Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl

“One of the major autobiographies of the African-American tradition.”—Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

“It has been painful to me, in many ways, to recall the dreary years I passed in bondage. I would gladly forget them if I could. Yet the retrospection is not altogether without solace; for with these gloomy recollections come tender memories of my good old grandmother, like light fleecy clouds floating over a dark and troubled sea.”

One of the most memorable slave narratives, Harriet Jacobs’s Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl illustrates the overarching evil and pervasive depravity of the institution of slavery. In great and painful detail, Jacobs describes her life as a Southern slave, the exploitation that haunted her daily life, her abuse by her master, the involvement she sought with another white man in order to escape her master, and her determination to win freedom for herself and her children. From her seven years of hiding in a garret that was three feet high, to her harrowing escape north to a reunion with her children and freedom, Jacobs’s Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl remains an outstanding example of one woman’s extraordinary courage in the face of almost unbeatable odds, as well as one of the most significant testimonials in American history.“One of the major autobiographies of the African-American tradition.”—Henry Louis Gates, Jr.Harriet Jacobs (1813–97) was a reformer, Civil War and Reconstruction relief worker, and antislavery activist. Born a slave to mulatto parents in North Carolina, she was only fifteen when her master, Dr. Flint, began his pursuit of her. This abuse and the resulting oppression from Flint’s wife forced Jacobs to take drastic measures to protect herself, so she encouraged a relationship with Mr. Sands, an unmarried white lawyer for whom she bore two children. When the situation with Flint became intolerable, she left her children and took refuge in a small garret of her grandmother’s house, where she lived for seven years. She finally escaped to the North, and her children eventually followed. She managed to support herself while evading numerous attempts by Flint to return her to slavery. At age forty, Jacobs was purchased and then emancipated by an abolitionist who was Jacobs’s employer and friend. During the Civil War, Jacobs began a career working among black refugees. In 1863, she and her daughter moved to Alexandria, where they supplied emergency relief, organized primary medical care, and established the Jacobs Free School—black led and black taught—for the refugees. After the war, they sailed to England and successfully raised money for a home for Savannah’s black orphans and aged. Then they moved to Washington, DC, where they continued to work among the destitute freed people, and her daughter worked in the newly established “colored schools” and, later, at Howard University. In 1896, Harriet Jacobs was present at the organizing meetings of the National Association of Colored Women.

Myrlie Evers-Williams is the author of For Us, the Living, depicting the life of Medgar Evers and the Civil Rights struggle in Mississippi in the 1950s and 1960s, and Watch Me Fly, her autobiography. Chairman emeritus of the NAACP, she is president and founder of the Medgar Evers Institute as well as CEO and president of MEW Associates, Inc.

Dawn Lundy Martin, PhD, is a poet, scholar, and assistant professor in the English department at the University of Pittsburgh. She is the author of the poetry collections A Gathering Matter/A Matter of Gathering and Discipline, coeditor of The Fire This Time: Young Activists and the New Feminism, and a member of the avant-garde African-American poetics group the Black Took Collective.

Harriet Jacobs (1813–97) was a reformer, Civil War and Reconstruction relief worker, and antislavery activist. Born a slave to mulatto parents in North Carolina, she was only fifteen when her master, Dr. Flint, began his pursuit of her. This abuse and the resulting oppression from Flint’s wife forced Jacobs to take drastic measures to protect herself, so she encouraged a relationship with Mr. Sands, an unmarried white lawyer for whom she bore two children. When the situation with Flint became intolerable, she left her children and took refuge in a small garret of her grandmother’s house, where she lived for seven years. She finally escaped to the North, and her children eventually followed. She managed to support herself while evading numerous attempts by Flint to return her to slavery. At age forty, Jacobs was purchased and then emancipated by an abolitionist who was Jacobs’s employer and friend. During the Civil War, Jacobs began a career working among black refugees. In 1863, she and her daughter moved to Alexandria, where they supplied emergency relief, organized primary medical care, and established the Jacobs Free School—black led and black taught—for the refugees. After the war, they sailed to England and successfully raised money for a home for Savannah’s black orphans and aged. They then moved to Washington, D.C., where they continued to work among the destitute freed people, and her daughter worked in the newly established “colored schools” and, later, at Howard University. In 1896, Harriet Jacobs was present at the organizing meetings of the National Association of Colored Women.

