Although the people from Africa already new slavery on the African continent, they experienced totally new insights into slavery when arriving in the New World in the 19th century. Henceforward, a new era of dehumanization, depersonalization, brutal and dreadful mistreatments of Afro-Americans took place, which still in these days influence the history of the United States.
Harriet Ann Jacobs’ Incidents in a Life of a Slave Girl (1861) and Frederick Douglass’ Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave (1845) are two autobiographical slave narratives which show on a very impressive, personal and emotional level the repercussions, the atrocities and effects of slavery on the individual slave as well as on the slaveholders.
However, it can be read that under an economy of slavery, both male and female slaves are feminized or “ungenered” and that the denial of subject status is linked to the exclusion of slaves from participation in the gender system that structured the dominant society (cf. Boesenberg 1999: 119). In this paper it will be analyzed and discussed in how far these gender-defining statements made by Boesenberg in particular can mislead the reader. Actually, a lot of gender-bound experiences of slaves will be pointed out in this paper which illuminate that the individual slave acts and lives accordingly to his or her gender.
The aim of this paper is to emphasize differences of gender-bound experiences between Douglass’ and Jacobs’ narratives. Firstly, a depiction of slavery will help the reader to empathetically imagine the conditions of the situation in which the slaves and the slaveholders lived together. In a second part the influences of slavery on the social environment will be analyzed while focus will be given on the one hand to the slave families and on the other hand to the slaveholders. In a third part punishment and abuse, which are split into physical and psychological abuses, will be discussed. In the end the conclusion sums up the results from the previous chapters and analyzes the view on gender in a slavery-controlled society mentioned in Boesenberg’s as well as in Matterson’s essay.
Table of Contents
1 Introduction
2 Depiction of slavery
3 Influences of slavery on the social environment
3.1 Slave families
3.2 Slaveholders
4 Punishment and abuse
4.1 Physical abuses
4.2 Psychological abuses
5 Conclusion
Research Objectives and Core Themes
This paper aims to analyze and contrast the gender-bound experiences of slaves and slaveholders as depicted in the autobiographical narratives of Harriet Ann Jacobs and Frederick Douglass, specifically challenging the notion that slavery rendered all slaves equally "ungendered."
- Comparative analysis of gender-specific experiences in slave narratives.
- The impact of slavery on the social environment, focusing on families and slaveholders.
- Distinction between physical and psychological abuses within the system of slavery.
- The influence of patriarchal structures on the treatment of female vs. male slaves.
- Critical examination of the representation of slaveholders' character degradation.
Excerpt from the Book
3.1 Slave families
“When I was six years old, my mother died, and then, for the first time, I learned, by the talk around me, that I was a slave” (Jacobs 2004: 8).
Although it is hard for Jacobs to recognize that she is a slave, she very soon discovers that the happy life with her mother and her kind mistress is not characteristic and consistent for her as a slave girl. “The slave child had no thought for the morrow; but there came that blight, which too surely waits on every human being born to be a chattel” (ibid: 8).
Thus, Jacobs’ first experience of slavery is that being treated as goods or chattel is indispensable in a slave girl’s life, while she also observes how the other kids of her grandmother are brought to the auction block. Metaphorically mentioning the same milk which nourished all of them with regard to her grandmother, Jacobs is concerned with typical maternal feelings that are destroyed by the power of slavery (cf. Jacobs 2004: 8). This horrible incident, which frequently happens to slave mothers, is taken up again and dramatized when the example of a woman is given who even loses all her children at the auction block on New Year’s Day, also called Hiring-day. “Gone! All Gone! Why don’t God kill me?” (Jacobs 2004: 16). This experience concretely points out in how far slavery can easily dismember a whole family and make a mother lose her confidence and her happiness by taking away her only love and reason to live on.
Summary of Chapters
1 Introduction: Provides an overview of the significance of slave narratives and outlines the paper's focus on gender-bound experiences in the works of Jacobs and Douglass.
2 Depiction of slavery: Examines how the authors use metaphorical and personified language to describe the brutal reality and "damnable" nature of the slave system.
3 Influences of slavery on the social environment: Analyzes the structural impact of slavery on domestic life, focusing on the destruction of family bonds and the psychological corruption of slaveholders.
3.1 Slave families: Explores the specific trauma faced by slave mothers and children when family units are destroyed by the commodification of human beings.
3.2 Slaveholders: Discusses the moral and emotional degradation of both male and female slaveholders as a result of their participation in a power-imbalanced, slavery-controlled society.
4 Punishment and abuse: Categorizes the violence of slavery into distinct types to better understand the gendered nature of suffering.
4.1 Physical abuses: Details specific instances of bodily violence, highlighting how such acts were used to assert power and insult the womanhood of female slaves.
4.2 Psychological abuses: Investigates the use of sexual harassment, blackmail, and silencing tactics as psychological tools to maintain control over female slaves.
5 Conclusion: Synthesizes the findings, arguing that while slavery affected all slaves, female slaves faced unique gender-bound atrocities that were central to their personal narratives.
Keywords
Slavery, Narrative, Gender-bound experiences, Harriet Ann Jacobs, Frederick Douglass, Autobiography, Slave families, Slaveholders, Physical abuse, Psychological abuse, Patriarchy, Dehumanization, Commodity, Sexual exploitation, Abolitionism.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary objective of this research paper?
The paper aims to emphasize the differences in gender-bound experiences between the narratives of Harriet Ann Jacobs and Frederick Douglass, challenging the theory that slaves were simply "ungendered" by the system of slavery.
Which two primary texts are analyzed in this study?
The study analyzes Harriet Ann Jacobs’ "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl" and Frederick Douglass’ "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave."
What central themes are discussed regarding the social environment?
The paper focuses on how slavery influenced the social structures of slave families, leading to the destruction of parental bonds, and how it corrupted the characters of white slaveholders.
How does the author categorize the types of abuse experienced by slaves?
The author distinguishes between physical abuses, such as whippings and bodily trauma, and psychological abuses, such as sexual harassment, blackmail, and verbal intimidation.
What is the significance of the gendered approach in this analysis?
The gendered approach reveals that while both genders suffered under slavery, female slaves experienced unique forms of cruelty specifically targeted at their femininity and status as mothers.
What scientific or analytical method is applied?
The study uses a comparative literary analysis of two primary autobiographical texts, supported by critical secondary essays to explore gender structures and the effects of enslavement.
Why does Jacobs refer to herself as "Linda Brent"?
Linda Brent is a pseudonym used by Harriet Ann Jacobs throughout her narrative to protect the identities of those still living in bondage at the time of writing.
How do the slaveholders' characters change according to the narratives?
Both authors demonstrate that the absolute power granted by slavery leads to the moral decline of the slaveholders, turning them into cruel, violent, and often neurotic individuals.
How is the "ungendered" status of slaves challenged?
The author argues that while slavery attempted to reduce humans to mere property, the specific traumatic incidents documented in the narratives prove that individuals still lived and acted according to their gender identities.
- Citar trabajo
- Sonja Schasny (Autor), 2009, Different Insights into Slavery due to Gender-Bound Experiences , Múnich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/144413
