Cynthia Garza
LITR 5535
Dr. White
Research Journal

Harriet Jacobs

Research proposal:

            I grew up in a very small, agricultural town of Brazoria.  Brazoria could not exactly be described as the melting pot of the world; as a matter a fact, I don’t think Brazoria even has a pot.  As a child, much like Jacobs, I didn’t really know that I was different.  When I began kindergarten and saw so many different faces, but few that resembled mine, this fact became clear to me.  Since this initial shock of culture, or lack or if, I have always been fascinated with different people.  Every chance I got I was reading about Martin Luther King or listening to my parents’ stories of Cesar Chavez; the differences and struggles of the minority were intriguing to me and I was addicted to stories of poverty, failure, determination, success, and the pride of never being satisfied.  My addiction was again satisfied when I first read a slave narrative in my multicultural literature class at Sam Houston State University.  I purposely asked to do my presentation for this class, my first graduate class, on a slave narrative.  While searching for Romantic components in Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, by Harriet Jacobs, I became increasingly interested in this unusual account of a woman slave.  I decided to focus on secondary research for my journal and was surprised with the surplus of information I found.  Though I was disappointed that no one wanted to label the story as Romantic and the work was thrown into many different categories, the Romantic qualities were still there. Though Jacobs’ work was molded and shaped to fit many causes, in my journal I plan to show how the Romantic elements are still present.  I would also like to find out more about her literary influences, what she did after the publication of her book, and, in general, learn more details about her life.

Background of author:

 In reading Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, by Harriet Jacobs (1813-1897) I think it would be an interesting story to investigate Romantic qualities.  Harriet Jacobs was born into slavery but did not realize that she was a slave until the death of her mother in 1819.  At the age of 6 she then becomes the property of a young girl, Dr. Flint’s daughter.  Harriet’s father dies in 1826.  Around 1828 Dr. Flint’s harassment and attempt to persuade Harriet sexually begins.  Harriet falls in love with a free black man, but in realizing that she will never be allowed to marry him or live a free life, she chooses to start relations with Mr. Sands, a white lawyer.  They have two children together, Joseph and Louisa Matilda.  In 1835 Harriet goes into hiding in the garret of her grandmother’s house and spends seven years in hiding.  In 1842 Harriet escapes to the North and does not again live under the same roof with both of her children until 1844.  Harriet moves to Rochester, New York (1849) and later to New York City (1850).  She lives her life in constant fear that she will be caught because of the enactment of The Fugitive Slave Law of 1850.  When Harriet learns that her owner is in New York City looking for her, she plans to escape to California.  Before she can do so her friend and employer, Cornelia Willis, buys her freedom for $300.00.  Though Harriet is glad to finally be a free woman, she feels violated that she was ever enslaved.  Harriet’s grandmother dies in 1853, and she begins to write about her experiences as a slave in anonymous letters to a New York newspaper.  She finishes Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl in 1858 and tries to sell her manuscript in England.  In 1861 her book is finally published under the pseudonym Linda Brent.  On March 7, 1897 Harriet Jacobs dies in Washington DC.

Research:

To retain the continuity of my research I will refer to Harriet Jacobs when speaking of the author and to Linda Brent when speaking directly about the character in Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. Occasionally, primarily for needs of clarification, I will include the true names of the characters in parenthesis.

Braxton, Joanne M.  Black Women Writing Autobiography.  Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1989.

This was probably the most difficult work to learn about Harriet Jacobs and Incidents because she was only mentioned in tidbits, in contrast to that of Yellin, Foster, or Carby.  Braxton summarizes Incidents, while including notes on the elements and techniques Harriet Jacobs chooses.

 Braxton states that Linda becoming a mother was a “rite of passage,” “a new identity,” hence illustrating a quality of Romanticism- quest or journey towards transcendence.  Braxton is one of the few authors who was willing to name Jacobs’ work as a slave narrative, and even, a historical work.  She cites that Yellin later proved the authenticity of Jacobs’ work.  Braxton says that, “Her [Linda’s] quest includes liberation from the realities of slavery and sexual exploitation as well as the search for a home for herself and her children” (24).  I found this description to be an accurate example of the quest many Romantic heroes pursue.  Braxton touches on the Romantic use of rebellion, when Linda purposely seeks out her own mate and becomes pregnant with another white man’s child, not her master’s.  Braxton describes how Linda would “sass” Mr. Flint and this was considered unacceptable and a strong example of rebellion.  Braxton touches on the use of Eden, though she does not label it so, of paradise, paradise lost, and paradise regained.  She states that Linda’s life was a journey in trying to overcome “sin and disgrace”  (24-25).   Throughout Braxton’s analysis of Linda, she concludes that Linda is a woman seeking freedom, for herself, her children, and anyone enslaved.  Braxton believes that Harriet Jacobs’ work influenced many future writers, including Ida B. Wells, Toni Morrison, and Shirley Anne Williams.

Carby, Hazel V.  Reconstructing Womanhood.  New York: Oxford University Press, 1987.

