While Uncle Tom’s Cabin showed many slaveowners that treated their slaves well, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl depicts all the ways a slaveowner can abuse and torture their slaves. In particular, it shows the sexual harassment of female slaves, something which was only alluded to in Uncle Tom’s Cabin. In this respect, Harriet Jacobs is much more forthright about the secrets of slavery, which she describes as being “concealed like those of the Inquisition” (35).
Jacobs starts by acknowledging preconceived notions of slavery, stating that Northern men are “proud, to give their daughters in marriage to slaveholders. The poor girls have romantic notions of a sunny cline… to what disappointments are they destined” (35). This shows how slaveowners are not only being cruel and violent to their slaves, but they are also deceiving their wives. The reaction of the “poor girls” mirrors the reaction Jacobs intends to elicit from her Northern readers, who were most likely unaware of this aspect of slavery. Jacobs goes on to describe how in the South, “women often marry a man knowing that he is the father of many little slaves… they regard such children as property, as marketable as the pigs on the plantation” (35). This simile, comparing the children of the slaveowner to “pigs”, shows the complete dehumanization of slavery. The slaveowner’s children that are born to his white wife are treated well, whereas his children born to his slaves are considered “pigs”. In addition, throughout the novel Jacobs shows the harassment of her slaveowner, Mr. Flint, and her own attempts to evade him. This context shows that not only were these children born from extramarital affairs, they probably were nonconsensual as well, coerced by the power a slaveowner holds over a slave.
Jacobs then describes how “this bad institution deadens the moral sense… to a fearful extent” (36). This suggests that the nature of the slave institution has convinced southern men and women that the aforementioned behaviors are normal and acceptable. In fact, one can see a contrast between the southern women, who “do not trouble themselves about it”, and the northern women, who are disappointed that their husband “pays no regard to his marriage vows” (35). This contrast shows how being raised in a culture that accepts slavery can lead one to accept immoral actions.
I think your last point, about how Southern and Northern women vary in their reactions to the sexual aspect of slavery, is especially interesting and essential for our understanding of the culture this text arose from. Even the women from the North only disapproved of their husbands’ nonconsensual engagements because they considered it a slight against their marriages; actual consideration for the victims is not factored in. The girls their husbands assault are human enough for the Northern women to feel like they’re being cheated on, but not enough for those same women to actually sympathize with them. Their husbands are at fault for not respecting marriage vows, not for hurting someone.
I also noticed the emphasize of this text on revealing the “secrets” of slavery — the realities that might inspire horror in an audience. This demonstrates the disparity between Harriet Beecher Stowe’s intentions in writing Uncle Tom’s Cabin and Harriet Jacobs’ motives: Here, she does not strike me as concerned with protecting the egos of slaveholders (in fact, the opposite). While she does frequently — even for chapters at a time — interrupt the “story” aspect of the narrative in a style perhaps comparable to that of Stowe’s, the addresses feel less strategic. She quite transparently and directly states her purpose for writing: Rather than seeking sympathy on her own behalf, Jacobs clarifies that she only wishes to “kindle a flame of compassion…for my sisters who are still in bondage, suffering as I once suffered.” Political agendas, appeals, and strategies aside, Jacobs is here to expose the institution of slavery; she does not sugarcoat to be palatable. At points — such as those you mention tied to sexual exploitation of enslaved girls by white slaveholders — the narrative reads as an exposé. Another example that strikes me as such is that given of the Northern clergymen manipulated by Southern slaveholders into accepting and even endorsing slavery. Jacobs reveals the “game” of the Southern slaveholder that “is sufficient to satisfy” the clergyman, and that inspires him to expound slavery as a “beautiful ‘patriarchal institution'” (Jacobs 82-3). However, it is worth noting that amidst her effort at raw, unadulterated truth, Jacobs comes off as quite self-conscious about her writing skills, her education, and especially her perceived sexual sinfulness.
Hi Erin! I find your reference to the distinction between the children born to slaves and their masters vs. children of the masters and their wives very insightful. The notion that many women marry men knowing that they father children with their slaves, but also the importance of Dr. Flint maintaining some sort of decent reputation among the town particularly curious and disgusting. In this way, enslavers abuse their slaves behind closed doors but somehow maintain good-standing by disregarding or rejecting their children with their slaves. I agree that Jacobs’ exposure of such experiences, through the eyes of Linda, victim to the abuse of Dr. Flint, evokes a more intense and visceral insight into the experience of slave women than Uncle Tom’s Cabin did. However, I noticed the ties between Dr. Flint’s behavior, as Jacobs writes, “Bad as are the laws and customs in a slaveholding community, the doctor, as a professional man, deemed it prudent to keep up some outward show of decency” (39) and Douglass’s mentioning of enslavers keeping up “good reputations”. The twisted nature of promoting themselves in public as treating their slaves relatively well or properly feeding their slaves, defining themselves as “good slaveholders” proves to be the ultimate paradox. I am excited to continue reading into Incidents in the Life to reveal more about the double-edged sword of a slave master, and can’t wait to read more of your ideas!