Myrlie Evers-Williams is the author of For Us, the Living, depicting the life of Medgar Evers and the Civil Rights struggle in Mississippi in the 1950s and 1960s, and Watch Me Fly, her autobiography. Chairman emeritus of the NAACP, she is president and founder of the Medgar Evers Institute as well as CEO and president of MEW Associates, Inc.

Dawn Lundy Martin, PhD, is a poet, scholar, and assistant professor in the English department at the University of Pittsburgh. She is the author of the collection of poems, A Gathering of Matter/A Matter of Gathering (University of Georgia Press, 2007), coeditor of The Fire This Time: Young Activists and the New Feminism (Anchor Books, 2004), and a member of the avant-garde African-American poetics group the Black Took Collective.

INCIDENTS
IN THE
LIFE OF A
SLAVE GIRL

HARRIET JACOBS

Writing as Linda Brent

With an Introduction by
Myrlie Evers-Williams
and a New Afterword by
Dawn Lundy Martin, PhD

SIGNET CLASSICS

INTRODUCTION

 

 

IN ANY STUDY of the history of America, one is certain to be introduced to the subject of slavery—and varying accounts of the horrifying tales associated with it. The reader of Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl is taken on a personal odyssey through this most horrific and uncivilized period of American history from the viewpoint of a female slave. What makes Incidents exceptional to any other slave narrative is that, with the hesitant and apologetic voice of an enslaved black American woman, the story expressly deals with racism, as well as sexism. Both acts are manipulated through the mechanics of “legal slavery.” The resulting consequences from this demoralized institution have continued to divide the black and white races in America, even to this day.

All “incidents” related in the story of Harriet Jacobs’s life seem to touch on three recurring themes: the struggle for freedom, the preservation of family, and the plight of black American women. It is interesting to note that the author refers to herself as a “slave girl,” although the book was written when she was a forty-year-old woman. And, as if to distance herself from the emotional ties to the story she is about to tell, Harriet chooses to become a spectator in her own life, casting the persona “Linda Brent” in the starring role.

The issues of freedom versus slavery, white versus black, and men versus women are interwoven within the fabric of American society during the 1800s—the period in which Harriet lived. These issues become the target of her struggle for self-identity, self-preservation, and freedom. She sought release from a cruel, sadistic white plantation owner; she longed for the same dignities afforded other American citizens; and she dreamed of life as a woman who could love and be loved by the man of her choice, as well as being a mother who could raise her children in a secure and caring environment.

The uniqueness of this narrative is that Harriet Jacobs, by her own account, was never brutalized physically in the manner that is commonly portrayed in stories about life as a slave. This in itself could have hindered her from seeking freedom at such a high cost—loss of her life, or loss of her children’s lives. She did experience some “blows,” which were mild when considering the standards of the life-threatening beatings received by slaves under similar circumstances. However, the mental abuse and the hypocrisy of the slave-master relationship ultimately became the driving force behind Harriet’s desire to escape. (Before the Nat Turner rebellion in 1831, there was the mistaken image that slaves were a happy lot, and had no desire to leave their masters.)

The statement that introduces Chapter One of the book sets the tone for the remaining sections and is indicative of the naïveté of young Harriet Jacobs as regards to her station in life. She muses that she did not know she “was a slave until I was six years old.” The life of Harriet Jacobs as narrated in the person of “Linda Brent” at that point had been as idyllic as any other child’s, regardless of race or social standing.

It is vitally important for the reader to understand the bond between Harriet and her relatives, and to recognize that her family unit was intact up until the time of her mother’s death. Hers was no life burdened by the division of the father from mother, mother from child, as was so commonly practiced during that time. In addition to her mother, her father lived with his wife and children, and the grandmother resided nearby.

Harriet’s grandmother, who was a respected woman in the black and white communities, made a modest living by baking goods for the townspeople. Although she was eventually successful in using her income to secure the freedom of her son, Philip, she was unable to purchase her own freedom. Instead, at the age of fifty, she became a free woman due to the kindness of an elderly white woman, who could neither read nor write her own name to the bill of sale—the official mark of a “cross” freed Harriet’s grandmother.

