; England
Principal personages
Linda Brent , the narrator, pseudonym of Harriet JacobsWilliam , the narrator’s brotherAunt Marthy , the narrator’s grandmotherBenjamin , the narrator’s unclePhillip , the narrator’s uncleDr. Flint , slavemaster of LindaMrs. Flint , slavemistress of LindaBenjamin (Benny) , Linda’s sonEllen , Linda’s daughterBetty , Linda’s friend, who hides her temporarilyMr. Sands , father of Linda’s two childrenFirst Mrs. Bruce , friend to Linda in New YorkSecond Mrs. Bruce , friend who buys Linda’s freedomLydia Maria Child , abolitionist and editor of autobiography
The Story:
Linda Brent does not realize she is enslaved until she is six years old. With her maternal grandmother, Aunt Marthy, near them, Linda lives with her parents and her brother William until her mother dies. From ages six to twelve, she lives with her first mistress, who teaches her to read. Linda then is given as property to the niece of her former slavemistress and lives in the home of Dr. Flint, who harasses her sexually and verbally when she turns fifteen years old. The doctor’s wife, Mrs. Flint, is jealous and cruel. The Flints own a town residence, several farms, and fifty slaves.
Linda’s brother William says that he does not mind the physical experience of being whipped but hates the idea that he can be whipped by people who say they own him. Linda’s uncle Benjamin escapes for the North but is discovered on a ship and, despite further escape attempts, is returned to his owner and jailed. He escapes again and reaches New York. Aunt Marthy, who has gained her own freedom, buys freedom for her son Phillip, and they rejoice that Benjamin also has escaped slavery.
Enduring the harassment of Dr. Flint, Linda verbally stands up for herself on multiple occasions. She refuses to give in to his threats of sexual attack, although Mrs. Flint accuses her of doing so. Dr. Flint gives Linda harassing notes that she pretends she cannot read. Linda falls in love with a free African American man who wants to purchase her freedom so they can marry. Dr. Flint, however, refuses to sell her to him.
Linda enters a relationship with a white man, Mr. Sands, and has two children, Benny and Ellen. The children become links to life, giving Linda reason to carry on. Dr. Flint tries to convince Linda to be his sexual slave, but she refuses. He wants her voluntary compliance and does not rape her. At the age of twenty-one, Linda goes into hiding above stairs at the home of her friend Betty. Dr. Flint, in an effort to find Linda, has her brother and children jailed for two months. The doctor finally sells them, and Mr. Sands buys them from a slavetrader, saying he will free them.
Linda hides in her grandmother’s attic crawlspace for seven years, from 1835 to 1842. She calls this space, which is nine feet by seven feet by five feet, her “loophole of retreat.” She can look through holes she creates to watch her children playing outside. They are not supposed to know where she is hiding. She finally escapes on a boat to the North. Linda learns that Ellen is being treated as a slave and not as a daughter by her birth father.
Linda knows she has to win her freedom in order to save her children. Dr. Flint still refuses to sell Linda. Linda sees her brother William and her son Benny, who later goes on a whaling voyage. She tells her northern employer, Mrs. Bruce, that she is a fugitive slave, and Mrs. Bruce decides to help her. Linda goes to England for ten months and renews her Christian faith. The second Mrs. Bruce also helps Linda elude capture and buys Linda’s freedom in 1852. Linda gains freedom for her children as well. In 1853, she begins writing the story of her enslavement and freedom.
Bibliography
Andrews, William L. “Narrating Slavery.” In Teaching African American Literature: Theory and Practice, edited by Maryemma Graham, Sharon Pineault-Burke, and Marianna White Davis. New York: Routledge, 1998. Offers an excellent overview of slave narratives helpful for teachers and learners at all levels. Andrews shares insights from a long teaching career to describe the history of African American autobiography and constituent elements of slave narratives. Shows the influence of Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl on later autobiographies such as Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969).
Foster, Frances Smith. “Harriet Jacobs’s Incidents and the ’Careless Daughters’ (and Sons) Who Read It.” In The (Other) American Traditions: Nineteenth-Century Women Writers, edited by Joyce Warren. New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press, 1993. Foster analyzes the history and reception of Jacobs’s narrative, charting its rise to recognition as a major work of American autobiographical literature and discussing mid-nineteenth century ideals for women.
Matterson, Stephen. “Shaped by Readers: The Slave Narratives of Frederick Douglass and Harriet Jacobs.” In Soft Canons: American Women Writers and Masculine Tradition, edited by Karen Kilcup. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 1999. Analyzing the two most famous American slave narratives, Matterson contrasts Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl with Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. He considers subject, voice, style, and literary genres influencing each author and argues that each implies different actions against slavery.
Sorisio, Carolyn. “’There Is Might in Each’: Conceptions of Self in Harriet Jacobs’s Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Written by Herself.” Legacy: A Journal of American Women Writers 13, no. 1 (1996): 1-18. Looks at Jacobs’s self-representation as an individual with rights of citizenship. Argues that Jacobs situates her own identity both in relation to and apart from others.
Yellin, Jean Fagin. Harriet Jacobs: A Life. New York: Basic Books, 2004. The first full-length biography of Harriet Jacobs by a scholar, this text includes a diagram of her hiding place, discussion of family relationships, and documentation of the activism by Jacobs and her daughter Louisa. Yellin is the scholar who definitively established in 1987 that Jacobs wrote her own narrative.
‗‗‗‗‗‗‗. The Harriet Jacobs Family Papers. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2008. Yellin devoted more than thirty years to researching Harriet Jacobs. In this two-volume book of letters and papers, Yellin includes three hundred primary-source documents about the Jacobs family. The paper trail documents how Jacobs wrote her life story.