Born a woman, born a slave, Harriet Jacobs’ life was anything but ordinary when it began in the year 1813 in North Carolina, just a few states south of the Mason-Dixon line, the demarcation between freedom and slavery. Harriet’s struggles did not surface immediately, but by the time she reached school age, the limitations placed on herself, her family, and other Southern blacks became apparent.
Nearly 40 years later, Jacobs’ goal of freedom was realized, and with it came Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, an attempt to expose the horrors of slavery and the necessity of its abolishment. Jacobs’ recollection of four decades in slavery is a story illustrated with control, hypocrisy, and deceit, punctuated with tyranny, sex, and violence. Jacobs’ strength shines as she endeavors to portray a life best forgotten, remembering those slaves not cunning enough to reach freedom on their own, and taking aim at the Southern and Northern whites still fighting to keep slavery alive.