Harriet’s father was a skilled carpenter who was treated as a free man and was given the “privilege” of paying his master for the “right” to earn his own income. This payment totaled approximately half of his yearly earnings. Her father made many attempts to pay for his family’s freedom, but as a slave, he was limited in his purchasing power. While her mother was alive, Harriet’s family maintained the appearance of a traditional patriarchal household, but after her death, the father virtually disappeared from his children’s lives as they were entrusted to the white mistress of the house.

Harriet’s father was actually more than capable of caring for his own children after the mother died; however, as a slave, he was rendered powerless in their upbringing. It was almost as if his children became “wards of the state.” Harriet and her brother were moved into the household of the master and mistress after the mother’s death, thus making it virtually impossible for the father to participate in the rearing of his own children.

He did attempt to exercise parental guardianship on whatever occasion and to the best extent possible. An incident arose that involved the matter of his son, William, and William’s attitude toward slavery. This was when William was called simultaneously by his father and his mistress to perform some task. He weighed the perplexing challenge “of who had the strongest claim on his obedience”—should he obey his black father, who caused his birth, or the white mistress of the plantation? He chose the mistress. The father, upon learning that William had responded to the mistress first, added further to this confusing state of affairs by reprimanding his son, “You are my child, and when I call you, you should come immediately, if you have to pass through fire and water.” This admonishment came from a man who was a slave—who could neither free himself, his son, nor protect his daughter from another man’s viciousness.

Although the death of Harriet’s mother brought about a change in the family’s living arrangements, Harriet lived a fairly decent life for the next few years, as her mistress treated her as her own, teaching her to read, spell, and sew. However, when she reached her twelfth birthday, the bondage of slavery became a reality, as her kindhearted benefactor succumbed to death.

Ironically, the blessing of being owned by a “kind” mistress or master became an unrelenting curse that formed Harriet’s view of herself and all human beings in the eyes of God. For, by having the knowledge of the letters, she was able to read the disciplines set out in the Bible, the same book that shaped the moral fiber of the Christian slave owners. How could slavery be justified, when God’s Word admonished, “Love thy neighbor as thyself”? Of course, slaves were not viewed as human beings; therefore the observance of Christian principles was not binding upon the “kind” white slave owners. This agonizing paradox wreaked havoc with Harriet’s soul as she tried unrelentingly to cling to the high moral standards of purity and chastity. This struggle imminently manifested itself under the brutal harassment received from her new master—Dr. Flint.

Promises had been made earlier to Harriet’s mother that the children would be taken care of—ultimately freed. However, it was not to be, as the “kind” slave owner viewed the children as no more than merchandise, which upon her death was to be divided as property amongst the heirs of her estate. Harriet was “willed” to her mistress’s five-year-old niece, the daughter of Dr. Flint. The Flints lived within the confines of the town of Edenton, close to Harriet’s grandmother. Since the five-year-old was not of legal age to manage this “gift” of property, Harriet was now destined to render service to the new master and mistress of the household, who had absolute authority over her fate.

It was when she was an adolescent at the age of fifteen that Dr. Flint began his obsessive pursuit of Harriet as his concubine, making certain to instill in her that she was “made for his use, made to obey his command in every thing.” To passively submit to the advances of the master would certainly be excused and understood under the circumstances—many female slaves chose that course in hopes of improving an otherwise dismal existence. To aggressively fight against the master could mean physical punishment and persecution to the slave and/or her family members. It becomes a matter of choice, as if slaves had any choice.

The truly spiritual nature and moral character of Harriet Jacobs constantly reveals itself throughout the pages of the book. The quest for freedom becomes her relentless passion as she devises creative measures to preserve her righteous principles and to prevent her master from raping her. It was these moral convictions that placed her on par with any white “Christian” woman.

Of course, the wife of the master was unable to restrain her husband’s licentious appetite and his obsessive desire to possess another woman—albeit a slave woman, but still a woman. Subsequently, this often resulted in additional abuse from the mistress of the household, who would now find herself humiliated in the eyes of those who were her peers and those to whom she felt superior. Whether mistress or slave, both women were wretchedly branded as inferior to the man.

