Victimisation of Black women as slaves in Harriet Jacobs' Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl

Abstract

Harriet Jacobs' narrative Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl is an autobiographical account of her struggles as a slave in North Carolina and her journey towards achieving ultimate emancipation. She buys freedom for herself and her children. This slave narrative was published in the year 1861 under the pseudonym Linda Brent. Harriet Jacobs, through her work, not only questions the dehumanising institution of slavery but also desires to abolish it entirely. She wants to arouse the sentiments of women so that they free themselves from this eternal bondage and realise their true worth. She very powerfully addresses her readers and makes them aware of the existing double standards in society. She writes, "Slavery is terrible for men; but it is far more terrible for women" (Jacob,64). The condition of women is worse because of their gender. They are oppressed racially, socially and sexually. In addition to being 'women', they are black, poor, uneducated and only at the mercy of white male slaveholders.