Women’s rights in “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl”
Harriet Jacobs was born a slave in 1813. During this time it was uncommon for slaves to be able to read and write. Jacobs learned to read and write from one of her masters. After struggling to be free for the majority of her life, Jacobs decided to write an autobiography. Harriet Jacobs expresses her freedom through literature; and uses her freedom to spread her story to advocate for women’s rights.
During the 1800s, it was rare for women or slaves to be educated. Women who were not slaves usually stayed at home and ran the house. Their jobs were to do the laundry and cooking while raising the children. Because women’s day to day activities did not require them to be exceptional at reading, …show more content…
She does this by addressing the actions of both white and black women (Larson pg 739). Purity and submissiveness were two virtues that women at the time were expected to have during this time (Larson pg 740). In “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl”, Linda is not pure and submissive, because if she was, she would not have survived (Larson pg 751). The story brought to light that holding slaves to the same expectation as free white people was impractical (Larson pg 745). When held to the same standards as white women of the time, Linda failed time and time again. (Larson pg 742) This was because Linda did what she needed to do in order to survive. (Larson pg 742) This included her having an affair with the neighbor out of defiance to her master. (Larson pg 741) Linda was judged by other characters in the story based on how she behaved and how well she upheld the societal standards of the time(Larson pg 741 ). An example of this is the way Mrs. Flint treats Linda (Larson pg 739). She is jealous and threatened by her husband, Dr. Flint’s admiration and pursuit of Brent (Larson pg 747). As a result of this, she treats Linda horribly. (Larson pg 747). By writing about her experiences through Linda Brent, Jacobs is trying to open the eyes of the Northern white women in hopes of getting them to realize that …show more content…
Sands in an apologetic way in order to appeal to her audience. Brent realizes that she is in control of herself and her actions. She uses sex and her sexuality as a weapon against Dr. Flint. Her tone when writing about this is sympathetic. She is trying to gain the sympathy of the women reading her story. She wants them to sympathize with her. Jacobs portrays Brent’s decision to have a sexual relationship with Mr. Sands as something that was carefully thought out, but also a decision made based on survival. She knows that her audience would not have been able to relate to her decisions because the majority of her audience has never been in a situation like that. Brent is a character who is portrayed as a victim of her circumstances. Brent went against a culture that promotes and celebrates female chastity and submissiveness. Brent’s priorities supersede societal expectations. By writing about this, Jacobs is using Linda Brent to point out the harsh expectations of women at the
Harriet Jacobs was born a slave in 1813. During this time it was uncommon for slaves to be able to read and write. Jacobs learned to read and write from one of her masters. After struggling to be free for the majority of her life, Jacobs decided to write an autobiography. Harriet Jacobs expresses her freedom through literature; and uses her freedom to spread her story to advocate for women’s rights.
During the 1800s, it was rare for women or slaves to be educated. Women who were not slaves usually stayed at home and ran the house. Their jobs were to do the laundry and cooking while raising the children. Because women’s day to day activities did not require them to be exceptional at reading, …show more content…
She does this by addressing the actions of both white and black women (Larson pg 739). Purity and submissiveness were two virtues that women at the time were expected to have during this time (Larson pg 740). In “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl”, Linda is not pure and submissive, because if she was, she would not have survived (Larson pg 751). The story brought to light that holding slaves to the same expectation as free white people was impractical (Larson pg 745). When held to the same standards as white women of the time, Linda failed time and time again. (Larson pg 742) This was because Linda did what she needed to do in order to survive. (Larson pg 742) This included her having an affair with the neighbor out of defiance to her master. (Larson pg 741) Linda was judged by other characters in the story based on how she behaved and how well she upheld the societal standards of the time(Larson pg 741 ). An example of this is the way Mrs. Flint treats Linda (Larson pg 739). She is jealous and threatened by her husband, Dr. Flint’s admiration and pursuit of Brent (Larson pg 747). As a result of this, she treats Linda horribly. (Larson pg 747). By writing about her experiences through Linda Brent, Jacobs is trying to open the eyes of the Northern white women in hopes of getting them to realize that …show more content…
Sands in an apologetic way in order to appeal to her audience. Brent realizes that she is in control of herself and her actions. She uses sex and her sexuality as a weapon against Dr. Flint. Her tone when writing about this is sympathetic. She is trying to gain the sympathy of the women reading her story. She wants them to sympathize with her. Jacobs portrays Brent’s decision to have a sexual relationship with Mr. Sands as something that was carefully thought out, but also a decision made based on survival. She knows that her audience would not have been able to relate to her decisions because the majority of her audience has never been in a situation like that. Brent is a character who is portrayed as a victim of her circumstances. Brent went against a culture that promotes and celebrates female chastity and submissiveness. Brent’s priorities supersede societal expectations. By writing about this, Jacobs is using Linda Brent to point out the harsh expectations of women at the