Prior the American Civil War that marked the highlight of the gradually expanding rift between the Northern and Southern regions based on differing ideologies, abolitionism was a common theme in the country. The sympathetic Northerners sought to abolish the slavery system that had indefinitely supported white supremacy on American soil at the expense of the black race. Now, the calls for the liberation of slaves in the United States of America originated from two significant premises; the diverse economic practices and contradicting doctrines of black inferiority. The Northerners were industrialists and in need of cheap menial labor for their factories, and the Southerners were plantation owners with an affinity for hard and free labor from the slavery system. However, in the years leading to the Civil War, the Northerners were gradually changing their views, and the slavery institution was becoming an abhorrent system to the people for a number of reasons. From the Southern planters’ absurd defenses to the slave narratives penned to encourage the emancipation of those under the white man’s yoke, the abolitionists’ movement was gaining momentum. One such narrative is that of Harriet Ann Jacobs, an escaped female slave from North Carolina. Dubbed “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl”, the book emerged in 1861 under the fictitious name of Linda Brent. Simultaneously, Jacob’s work reveals the effects of slavery on black women who were subject to much oppression from the white masters and mistresses. Expectedly, as an abolitionist’s work, Jacobs’ novel portrays the woman’s pleas towards the whites of the North to help the black race. According to the Oxford Dictionary of English, abolition refers to actions that “formally put an end to a system, practice or institution” (Angus). Thus said, Jacob’s narration shows the need for the abolition of sexual exploitation, the oppression and jealousy of white mistresses, and the practice of separating slave mothers from their children.
Martha Cutter’s “Dismantling the Master's House” presents the author’s views of the apparent use of words by the white master in Jacob’s narration to impose fear and control the women. Cutter’s thesis revolves around the fact that despite her slavehood, Harriet Jacobs appears to have a fairer experience as far as whipping and slave brutality is concerned. Given, she faces the same form of inferiority as other slaves, but other than the occasional raised voice by Dr. Flint, she is not physically whipped. Jacobs writes; for years, my master had done his utmost to pollute my mind with foul images, and to destroy the pure principles inculcated by my grandmother and the good mistress (83). Evidently, the perverted master utilized his superiority and words to intimidate his slave but did not see any need for whips or brutality. Cutter reckons that no actions were necessary for the master as he successfully communicated his intentions through the art of “linguistic disempowerment” (215). Evidently, the linguistic disempowerment was not only successful in dealing with Jacobs; after all, no white woman could reprimand her husband’s antics with the slaves. With that in mind, Jacobs work covered different illustrations of the same system only that her views emerged from a position that faced double oppression: as a woman and as a slave.
Foremost, Harriet Jacobs was “frequently threatened with punishment” but the man never whipped her like the other slaves (19). Nonetheless, the young female slave witnessed the multiple times when the other slaves received severe floggings for one mistake or another. For instance, Jacobs tells of her owner's female black cook who always sent dinner to the masters table with much “fearing and trembling” because of his unpredictable mood swings (22). Apparently, Dr. Flint would have the poor cook whipped if he did not like the dish, without much thought to the fact that she is a woman (Jacobs 22). The use of brutal and cruel punishments exerted control by the masters, and that was common in the antebellum South where white supremacy reigned. In accordance with the calls for abolition, by including the punishments that white owners would often bestow on the slaves, Jacobs creates a picture of the true nature of slavery. Evidently, the whites did not fear any form of interference in how they handle their slaves and concurrently did not expect any retaliation from the mistreated black people. Again, there is the theme of linguistic disempowerment as the slaves could not stand up for themselves or even expect somebody to end the brutality. Nonetheless, the first form of abolition takes the position of the infringement of the black persons. Only after destroying that pattern would blacks finally have a chance to fight for their rights.
Additionally, while Mr. Flint sexually harassed Jacobs and even slept with the other slave girls, his wife was in the same house. The woman was undoubtedly aware of her husband’s extramarital affairs with the black women but as per the cultural norms, the white man exercised unrivaled superiority. The woman had her penance whenever a female slave made a mistake that warranted the flogging. As Jacobs reports, Mrs. Flint “could sit in her easy chair and see a woman whipped, till the blood trickled from every stroke of the lash” and not voice any displeasure (Jacobs 22). Her actions are another evidence of linguistic disempowerment although it is significantly different from that of the female slaves (Cutter 215). However, the diversity ends with the fact that she is white and mistress of the house. By extension, the only difference between her and the slaves is the fact that has the law protecting her rights as a white woman, but Dr. Flint appears unaware of her as his wife. From the disrespect of sleeping with slave women to that of undermining her authority even before the slaves, Dr. Flint is a male chauvinist. That is why he was always confident that Jacobs would come to him and did not fear the wrath of his wife of the community whenever he defied the propriety of a white man. On that note, it is plausible that it was Jacob’s intention to portray her ex-master in that light in the hopes of garnering enough support for her people. Either way, the second form of abolition focused on the whites of the Southern States whose confident nature was bound to cause problems for any slaves seeking liberation.
Finally, yet importantly, throughout the book, Harriet pleads for compassion for the black families separated by the slavery system. Apparently, Jacobs opted to hide in a small garret over her grandmother’s storeroom, and for seven years, she watched over her children through a peephole (238). Dr. Flint’s threats to sell her children to other plantation owners propelled Jacobs’ decision and despite the stifling conditions of the small crawlspaces, she still watched over her children. Now, as the slave master, Dr. Flint owned Jacobs’ children and, as a result, he gained an advantage with which he could entice her to his bed. While Jacobs adamantly refused the advancements of her owner, she was only endangering the lives of her children and any miscalculations on her part would have harmed them. She could not defend herself or her children, and as Cutter points out, slaves who refused white supremacy received severe punishment from their owners. After all, talking did “not function as an instrument of power for slaves”, and as per the nature of slavery, a talkative slave deserved punishment (Cutter 215). In addition, Harriet Jacobs bore children with one Mr. Sands, who was at first just a reassurance against the advances of Mr. Flint but was later the father of her children (Jacobs 90). While Jacobs lay in her little crawlspace, Mr. Sands bought his children from Dr. Flint. It was a degrading moment but in Jacob’s views, a better option than having her owner’s children. In that sense, abolition entailed the destruction of the whites’ tendencies to separate black families. It caused more harm than good, and if Jacobs’ pain is anything to go by, then many of the slave mothers suffered at the hands of their masters.
Conclusively, Harriet Jacob's depiction of abolition entailed destroying multiple systems that inhibited slaves in a permanent status of inferiority. As mentioned before, black women in antebellum America faced double oppressions for their skin color and their gender. Jacobs is aware of that truth, utilizes her apparent double inferiority to her advantage, and writes direct pleas to the abolitionists. In the end, the abolitionism for women might have different dimensions.
Work Cited
Cutter, Martha J. "Dismantling "The Master's House": Critical Literacy in Harriet Jacobs' "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl"." Callaloo 19 .1 (1996): 209-225. Print.
Jacobs, Harriet. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl . New York: Dover Publications, 2001. Print.
Stevenson, Angus. Oxford Dictionary of English. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010. Print.
