Psychological abuse is characterized by non-physical acts affecting inner thoughts. Harriet Jacobs didn’t understand she was a slave until she was six years old, at which point, she began to experience a great amount of pain and suffering under the ownership of Dr. Flint. From an analysis of Harriet Jacob’s experience in slavery, she suffered more from psychological than physical abuse because she was treated like property, was verbally abused, and manipulated by Dr. Flint.
As a slave, Harriet Jacobs was considered property by her masters. Upon the death of her generous mistress, Harriet Jacobs was later relocated into her mistress’ niece’s house. Since the mistress’ niece was only five years old, Jacobs became the property of the young girl’s
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Flint’s constant manipulation. Dr. Flint offered freedom to her children if she agreed to be his mistress. This is evident when she says, “Sometimes, when my master found that I still refused to accept what he called his kind offers, he would threaten to sell my child” (14). Even after she conceived two children with Mr. Sands, Dr. Flint’s threats continued. He saw Jacobs’ children as a goldmine that could later be sold. As Dr. Flint received offers to buy Jacobs and her children and rejected them because he suspected the men who were interested in buying them were sent by the father of Jacobs’ children. Jacobs explained, “I mistrust that you come from her paramour. If so, you may tell him that he cannot buy her for any money; neither can he buy her children”(15). Dr. Flint kept using the excuse that the reason he did not sell Jacobs was because she was not his property to sell and that she belonged to his daughter. However, it was clear that he wanted Jacobs all to himself. She recalled how Dr. Flint claimed her as, “… mine for life. There lives no human being that can take you out of slavery. I would have done it; but you rejected my kind offer” (15). Dr. Flint’s manipulative actions caused Jacobs much of her psychological suffering, as he continually reminded her that she could be freed from slavery by becoming his mistress. However, Jacobs had hoped that one day the price of her children and her own could be
When reading Harriet Jacobs/Linda Brent’s autobiography addressing her life as a slave who grew up in the deep south and who later fled to the North, two important characters make an impact on her life. Like many people, Jacobs/Brent’s life actions are heavily impacted by the people and the atmosphere around her, driving her decisions, wants, and desires. Although Jacob/Brent’s grandmother makes an impact on her life, Dr. Flint makes a greater impact on her life. With his pushing, he helps determine whom she has children with, controls her life through the livelihood of her children, and even impacts her life after he has passed away through his surviving daughter and son-in-law.
The emotional and sexual abuse was awful for Jacobs. In her narrative she talks about how horrible it really was for women "My master began to whisper foul words in my ear." Her master told her she was property "He told me I was his property; that I must be subject to his will in all things." She says how she had to give up their children "The children were sold to a slave-trader,
In the autobiography, “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl,” Harriet Jacobs is able to tell her story and show the pain of bondage she endured. Jacobs lived from 1813-1897, and all she ever knew was the life of a slave. It is her story, even though she uses a pseudonym, Linda Brent, in order to protect her identity. Her real name is later discovered by scholars, and she is then given the credit for her writing. The book was published in 1861, after fleeing north to New York.
Harriet Jacobs, or Linda Brent as she liked to be called, was born into slavery in North Carolina in 1813. She grew up really happy, unaware of her status of being a slave. When she was 6 years old, her mother died and since then she learnt of her status of being a slave (Jacobs, 9). She had a very hardworking father who was also a slave and a younger brother called William, whom she loved so much. Her maternal grandmother helped to raise her and William.
Many minority groups were vulnerable to enslavement placed upon them by white Americans throughout the 19th century. In the episodic autobiographies Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglass, An American Slave written by Fredrick Douglass and Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl written by Harriet Jacobs, both authors present the physiological manipulations associated with slavery. Douglass's and Jacob’s experiences suggest that slaves endured a continuous treatment of brutality, loneliness, and sexual abuse. Slave-owners deprived slaves of positive human qualities because they (slave-owners) became divested from their sense of identity. The dehumanizing institution of slavery caused slave-owners to conform to social roles instituted by society and forced slaves to suffer from learned hopelessness.
