Bonus Blog on Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl

The slave narrative was a popular genre of literature published by abolitionists.  Harriet Jacobs recounts her tales of being a slave and her journey towards freedom in Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl.  Her purpose as an author is to expose the reader to the treacheries and hardships of slavery.  In order for her sound trustworthy and persuade her audience, she needed to construct herself into a “true woman” of the era.   A true woman was pious, pure, and submissive to her husband.  Jacobs’ does have affairs with different men in the narrative.  She does defend her actions stating, “For years my master had done his utmost to pollute my mind with foul images, and to destroy pure principles inculcated by my grandmother” (777).  She asks the readers for understanding and explains that slavery is the cause of her sexual impurity.  Jacobs also incorporates Christianity into her narrative.  She does have her child christened, which would have made her more agreeable to the reader.  She also addresses the reader directly by crying out “O virtuous reader!”  and asking forgiveness for all of the sins she has committed(778).  She argues “slave women ought not to be judged by the same standard as others” (778).  Jacobs wanted the readers to know how genuine she felt about her immodest actions by apologizing directly to them.  Jacobs pulls the heartstrings of the reader when speaking about her children.  While in captivity, she could not see them and felt like “a tiger when a hunter tries to steal their young.” (789).  A true woman of the time would be able to relate to the pain of losing a child.  Harriet Jacobs narrative ingeniously created a true women within herself and related to northern abolitionist women at the same time, persuading them to assist in the abolition of slavery.