Harriet Jacobs Incidents In The Life Of A Slave Girl

Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl was written by Harriet Jacobs, under the pseudonym Linda Brent. Jacobs was the first African American woman to write a book that told the story of her life. To this day, it is the most thorough and complete recollection of the life of a slave woman. This piece of literature not only serves as a retelling of a slave narrative, but it also highlights how African American women were treated during this time. Looking at this autobiography through a feminist lens, this is not only an important record for slavery, but it is also important because it is also important for women and women's history. Women have been mistreated since the beginning of time. The mid 1800’s, when this story took place, was not an exception.

Once the mistress dies, Linda (Harriet Jacobs pseudonym), is sent to live with Dr. Flint, which is where the true abuse starts to happen. Dr. Flint was not the kindest person to Linda. He would beat and abuse her, and even sexually assault her on several occasions. She eventually and shamefully takes on a relationship with Mr. Sands, who is a white neighbor. She states that she would rather be with him than suffer the constant raping by Dr. Flint. Eventually she does have two kids with Mr. Sands, who eventually ends up buying the children off of Dr. Flint after he is under the impression that Harriet fled north. In reality, she was in her grandmother's tiny attic, where she was getting more and more debilitated by the day. She watches her children through a small hole in the wall, and doesn't get to interact with them much at all. When examining the beginning of this story through a feminist lens, we can see how strong women truly are. Motherhood is something that a lot of women want, but there are also people who don’t want anything to do with their children. Both are completely valid, but it is important to acknowledge that motherhood is a tough thing to go

Tying back to Harriet Jacobs, if her story was written by a man, it is almost certain that they would not portray her correctly, and probably revolve around stereotypes. Because Harriet Jacobs’ autobiography was written by Harriet Jacobs herself, it shows the power that women have when they write their own stories. Although Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl is not particularly the most happy story of all time, it is a perfect tale of Feminism. Harriet Jacobs was not only a slave, but she was also a woman. She was resilient and powerful throughout her journey of life. One example that stood out in the text was when she fought back against her master who was making sexual advances towards her. Her defiance led to her escape, and her story is an example to women everywhere that they do not need to be submissive in life. Had Harriet Jacob not been resilient, she would have never been able to run away to a free state or save her children from a lifetime of enslavement. Motherhood is another theme in this story that brings power to