            Carby begins her analysis of Jacobs’ work by stating that Linda Brent is a heroine, a Romantic quality, but argues that the book focuses too heavily on Linda.   She continues her analysis by comparing Jacobs’ work to that of Nancy Prince, Harriet Wilson, and Kate Drumgoold pointing out their likeness in the continuing theme of equality for all women, even black women, but also shining light on the vast difference of the construction and multi-purposes of Jacobs’ work.  Carby, like most of the literary critics, cannot fit Incidents into any one mold, but states that the work is a combination of the domestic novel, the sentimental novel, and a recollection of specific “incidents” from Jacobs’ life.  I found several techniques defined as Romantic discussed in Carby’s examination. A Romantic example, though not labeled Romantic, that Carby points out is the element of desire and loss found throughout the story.  Carby illustrates how three generations of slave women (Harriet, her mother, and her grandmother) trusted their mistresses and were betrayed.  The relationship between Mrs. Flint and the grandmother are models of the Romantic idea of crossing borders.  When the grandmother defends and protects Linda, Mrs. Flint, whom the grandmother breast fed and has had a good relationship with, turns on her and will not even speak to her.  This emphasizes how there was a line and just as quickly as Mrs. Flint denied her daughter-like relationship to the woman who had nurtured her; the grandmother, in turn could cross the line mentally and rise above this abstrusity (56).  Carby admits that this story is one of a journey beginning at childhood and extending throughout Jacobs' life (59).  The last Romantic illustration Carby reveals is the sense of individualism present in Incidents.  First, the act of Linda using “deliberate calculation” to choose Mr. Sands as a mate and the boldness of Harriet publishing this taboo decision in her book, clearly set both the author and her character as individualists.  Carby also includes Jacobs’, in contrast to other slave women, using her children as a motivator, not a disabler, for her quest towards freedom.  It is also in this discussion that Carby again communicates Jacobs’ search for transcendence in her journey.

Since I was trying to find further information on Harriet Jacobs’ life, I was ecstatic to gain some knowledge that I had not run across yet.  Nathaniel Willis (Mr. Bruce) was pro-slavery, unlike his second wife (Mrs. Bruce) and because of this, Harriet was forced to produce her work under secret conditions and could only write at night.  I found that this parallel to her work, when Linda could only ‘live’ at night in the garret, compelling.  I had wondered if Harriet had ever had any formal education, since the beginning of her life was a very happy time.  She had no formal education, but as Incidents revealed, was taught to read and write by her mistress.  The relationship, or lack of it, with Harriet Beecher Stowe is also mentioned in Carby’s work.  Jacobs' felt that her work “needed no romance” and was deeply insulted by the idea that her story be included in Stowe’s The Key to Uncle Tom’s Cabin (49-50). 

Foster, Frances Smith.  Witnessing Slavery.  Westport: Greenwood Press, 1979.

            This book was more about slavery than characterizing Harriet Jacobs’ work.  Foster explains that it was unacceptable for writers to be too explicit in the descriptions of sexual acts.  She notes that Jacobs’ recollections were appropriate for the time, but that her admission of choosing her own mate was not.  Hence, this act of individualism is Romantic, in that it was separating both Harriet, the author, and Linda, the slave girl, from the masses.  Another example given by Foster of this individualism was the fact that Linda Brent’s family was allowed, sometimes unknowingly, to remain more of a family unit than most slave families; especially at the beginning of Linda’s life when she lived with her father and mother, though they had different owners.

Foster, Frances Smith.  Written By Herself.  Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1993.

            Out of all the books I read, this one was one of my favorites.  Foster examines Incidents in many capacities and provides many interesting tidbits about Harriet Jacobs.  Foster, even after completing her research, has a difficult time labeling Jacobs’ work.  She simply decides to put Jacobs’ work under the umbrella of many genres: antebellum slave narrative, woman’s literature, African American literature, anti-slavery literature, abolitionist literature, and fictional literature.  Foster emphasizes that she does not consider the work to be a work of fiction, but that Jacobs' implements various fictional techniques.  Foster further explains that Incidents is a culmination of techniques, genres, and purposes, and that it would be impossible to place the work into one category.  Though Foster, herself, does not label these techniques Romantic, she does name these specific examples as truly beneficial and purposeful to the work.  The Romantic idea of individualism, rebellion, and separation from the masses is found to be a strength by Foster: “…Linda Brent, a slave girl who knows herself to be an individual of value and who is decidedly aggressive in defending her right to self determination against those who claimed otherwise” (96).  With this example Foster explains how Jacobs’ work is quite different from that of other slave narrators.  This is an example of Romanticism through both character (Linda) and writer (Harriet); for it was unacceptable behavior in both worlds.  Another example of this type of individualism is found in Jacobs’ intentional connection between black and white women for Foster felt that, “Jacobs was holding up a new mirror which did not show white women as essentially different from black women” (104).  Transcendence is another Romantic quality that Foster reveals; “Harriet Jacobs’ text represents a development in woman’s literature that is parallel to those of the religious narrators who became empowered through spiritual transcendence” (96).  Foster also points out that Jacobs’, in opposition to most narratives, fought her personal battle with slavery, “on intellectual, emotional, and spiritual planes,” (103).  Foster further explains that Linda crosses borders as a woman slave- both physically and mentally, a standard objective found in Romantic writings.