Harriet knew, that no matter how virtuous the appearance Dr. Flint and his wife presented to the world outside the confines of his home, she would never be allowed to go free. Thus, she chose to take matters in her own hands, opting to become sexually involved with a nearby young, white, unmarried lawyer who had treated her kindly and who had become her friend.

In making the choice of whom she would give herself to, Harriet also became an outcast from her grandmother’s goodwill—the one woman who should have been able to sympathize with Harriet’s state of affairs. Once again, the matter of who had the strongest claim on one’s obedience became an issue—obedience to the master, thereby relinquishing all control of herself to him; obedience to the grandmother, who had no control of her own “self”; or obedience to her moral conscience, which she alone could influence.

The secretive trysts with the young lawyer resulted in Harriet’s bearing him first a son and then a daughter. Although Harriet’s children were fathered by a white man, the children of slaves inherited the fate of the mother. Therefore, this man—an equal to Dr. Flint—could not restore honor to his progeny; neither could he purchase another man’s “property” if it were not for sale. If the lot of a male slave was filled with physical hardships and mental anguish, that of a female’s condition was humanly deplorable and unbearable. A healthy male slave could possibly add income to the master’s purse. The lot of a female child born a slave—healthy or not—was valued no more than a breeder—if she were lucky.

Harriet was eventually transferred a few miles outside of town to the plantation household of Dr. Flint’s son. Shortly thereafter, it became increasingly evident that the only chance she would have for freedom would be to escape during this time, while her children were living in town, under the care of their great-grandmother—her grandmother.

It is at this point in the story where the reader will want to embrace Harriet’s determined spirit and rally her on to salvation. For what follows is the account of her life in “self-imposed” exile.

After several unsuccessful attempts to flee to the North, Harriet finds safe harbor by hiding in a homemade boxlike “garret” attached to her grandmother’s porch. This “box”—measuring nine feet long by seven feet wide and, at its highest point, just three feet high—somewhat resembled a large “coffin.” Food was passed to her through a small trapdoor. The only light was from a serrated hole drilled by Harriet in her desperate attempt to maintain some measure of sanity in her new dwelling.

How long can someone wait for the freedom train? In the year that Harriet Jacobs moved into this box, the Liberty Bell cracked while tolling the death of Chief Justice John Marshall. One day became 2,520 days; 2,520 days became 83 months. Nineteenth-century historical records show that Betsy Ross died in Harriet’s second year of self-imposed exile; Victoria became Queen of Great Britain in her third year; the Underground Railroad was organized while Harriet lived in her box for the fourth year; in her fifth year, the mutiny of slaves on board the Amistad ship occurred; and as American women gathered at the Worldwide Anti-Slavery Convention in London to stage a protest because they were not allowed to be seated as delegates, Harriet was in her sixth year of hiding. Nearly seven years later, during the time that the first university degrees were granted to women in America, Harriet Jacobs successfully escaped to the North.

During her self-imposed exile, Harriet had little opportunity to observe her children, and spoke to them only once at the end of her period of exile as she prepared her escape to the North. The obsessive and harsh Dr. Flint was persistent in his attempts to find Harriet while she remained hidden, often using her children as bait. But Harriet’s obsession for freedom carried her through even this trial. It was obvious that both children had inherited her strong will and her spirit of determination, as was manifested on at least two occasions: young Benny was observed remarking to Dr. Flint that he could not put him in jail again, as “I don’t belong to you now.” The occasion of jail was a reference to the time Dr. Flint literally threw the youngsters in jail with their uncle, hoping that this action would draw Harriet from hiding. Her daughter, Ellen, was only two years old at the time. Ellen had contracted measles while confined in prison, and was returned to Dr. Flint’s for treatment; however, Ellen hated the Flints so much that she cried to be taken back—the child actually preferred jail!

During the period of Harriet’s hiding, Dr. Flint pursued numerous false leads to the North, resulting in an enormous monetary expense. It seemed a favorable time for the children’s father to approach Dr. Flint about purchasing their freedom. Eight hundred dollars was offered for the two children when, under any circumstances, four hundred would do. But the desire for revenge was so immense that the doctor refused, forfeiting any profit to be gained from this venture in order to spite Harriet. It was the only hold he had on her. He had witnessed her physical endurance and unwavering stance for her rights, but he was never able to appreciate the mental strength and spiritual power that moved her through these tribulations.

