Who Is Dr. Flint's Inevitable Sexual Abuse Children?

Linda Brent sought to escape Dr. Flint’s increasing threat and inevitable sexual abuse by having an extra-marital affair with his neighbour Mr. Sands. In comparison to Dr. Flint, Mr. Sands seemed to genuinely care for Linda, even helping and protecting her from Dr. Flint. Linda believed that being sexually involved with another man would deter Dr. Flint from pursuing her; however, this only worsened her situation -- Dr. Flint threatened to keep her as her slave forever, and Brent had two children with Mr. Sands.

The greatest difference between the speakers of these two narratives is that one is a mother and the other is not; however, mother or not, they both understand the extremely terrible consequences of raising children as an enslaved

and are disgraced and thought no more of than beasts? --and are separated from their mothers, and husbands, and children, and sisters, just as cattle are sold and separated? Is it happiness for a driver in the field to take down his wife or sister or child, and strip them, and whip them in such a disgraceful manner? --women that have had children exposed in the open field to shame! There is no modesty or decency shown by the owner to his slaves; men, women, and children are exposed alike. (37)

To argue against slave masters’ belief that slaves are truly happy as slaves and would not wish to be free, she describes some of the terrible things slaves are forced to go through in their lifetime. These consequences often involve parting with their own children through the slave trade, this is especially predominant in cases where the slave master is the father of the child; however, if they are not sold, an enslaved mother must watch her child grow up in bondage and struggle against the abuse and torture inflicted upon them by their slavemaster.

The most heart-wrenching scene of separation is perhaps in Mary Prince’s narrative where her mother is forced to sell all of her daughters on the same

No, no! They were not all bad, I dare say, but slavery hardens white people 's hearts towards the blacks; and many of them were not slow to make their remarks upon us aloud, without regard to our grief--though their light words fell like cayenne on the fresh wounds of our hearts. Oh those white people have small hearts who can only feel for themselves. (11)

Here, Mary Prince calls out the utter lack of compassion of the white community. They show complete disregard in the feelings of the black folks who are forced into slavery, forced into selling their loved ones and their children. They are able, as Prince says, to “make their remarks upon us aloud, without regard to our grief” (11).

These fears are exactly what Linda Brent feels when she becomes pregnant. She realizes that having a child with Mr. Sands would bring more abuse from Dr. Flint to both her and her child, and when her first born, Benny is born, she explains that “I had often prayed for death; but now I did not want to die, unless my child could die too” (Jacobs 199). She would rather that her child die than live in bondage, especially under the watchful and revengeful eye of Dr. Flint. However, when confronted by Aunt Martha, Mr. Sands promises to care for his and Linda’s children and keep them safe from him. He also promises to free her