Incidents+in+the+Life+of+a+Slave+Girl+-+Harriet+Ann+Jacobs



Harriet Jacobs was born into slavery. As a result, Jacobs tries to achieve an escape from her reality by escaping the situation and circumstances that the color of her skin and her family lineage have placed her in. Fear is the driving factor behind Jacobs' need for escape. According to Lisa Fritscher, our bodies have a natural reaction to fear. They physical reaction, known as "fight or flight" enables our bodies to prepare to fight the fear or to run away. (The Psychology of Fear) In “The Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl,” Jacobs recounts her life as a slave, and her attempts to escape both physically and mentally from her life.

Till the age of six Jacobs does not realize that she is a slave, “When I was six years old, my mother died; and then, for the first time, I learned, by the talk around me, that I was a slave” (14). As a child, Harriet was blessed with a kind and loving mistress. She loved her mistress, and for this reason, “I try to think with less bitterness of this act of injustice” (16). However, after childhood Jacobs is sold to Dr. Flint, a callous and merciless slave owner. Jacobs first attempt to be free from Dr. Flint, although not intentionally sought out, is the most practical. Jacobs meets a young colored carpenter, who is a free man. They fall in love with each other, and he proposes to marry her. Aware that as a slave she is not sanctioned to marry without the consent of her master, Jacobs seeks the permission of Dr. Flint. For Jacobs, not only is this an opportunity to marry a man she loves, but it is also an opportunity for her to gain her freedom, as her lover plans to buy her freedom from Dr. Flint. Despite Jacobs plan to marry her lover, Dr Flint does not allow it, and Jacobs remains under his control afraid that he will never part with her, “There was no hope that the doctor would consent to sell me on any terms. He had an iron will, and was determined to keep me, and to conquer me” (65).

Jacobs realizes that physically escaping from Dr. Flint is going to be challenging. Although, not only does Jacobs wish to gain her freedom, she also desires to escape from Dr. Flint’s sexual abuse. Dr. Flint builds Jacobs a small house for her to live in so that she will be away from the wrath of Mrs. Flint, who is angry at Jacobs because she thinks Dr. Flint loves Jacobs more than he loves her. Nevertheless, Jacobs refuses to enter the house, “I vowed before my Maker that I would never enter it. I had rather toil on the plantation from dawn till dark; I had rather live and die in jail, then drag on, from day to day, through such a living death.” (82) Dr. Flint wishes to take advantage of Jacobs despite Jacobs’ intense disdain for Dr. Flint. Jacobs only means of escape from Dr. Flint’s sexual abuse was to give herself to another man, a white man in town that had shown interest in her. Jacobs is mortified by the actions that she must take in order to end Dr. Flint’s behavior. However, as Valerie Smith concludes, "the happy endings of sentimental novels do not apply to a young slave girls story." (Sherman 171) In the novel, Jacobs pleads with the reader to have sympathy on her and to try and understand the situation she was placed in, “But, O, ye happy women, whose purity has been sheltered from childhood, who have been free to choose the objects of your affection, whose homes are protected by law, do not judge the poor desolate slave girl too severely.” (83) While Jacobs is not in love with Mr. Sands either, she must chose between escaping from Dr. Flint's wrath, or succumbing to Dr. Flint and essentially letting him rule over her life entirely. Dr. Flint already owns Jacobs, she does not want to also give him the pleasure of having access to her physically. She realizes that when Dr. Flint realizes that he can not have full reign over her that he will be outraged, "I knew nothing would enrage Dr. Flint so much as to know that I favored another; and it was something to triumph over my tyrant even in the small way." (85) By essentially giving her body to another man, Jacobs is stealing something away from Dr. Flint that he believes he already owns. This allows another way for her to escape farther away from her master.

Later in the story, Jacobs finally does escape from Dr. Flint. There is a small shed that is attached to Jacobs' grandmother's house, and Jacobs secretly hides out in this shed away from Dr. Flint. While Jacobs is no longer in the presence and under the control of Dr. Flint, she has not entirely escaped. Jacobs must remain in this shed at all times due to Dr. Flint's constant search for her. He wishes to find Jacobs and bring her back to his plantation. As a result, Jacobs is forced to live in inhumane conditions with insufficient light and air and space, insect infestation, a space not adapted to weather, and separation from the rest of the world, especially her children. Despite all of this, Jacobs considers herself happier now than when under the control of Dr. Flint, "It seemed horrible to sit or lie in a cramped position day after day, without one gleam of light. Yet I would have chosen this, rather than my lot as a slave." (174) The hardest part for Jacobs is not being able to be with her children. She drills a hole in the side of the shed so that she will be able to see them when they are playing outside in the street, even if it is only for a brief period of time. At this point in her life, Jacobs has escaped from Dr. Flint but she still is not free. She still has not escaped from her biggest hinderance-slavery.

At the end of the story, Jacobs moves North and meets a lady named Mrs. Bruce. Mrs. Bruce allows Jacobs to live with her. At this point, Jacobs is still being pursued by Dr. Flint and so she must be careful about where she goes and who she sees due to her slavery status. Although, finally Jacobs hears the news that Dr. Flint has died, and therefore can no longer hunt her. Upon his death, Dr. Flint's son-in-law inherits Jacobs as his property, and therefore Jacobs is still being hunted. As a result, Jacobs must flee from Mrs. Bruce's house so she is out of immediate danger. While on the way to her brother's house, Jacobs receives news from Mrs. Bruce telling of her plans to buy Jacobs' freedom from Mr. Dodge, Dr. Flint's son-in-law. Jacobs is flattered at Mrs. Bruce's generosity and thoughtfulness, yet appalled that she can be sold like a piece of property, "The more my mind had become enlightened, the more difficult it was for me to consider myself an article of property; and to pay money to those who had so grievously oppressed me seemed like taking from my sufferings the glory of triumph." (299) She tells Mrs. Bruce that she does not wish for her to buy her freedom from Mr. Dodge, instead she will continue to run until it is safe. However, without Jacobs' knowledge, Mrs. Bruce negotiates a price for Jacobs with Mr. Dodge. With Mrs. Bruce now possessing ownership of Jacobs, she finally gives Jacobs her freedom. She has finally escaped from slavery. She is no longer at the mercy of another human being.

__ Works Cited __ Fritscher, Lisa. "Psychology of Fear - Psychology of Fear." // Phobias - An In-Depth Guide to Managing Phobias //. 23 Mar. 2011. Web. 28 Apr. 2011.

Sherman, Sarah Way. "Moral Experience in Harriet Jacobs's Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl." //NWSA Journal // 2.2 (1990): 167. //Academic Search Complete //. EBSCO. Web. 29 Apr. 2011.

Molly Martin