            Foster, in addition to the analysis of Incidents, provided some literary influences of Harriet Jacobs, interactions she had with influential literary figures, and work she pursued to further her causes.  Jacobs' main literary influences were Jarena Lee and Angelina Grimke.  Living in the household of Nathaniel Willis also provided Jacobs’ with a strong literary background.  Foster states that Harriet Jacobs, “…was so certain of her importance as example and exemplar that she struck out against Harriet Beecher Stowe, arguably the most powerful literary figure of the day, because Stowe wanted to whittle Jacob’s life in her Key to Uncle Tom’s Cabin” (106). While other upcoming writers may have been complimented by this idea, Jacobs, herself, in trying to create a legitimate and true account of slavery, rebels and separates herself from the masses in life, like her literary identity Linda.  Another interesting fact I found in Foster’s work was an answer to a question posed in class: Was Jacobs physically affected by her 7-year stay in the garret?  Yes, according to Foster’s research she was “crippled by her long confinement” (102).  I also found information regarding Jacobs’ after the publication of her story.  Her daughter Louisa and she helped to establish hospitals and schools.  Jacobs continued her battle by writing letters to Northern newspapers encouraging the public to help support financially and politically the institutions they were building (116).

            Because of the length of this book I cannot include all of the information I found relevant, but I think that it proved to be an extremely useful source.

Rodriguez, Barbara.  Autobiographical Inscriptions.  New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.

            Rodriguez compliments most of the other critics’ analysis of Incidents, touching on the same problem of categorizing the book into a specific genre.  He compares Jacobs’ work to that of Mary Rowlandson’s captivity narrative, “Narrative of the Captivity and Restauration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson.”  Rodriguez does point out that Linda chose to hide in her grandmother’s annex to gain some type of freedom, therefore, rebelling against her situation.  The main, Romantic element, Rodriguez focuses on is the transformation of Linda Brent; the journey of becoming more than a mere object.  Rodriguez speaks of the many loopholes Linda went around to find her way, which in a sense, is a certain aspect of Romanticism, the ability to communicate, or in her case manipulate, all kinds of people.  Another example of this manipulation, or determination to cross the borders of slavery, is found in Linda’s letters to Mr. Flint with postmarks from different cities.  A more Romantic, and less conniving way, that Jacobs’ is herself able to communicate with all people, Rodriguez points out, is the keen ability she develops to interpret both situations and the true intentions of others.  In asking Lydia Maria Child to write the preface to Incidents, Rodriguez asserts that Jacobs’ is again trying to communicate with people different from herself, a white audience.  The book included a picture of Ellen Driscoll’s installation, “Loophole of Retreat,” that focuses on the small space that Harriet Jacobs lived in.  This was the first I’d seen or heard of this artwork, which was inspired by Jacobs’ story.  Driscoll, in her personal critique of her artwork claims that Jacobs’ story inspired her, that it was a strange thing that the hiding place that confined her life, also gave her freedom.  Rodriguez, like the other critics, points out the individual that Linda Brent is: her family relationships, her choice of a mate, her relationship to her children, and her, many times, unlawful journey for freedom.  In reading Incidents I knew that Mrs. Flint would whisper in Linda’ s ear at night, hoping that she would reveal something about her husband, but in Rodriguez’ analysis, I learned for the first time, that Mrs. Flint was, herself, being compared to a victim of slavery.  She becomes an animal, a “Serpent of Slavery” and is no longer seen by Jacobs’ as a woman, but as a snake. 

            Honestly, I found this work to be somewhat confusing.  Rodriguez constantly jumped back and forth from work to work, rather than to solely discuss Harriet Jacobs’ work.  I am glad that I read this book because I found out about Driscoll’s work, of which I had no prior knowledge.

Yellin, Jean Fagan.  Introduction. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl Written by     

 Herself.  By Harriet Jacobs.  Cambridge: Harvard University Press.  vii-xli.

This was, by far, the best book, or as I have nicknamed it ‘The Bible of Harriet Jacobs’ Work’, that I found.  Yellin definitely did her research and included helpful and insightful information in the book.  Illustrations, chronology, Jacobs’ correspondence, and countless notes were some of the useful elements.  The letter willing Harriet to another owner, the advertisement for the capture of Harriet, an architectural plan of her hiding place, a copy of the receipt of payment for Jacobs, along with other interesting documents were also included in the book.  I found no proof of Romantic qualities presented in this book, but I did learn a significant amount of information about Harriet Jacobs and found it helpful in placing Incidents in the time period in was written; this process was similar to that of ‘putting a face to a name.’

Conclusion:

            Though I have only included six sources, I did encounter many sources dealing with Harriet Jacobs and her works.  I only chose to include the sources that did not overlap in theme and introduced new information.  I have found all of the answers I was searching for, but a few new questions have arisen from my research.  Did Harriet Jacobs ever marry?  Are any of her relatives published writers?  In retrospect, did she accept her choices and have confidence in them?  What became of The Norcom family?  I do not teach this narrative in freshman English, but I do think that I will touch on some of the qualities of Incidents when I discuss multicultural literature.