Imagine, if you will, the indefatigable spirit of a woman who would choose life in a “coffin,” dead to the institution of slavery but alive in her pursuit offreedom, rather than a “good” life in the hands of her owner.

Harriet finally became free when her kind employer and friend bought her freedom for three hundred dollars. However, by the time this occurs, the reader knows that Harriet became free years earlier when she chose to take control of her own life, plot her own destiny. The three hundred dollars paid for the paperwork to make it legal.

This is a story of the struggles endured by one woman as a slave, but it also reveals the mysteries of the human spirit and inspirationally redefines faith. It is a story of a woman whose life can be paralleled to that of so many in this twentieth century: women who were too afraid to leave an abusive mate now finding the courage to say “no more”; women whose financial limitations were traditionally bound by the husbands’ incomes, now becoming entrepreneurs and decision makers in the economic arena; grandmothers raising the children of their children for the sake of future generations.

The name of Harriet Jacobs is not one that comes readily to mind when exploring heroism of the nineteenth century—or any century, for that matter. But her actions speak encouragingly to any who have been faced with insurmountable problems, with seemingly no way out. There is always a way out. It is up to us to choose the best method of escape.

History teaches us lessons to shape our perception of the past, and to aid in charting our course for the future. If this is true, then the study of American his-tory must include an honest examination of the uncivilized institution of slavery and its comprehensive context. We must continue to analyze the social and economic impact of slavery with a view toward burying the sordidness of racism and sexism in the “coffin” that gave Harriet Jacobs her life.

—Myrlie Evers-Williams

Bend, Oregon

A NOTE ON THE TEXT

Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl was reprinted from the 1861 edition, published for the author in Boston.

INCIDENTS

IN THE

LIFE OF A SLAVE GIRL.

WRITTEN BY HERSELF.

“Northerners know nothing at all about Slavery. They think it is perpetual bondage only. They have no conception of the depth of degradation involved in that word, Slavery; if they had, they would never cease their efforts until so horrible a system was overthrown.”

A WOMAN OF NORTH CAROLINA.

“Rise up, ye women that are at ease! Hear my voice, ye careless daughters! Give ear unto my speech.”

ISAIAH xxxii. 9.

EDITED BY L. MARIA CHILD.

BOSTON:
PUBLISHED FOR THE AUTHOR.
1861.

PREFACE BY THE AUTHOR

READER BE ASSURED this narrative is no fiction. I am aware that some of my adventures may seem incredible; but they are, nevertheless, strictly true. I have not exaggerated the wrongs inflicted by Slavery; on the contrary, my descriptions fall far short of the facts. I have concealed the names of places, and given persons fictitious names. I had no motive for secrecy on my own account, but I deemed it kind and considerate towards others to pursue this course.

I wish I were more competent to the task I have undertaken. But I trust my readers will excuse deficiencies in consideration of circumstances. I was born and reared in Slavery; and I remained in a Slave State twenty-seven years. Since I have been at the North, it has been necessary for me to work diligently for my own support, and the education of my children. This has not left me much leisure to make up for the loss of early opportunities to improve myself; and it has compelled me to write these pages at irregular intervals, whenever I could snatch an hour from household duties.

When I first arrived in Philadelphia, Bishop Paine advised me to publish a sketch of my life, but I told him I was altogether incompetent to such an undertaking. Though I have improved my mind somewhat since that time, I still remain of the same opinion; but I trust my motives will excuse what might otherwise seem presumptuous. I have not written my experiences in order to attract attention to myself; on the contrary, it would have been more pleasant to me to have been silent about my own history. Neither do I care to excite sympathy for my own sufferings. But I do earnestly desire to arouse the women of the North to a realizing sense of the condition of two millions of women at the South, still in bondage, suffering what I suffered, and most of them far worse. I want to add my testimony to that of abler pens to convince the people of the Free States what Slavery really is. Only by experience can any one realize how deep, and dark, and foul is that pit of abominations. May the blessing of God rest on this imperfect effort in behalf of my persecuted people!

