Incidents in the “Life of a Slave Girl” is far more than just a slave narrative – it is a feminist document. In this autobiography, the importance of family ties is well expressed, showing that Jacobs alias Linda, does everything to not only protect her children, but also to maintain the relationships towards her brother William, her aunt Nancy, her uncles Benjamin and Phillip and especially her grandmother. Published in the 19th century, women were not yet as emancipated as they are today. The whole model of femininity was different. During the Victorian time, the image of womanhood was represented by the four female virtues: piety, purity, submissiveness and domesticity.
The domestic sphere of slaves truly got destroyed by not only the masters, but also by the either active cruelty of white women, or at least their passivity. Like I said in the beginning, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl is not just a bare narrative, but an appeal to white women, encouraging them to stand up against slavery, against their passivity and to stop watching – but to start to change this attitude. Jacobs tries to show that slavery is a pure perversity, leading to the end of the ‘black race’. However as it might mean the end of the slaves, it also means the end of the white population for the mistresses and their daughters.
She denounces the social system with its betrayal of the social ideals and the misused paternalistic system for abuse and exploitation. This way she shows that the picture of the benevolent family of the southern states, just like the “southern belle” is a myth only; a myth and a picture made for the external world. “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl” is different from the well-known plantation novels, showing a whole different picture of the southern states’ women. In this paper I am going to point out how Jacobs presents the model of femininity of the black, as well as the white women and how Jacobs’s picture might differ from the myth of the southern belle.
Inhalt
Introduction
Sexual abuse – acceptance by southerners, northerners and law
First hints on violation – rhetoric effects
Longing for family
Image of femininity: slave-girl
The real father of Linda Brent’s children
The myth of the southern belle
Conclusion
Works Cited
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is Harriet Jacobs' narrative considered a feminist document?
It goes beyond a simple slave narrative by addressing the specific sexual exploitation of enslaved women and appealing directly to the solidarity of white women.
What are the four Victorian virtues of femininity mentioned?
The Victorian model of womanhood was defined by piety, purity, submissiveness, and domesticity—ideals that were systematically denied to enslaved women.
What is the "myth of the southern belle"?
It is the idealized image of the benevolent, refined white southern woman, which Jacobs deconstructs by showing their often active cruelty or passive complicity in slavery.
How does Jacobs portray the importance of family ties?
Jacobs (as Linda Brent) emphasizes that her struggle for freedom was driven by the desire to protect her children and maintain bonds with her grandmother and siblings.
What was Jacobs' appeal to the women of the North?
She urged them to overcome their passivity, recognize the perversity of the slave system, and take action to change the social and legal conditions of the time.
- Quote paper
- Franz Stiegler (Author), 2015, Enslavement and Freedom in "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl". A Peopled Mind Under the Model of Femininity, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/310871
