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Harriet Jacobs Incidents In The Life Of A Slave Girl

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Women have fought a long way to get to where they are now. Through many trials and tribulations, women became one of the most influential people in the world. For example, Harriet Jacobs was an outstanding African woman writer back in the 1800s. She paved the path for others to become a successful writer, despite all the challenges she had to face. Her stories continue to influence many as her stories get passed down from generation to generation. One of her most famous works, Incidents In the Life of a Slave Girl, gained fame as it spoke transparently about her struggles as a slave. Despite her influence to the world, many believed that the actions she took in her book were “ not women like ” and she was shamed across different communities …show more content…

Many families went to church on Sunday, some communities even allowed slaves to come worship in the same church. For Harriet, she struggled with piety throughout her entire life. There were measures that weren't practical,but she had to take in order to distant herself from her master. Some of her actions included disobeying her master, having sex before marriage and breaking the law. As a very religious woman, it was unlikely for women to behave like this. As a Christian woman, it was very important for women to be pure before marriage because the bible has told them too. Jacobs also challenged the church and accused them of hypocrisy which wasn’t very women like. Back in the 1800s, it was very dangerous to accuse the church or challenge the church because they had a huge influence on the community and also in government. On top of it being dangerous, it wasn’t very ladylike to speak out to the church because women were to be made young handmaidens of God. Jacob’s was displeased with the teachings that were preached out to them on Sunday. Since she knew how to read and write, she knew that his teachings were out of context. “Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ." She believed that Rev. Mr.Pike’s teachings every Sunday were for slaves to accept the fact that they are slaves because it was what God …show more content…

As a female slave, it was hard for her to not be sexually harassed. Dr.Flint constantly approached her with sexual intentions and demonstrated it by building the cottage. The cottage was going to be used to teach Jacobs how to be a “woman”. It was very important for women to remain chaste because it made women clean. Women were considered dirty if they had sex before marriage. It was considered a crime for women to lose their purity before marriage. In women's magazines, they would have to compensate by being driven to madness or even death. For others, it was easy to keep pure/chaste, but for Jacobs, it was extremely difficult. Jacob forms a loving relationship with a free slave and wanted to spend her life with him. She knew that free slaves weren't able to protect their wife and that she needed permission from the master in order to get married. Jacobs devised a plan and decided to have an affair with Mr.Sands, a rich white person, hoping that he would persuade Dr.Flint to sell her freedom. Not only did Dr.Flint refuse to sell her, but the effect that her actions had on Jacobs not only ruined her reputation in the community but also disappointed her grandmother. Her grandmother lectured her because her actions went against everything she has been taught. Jacobs would, later on, face the consequence of undermining the importance of her purity. She would have to bear children under a

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