At the age of five, she witnessed the atrocity of a male slave being whipped to death. This monstrosity can be seen in the picture of a slave’s scarred back; seeing this, one can only imagine how it affected Sarah. Only three years later, the slave girl her father had assigned “constant companion,” suddenly died. Sarah was compelled to lobby for equal rights for women because of her lack of education as a young woman. She dreamed of continuing her education, but this was denied to her by her father because she was a woman.
The horrors of slavery are discussed in both, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, by Harriet Jacobs and Fredrick Douglass’, Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglass. Both narratives paint a more complex and complete image of the experiences of slaves than readers typically are exposed to. While there are many experiences that overlap between male and female slaves in both narratives, they also depict the disturbing differences between the genders in slavery. While Jacobs and Douglass discuss similar experiences with slave owners, beatings, and daily horrors, Jacobs brings up an additional horrifying reality in her narrative. In addition to the dehumanization and torture that all slaves faced, women were often subjected to additional torture
Harriet Jacobs wrote about her experiences with slavery not to gain sympathy for her suffering, but to raise awareness towards the women of the North about the horrible conditions for slaves in the South. At the beginning stages of her life, Harriet is brought up in decent conditions making her unaware of her status as a slave. When her mother dies, she harshly finds out that she is a slave. Dr. Flint plays a crucial role in her life in a negative way. He believes that Harriet is entitled to him in a sexual manner because he is her master. After seven years of hiding in a cellar, Harriet is able to make her way up North but despite her escape, Dr. Flint keeps up his persistence to find her.
In this book, Jacobs’ describes the living conditions as a slave and her own personal experiences; her descriptions show how violent and poor her living conditions were. Harriet Jacobs wrote, “Various were the punishments resorted to. A favorite one was to tie a rope round a man’s body, and suspend him from the ground. A fire was kindled over him, from which was suspended a piece of fat pork,” (Jacobs 41) . This is one of the many examples of how poorly slaves were treated on plantations and by their owners.
Jacobs also discussed how her grandmother was a “sweet balsam for our troubles.” (5). Her grandmother lived a life that they all longed for
In their opinion, it humiliates their higher position, as the owner seems to be more attracted by the enslaved. Jacobs found comfort from her grandma. Though she felt ashamed to tell her grandma what Dr. Flint had done to her, Jacobs is glad that she lived somewhere near her grandma, because her grandma is someone Dr. Flint fear of. In this sense, her grandma can provide her some sort of protection, and lets Dr. Flint be aware and more careful. Jacobs is also making an appeal for the women in North to help the enslaved in the South.
The events described in this passage took place around 1830. Jacob’s life was filled with drama. Unrelenting sexual exploitation drive her into hiding. For seven years, a black family sheltered her in a tiny crawl space of their home until Harriet was able to escape New York City in 1842” (pg. 203, Jacobs). In the article “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl” Jacobs focuses on how having power gave her a voice to stand up against the whites versus other slaves decided to allow the slavery, rape/sexual contents, and physical/psychological abuse.
To slave a person is the most inhumane act one can commit, and unfortunately was very popular during the 18th century. However, have you ever wondered the different impacts slavery caused between men and women? Both Frederick Douglass and Harriet Jacobs showcase, through their writings, the horrors of slavery, and contrast the many similarities and import differences between the experience of slavery between genders. One of the similarities of slavery for both genders was their allowances. Both men and women were only allowed a certain amount of food and clothing to survive throughout a year.
At the age of six, her mother died and she was forced to live with Margaret Horniblow, the mother’s owner. The mistress took a good care of Jacobs and taught her how to read, write and sew. Her father was always telling her to feel free and do not feel someones property. While her grandmother was always teaching Jacobs respect and manners. She was always telling her about principles and ethnics.
The beginning of the 17th Century marked the practice of slavery which continued till next 250 years by the colonies and states in America. Slaves, mostly from Africa, worked in the production of tobacco and cotton crops. Later , they were employed or ‘enslaved’ by the whites as for the job of care takers of their houses. The practice of slavery also led the beginning of racism among the people of America. The blacks were restricted for all the basic and legally privileged rights.