In “Ain’t I a Woman” and “Lucinda Matlock” both women speakers discuss the hardships they faced through their lives. Even though the both women speakers both had hardships, the hardships were in different circumstances. In “Ain’t I a Woman” the speaker was faced with the difficulty of slavery while “Lucinda Matlock” was free. Both “Ain’t I a Woman” and “Lucinda Matlock” had similar themes throughout both of the poems. Both women speakers thought they deserved more respect then what they were receiving. They also wanted them to know there was more to life than living, eating, working, and raising kids. Both female speakers experienced the death of their own children. Since the death of their children the speakers strive for a “better life”.