Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl

• The text below is a summary of "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl" by Harriet Jacobs
• Just state the facts directly

Author and Context

• Harriet Jacobs (1813-1897) wrote "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl", which is presented as electronic edition
• Lydia Maria Francis Child (1802-1880) is credited as the editor of the work
• Funding was provided by the Library of Congress/Ameritech National Digital Library Competition to publish it
• The second edition was published in 2003
• The UNC-CH Academic Affairs Library owns the property and it can be used freely for teaching, research and personal use including its statement of availability
• The source is the title page of "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. Written by Herself" published in Boston in 1861, edited by L. Maria Child
• The Library of Congress Subject Headings include Slavery-North Carolina, Slaves Biography, Women Biography, and Harriet A. Jacobs's biography

Encoding and Preservation

• The UNC-CH digitization project, Documenting the American South, made the electronic edition
• The text was encoded using Level 4 of the TEI in Libraries Guidelines, preserving original grammar and spelling, while preserving typographical errors in red
• Line break hyphens were removed, and quotations/ampersands were transcribed as entities
• Spell-check and verification were done using Author/Editor (SoftQuad) and Microsoft Word programs

Historical Context and Preface

• A woman of North Carolina says Northerners don't understand the true horrors of slavery
• Isaiah 32:9 is quoted, urging women to listen and give ear
• The author asserts the truthfulness of adventures, while omitting names for secrecy
• The lack of literary skill is explained by being born into slavery; time has been split between low wages, children and intervals to write

Introduction by the Editor

• According to the editor, a New York family esteemed highly of the author during the 17 years she spent with them
• Condensation was the purpose of L. Maria Child when revising the manuscript
• Indecorum will be thought of by many for including certain experiences
• The aim is to encourage Northern women to exert moral influence against slavery and all those who participate in it

Theme I: Childhood

• Linda Brent begins life as a slave, unaware of it until age 6.
• Her father, a skilled carpenter, was allowed to work independently, paying his mistress $200/year
• Despite his efforts and hard work all the children of the father could not be purchased
• Linda's parents were light-skinned mulattoes who lived in a comfortable home
• Her maternal grandmother had been freed as a child, but was captured back and sold
• Grandmother's skills and work ethic made her a valuable slave
• She saved enough money to slowly buy her children's freedom -- though her master died and his heirs divided up her children among themselves
• Grandmother loaned her mistress $300 but it was never repaid

Theme II: Realizations of Slavery

• Mother died when Linda turned six, and at this event she realized she was a slave
• Foster sister of the mother was so kind to Linda she had been a slave merely in name
• After foster sister dies Linda is bequeathed her sister’s daughter, age 5
• The mistress taught Linda to read and spell
• Few slaves were owned by her so at her death those were all distributed among her relatives including the Grandmother's other children

Theme III: New Master, New Mistress

• Dr. Flint married the sister of Linda's former mistress, so Linda became their daughter's property
• New home brought "cold words, cold looks, and cold treatment"
• A year later her father died; she learned that he had died suddenly and was not even heard of being ill
• Instead she ordered to decorated the house for a party while her father lay unburied
• Owners cared nothing for her piece of property and felt as though he had spoiled his children in teaching them they were human

Theme IV: Growing Up

• Dr. Flint's feelings of a freeman lacking commonness among slaves due to upbringing and her brother was a spirited boy, detesting "master"
• He would learn an important lesson in obedience to a master
• Both Grandmother and youth cheered with hopeful and credulous words Little attention was paid to slaves' meals in their new home
• I fed from her Grandmother's supplies
• She helped supported me from her hard earnings
• I vividly recall the linsey-woolsey dress
• In Dr. Finets wife had money that was never repaid
• When mistress died, mistress promised her death she intended her free
• But the bill of sale fraud to them
• There was great respect as martha was known
• This was done to prevent insult
• Mother's sister, aunt Nancy, was a slave in his family

Theme V: Family Dynamics

• Mrs Flint totaly deficient in energy
• But strong nerves
• Dinner exactly on time would find themselves spitting in all the kettleds
• A doctor was the cook tremble if dinner was not liked he did
• His pet would not eat
• Some Indians she had to eat them
• The Dr. said the cook was compelled made

Theme VI: Punishments

• The Dr. sent slaves the town they're out to escape
• This was before after Dr. had taken his tea
• Never had she heard 100s of blows
• Some said the masters accused corn
• I spent it morning i found him, and that I felt with.
• A Dr. was handed value
• The mothers forgot crimes for
• It was the father
• Persecution also said with the case
• Mockery fiends exclaim
• He also had given

Theme VII: Slaves Holidays

• Dr. Flint, a fine resident residence, farms and others he knew
• Hiring the place to slaves the new 2 masters
• With the master, it will be great
• The time the slaves will take, he and the father from the 1 is
• You happy free, so contrast
• It comes with loadful a sense Willing that wish with she could wish

Theme VIII: The Slave

• After two years, the family had known
• Those 1 years had much opportunity, if any, other knowledge
• So possibily by the, she was now miss of a home That that was, it was a blessing I condemn
• It's too bad, it came in on, with those, I thought the 2
• That were

Theme IX: A new master

• Dr. Flint family and two years had since she'd
• Grandmother could and two
• And it what if the be
• So by God, that the
• A bad world
• There were
• He was

Theme X: I love Linda

• She saw someone that she'd

Theme XI: A little crazy

• It was by herself did

Theme XII: Another

• They departed

Theme XIII: There

• We had been so and that it a one.
• But

Theme XIV: There was also

• The bad the mother