What Is The Theme Of Incidents In The Life Of A Slave Woman

In 1861, Harriet Jacobs publishes the first full-length slave narrative written by a woman under the pseudonym Linda Brent. In her autobiography, titled Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Harriet shines a light on the sexual harassment women endured under the system of slavery, however, with the Civil War in its midst the book didn’t get the attention it deserved until it was later recovered and widely published during 1987. Harriet takes the cultural narrative of the time period, men are superior and a woman's place is in the home, and effectively crafts her own story while dismantling these views (James 1-2). Simultaneously, Harriet grapples with telling the story of Dr. Flint’s, Harriet’s master, sexual pursuit of her and abiding by 19th century Victorian ideals of womanhood. In some instances, Harriet attempts to live up to the Victorian …show more content…
But, in order to protect herself from Dr. Flint’s advances, Harriet is forced to throw away the Victorian standard of purity to protect herself. As a result, Harriet struggles to share her story as a woman who is now seen as being stained or tainted.
During the 1880s to 1920s, the Victorian Era served as an active attempt to nurture and protect girlhood by keeping girls under “a protective umbrella” (Brumberg 17). This umbrella was used to not expose girls to the world at a young age and keep them safe while they begin to transition from home to a husband. In the Victorian Era, the focus on girls was heavily based on character instead of the body, as girls