Incidents In The Life Of A Slave Girl Summary

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Encumbrance of Women Harriet Jacobs writes a narrative about life as a slave and the hardships that she went through. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl exposes the physical and emotional abuses of slavery, especially on the female. Life was very hard for women at the time and she exposes the harsh reality of what these women went through. These women slaves experienced a more horrific and traumatic side of slavery then men. They were sexually exploited, they were psychologically confused to womanhood, and they had to endure the hardships of motherhood in very harsh conditions. It was a tough life, but Jacobs embraces her sense of morality of being an African American woman of the time and lets us know the hardships that she went through…show more content…
She recognizes the plight of slave women, and that they were slavery’s greatest victims. Even though male slaves had it bad as well, women were the ones with the double standard. We can see that these women slaves experienced a more horrific and traumatic side of slavery then men. They were sexually exploited, they were psychologically confused to womanhood, and they had to endure the hardships of motherhood in very harsh conditions. According to Henry Bibb, a former slave, “a poor slave's wife can never be ... true to her husband contrary to the will of her master. She can neither be pure nor virtuous, contrary to the will of her master. She dare not refuse to be reduced to a state of adultery at the will of her master....” (Blassingame). This quote is very powerful because no matter what, if you are a woman slave, you will be sexually exploited, thus having psychological problems with where you stand in society or as a mother. Female slaves were refused to find a niche where they can feel comfortable. Comfort was an understatement to how these women were treated but women like Jacobs were able to tell it like it was. Slavery for females was a rough struggle and this narrative let’s people know how it really was during those
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