During the time of slavery in America, abuse and rape were rampant among slave owners and female slaves in the South. Harriet Jacobs, a slave in the 1800s, experienced emotional and physical abuse first hand by her master, Dr. Flint, before she was old enough to be considered an adult. Harriet Jacobs gives a first-hand look at instances she, and others she knew, experienced in her book, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. Dr. Flint continuously tried to force Jacobs into a sexual relationship with him but every advance he made towards her Jacobs managed to gain the courage to stand up against him. Jacobs then entered into a sexual relationship with Mr. Sands, a powerful white man in her community, that was free of the pressure and abuse
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Flint is one of the main reasons that Jacobs chose to enter into her relationship with Mr. Sands using their relationship as a type of revenge against Dr. Flint. Jacobs states it best when she tells the reader, “I knew nothing would enrage Dr. Flint so much as to know that I favored another; and it was something to triumph over my tyrant even in that small way.” Jacobs is talking about being impregnated by Mr. Sands in order to get revenge on her master. Jacobs shares that she willingly entered into her relationship with Mr. Sands just to gain revenge on Dr. Flint. At the time that Jacobs entered into this relationship Dr. Flint was in the process of building a “lonely cottage” for Jacobs so that he would be able to keep her away from other men and be able to see her whenever he pleased. That was the tipping point for Jacobs. The fact that Dr. Flint had control of Jacob's life to the extent that he was going to make her lead a lonely life so that he could be happy led Jacobs to be impregnated by Mr. Sands in an effort to enrage him to the point that he would sell her and she would no longer have to suffer through being treated as his property. Jacobs found enough reason to be unhappy in her relationship with Dr. Flint that she resorted to wanting to be pregnant with another man's baby as a way out of her
Flint is one of the main reasons that Jacobs chose to enter into her relationship with Mr. Sands using their relationship as a type of revenge against Dr. Flint. Jacobs states it best when she tells the reader, “I knew nothing would enrage Dr. Flint so much as to know that I favored another; and it was something to triumph over my tyrant even in that small way.” Jacobs is talking about being impregnated by Mr. Sands in order to get revenge on her master. Jacobs shares that she willingly entered into her relationship with Mr. Sands just to gain revenge on Dr. Flint. At the time that Jacobs entered into this relationship Dr. Flint was in the process of building a “lonely cottage” for Jacobs so that he would be able to keep her away from other men and be able to see her whenever he pleased. That was the tipping point for Jacobs. The fact that Dr. Flint had control of Jacob's life to the extent that he was going to make her lead a lonely life so that he could be happy led Jacobs to be impregnated by Mr. Sands in an effort to enrage him to the point that he would sell her and she would no longer have to suffer through being treated as his property. Jacobs found enough reason to be unhappy in her relationship with Dr. Flint that she resorted to wanting to be pregnant with another man's baby as a way out of her