—Linda Brent

INTRODUCTION BY THE EDITOR

THE AUTHOR OF the following autobiography is personally known to me, and her conversation and man-ners inspire me with confidence. During the last seventeen years, she has lived the greater part of the time with a distinguished family in New York, and has so deported herself as to be highly esteemed by them. This fact is sufficient, without further credentials of her character. I believe those who know her will not be disposed to doubt her veracity, though some incidents in her story are more romantic than fiction.

At her request, I have revised her manuscript; but such changes as I have made have been mainly for purposes of condensation and orderly arrangement. I have not added any thing to the incidents, or changed the import of her very pertinent remarks. With trifling exceptions, both the ideas and the language are her own. I pruned excrescences a little, but otherwise I had no reason for changing her lively and dramatic way of telling her own story. The names of both persons and places are known to me; but for good reasons I suppress them.

It will naturally excite surprise that a woman reared in Slavery should be able to write so well. But circumstances will explain this. In the first place, nature endowed her with quick perceptions. Secondly, the mistress, with whom she lived till she was twelve years old, was a kind, considerate friend who taught her to read and spell. Thirdly, she was placed in favorable circumstances after she came to the North; having frequent intercourse with intelligent persons, who felt a friendly interest in her welfare, and were disposed to give her opportunities for self-improvement.

I am well aware that many will accuse me of indecorum for presenting these pages to the public; for the experiences of this intelligent and much-injured woman belong to a class which some call delicate subjects, and others indelicate. This peculiar phase of Slavery has generally been kept veiled; but the public ought to be made acquainted with its monstrous features, and I willingly take the responsibility of presenting them with the veil withdrawn. I do this for the sake of my sisters in bondage, who are suffering wrongs so foul, that our ears are too delicate to listen to them. I do it with the hope of arousing conscientious and reflecting women at the North to a sense of their duty in the exertion of moral influence on the question of Slavery, on all possible occasions. I do it with the hope that every man who reads this narrative will swear solemnly before God that, so far as he has power to prevent it, no fugitive from Slavery shall ever be sent back to suffer in that loathsome den of corruption and cruelty.

—L. Maria Child

INCIDENTS
IN THE
LIFE OF A SLAVE GIRL,
SEVEN YEARS CONCEALED.

1. CHILDHOOD

I WAS BORN a slave; but I never knew it till six years of happy childhood had passed away. My father was a carpenter, and considered so intelligent and skilful in his trade, that, when buildings out of the common line were to be erected, he was sent for from long distances, to be head workman. On condition of paying his mistress two hundred dollars a year, and supporting himself, he was allowed to work at his trade, and manage his own affairs. His strongest wish was to purchase his children; but, though he several times offered his hard earnings for that purpose, he never succeeded. In complexion my parents were a light shade of brownish yellow, and were termed mulattoes. They lived together in a comfortable home; and, though we were all slaves, I was so fondly shielded that I never dreamed I was a piece of merchandise, trusted to them for safe keeping, and liable to be demanded of them at any moment. I had one brother, William, who was two years younger than myself—a bright, affectionate child. I had also a great treasure in my maternal grandmother, who was a remarkable woman in many respects. She was the daughter of a planter in South Carolina, who, at his death, left her mother and his three children free, with money to go to St. Augustine, where they had relatives. It was during the Revolutionary War; and they were captured on their passage, carried back, and sold to different purchasers. Such was the story my grandmother used to tell me; but I do not remember all the particulars. She was a little girl when she was captured and sold to the keeper of a large hotel. I have often heard her tell how hard she fared during childhood. But as she grew older she evinced so much intelligence, and was so faithful, that her master and mistress could not help seeing it was for their interest to take care of such a valuable piece of property. She became an indispensable personage in the household, officiating in all capacities, from cook and wet nurse to seamstress. She was much praised for her cooking; and her nice crackers became so famous in the neighborhood that many people were desirous of obtaining them. In consequence of numerous requests of this kind, she asked permission of her mistress to bake crackers at night, after all the household work was done; and she obtained leave to do it, provided she would clothe herself and