Incidents in the Life of A Slave Girl - Feminism
The feminist movement sought to gain rights for women. Many feminist during the early nineteenth century fought for the abolition of slavery around the world. The slave narrative became a powerful feminist tool in the nineteenth century. Black and white women are fictionalized and objectified in the slave narrative. White women are idealized as pure, angelic, and chaste while black woman are idealized as exotic and contained an uncontrollable, savage sexuality. Harriet Jacobs' Incidents in the Life of A Slave Girl, brought the sexual oppression of captive black women into the public and political arena. Harriet Jacobs takes a great risk writing her trials as a house servant in the south and a fugitive in the north. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl gives a true account of the brutality slavery held for women. A perspective that was relatively secretive during Jacobs' time. Jacobs' narrative focuses on subjugation due to race but it also portrays many women an strong and often open roles. Women in these roles were minimal and often suffered for their outspoken roles. Harriet Jacobs' narrative is a powerful statement unveiling the impossibility and undesirability of achieving the ideal put forth by men and maintained by wome
In struggling against the brutal dynamics of a system that simultaneously set before her ideals of a true woman, but refused to acknowledge her as a human being, Jacobs emerges scarred but victorious. Her rational powers and will to action facilitate her efforts to find strategies for dealing with sexual harassment from her master, for maintaining family unity, and in establishing a moral code in harmony with her beliefs and situation. In Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Jacobs' primary ordeal is the persistent sexual harassment and obsessive pursuit by Dr. Flint. Instead of bowing to what appears to be the inescapable sexual regression by Flint, Jacobs devises a plan of action that helps her maintain dignity, self-hood, and family unity. Jacobs took on another white man, Sawyer, as a lover because she knew it was inevitable that she would bear a white man's child. Since Flint denied Jacobs a marriage to a free black man and refused to sell her to anyone, Jacobs knew that she would never be allowed a traditional home and family. By choosing Sawyer as a lover and father to her children, Jacobs went against the ideal image of womanhood and showed independence. Making this choice meant that Jacobs willingly gave up her virginity outside of marriage. An action that is completely against traditional moral codes in her time. Jacobs exhibits the integrity of a survivalists. She thinks and speaks for herself, devises a plan and acts on it, all the while keeping in mind family unity and protection for her children. While attempting to embrace the ideals of womanhood, Jacobs is able to recognize and disregard the standards that cannot be applies and establishes for herself concepts of integrity and self-hood. After her escape, Linda is assisted by a slave holding white woman. The white woman is by all aspects a true woman, but due to her actions she lacks the submissiveness of women. She defies Linda's hunters by maintaining her silence as to Linda's location. Even though Linda is near
Some common words found in the essay are:
Harriet Jacobs', Aunt Martha, Flint Jacobs, Slave Girl, Brent Throughout, , Dr Flint, Girl Linda, Linda's Grandmother, Jacobs' Jacobs', true woman, life slave girl, incidents life slave, life slave, slave girl, incidents life, harriet jacobs', dr flint, white woman, slave narrative, family unity, jacobs' narrative, captive black women, harriet jacobs' incidents, jacobs' incidents life,
Approximate Word count = 1346
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
|
