Fugitive Slaves

This paper will examine the narrative of Harriet Jacobs and discuss what motivated her to write it, who her audience was, and how she tried to appeal to that audience.

In her tale, Jacobs shows how the very first day she landed in a Free State (Philadelphia) she was asked for her tale or a "sketch" of her life (Jacobs, 2002, p. 439). Although she was reluctant to share her experiences at first, by the writing of this book she soon understood that in sharing her tale she would be able to help other fugitive slaves, as well as possibly be able to fight slavery itself. Therefore, she was determined "to arouse the women of the North to a realizing sense of the condition of two millions of the women of the South, still in bondage, suffering what I suffered, most of them far worse" (Jacobs, 2002, 440). In particular, Jacobs wanted to point out the condition of female slaves, and the sexual abuse suffered by most, a taboo subject in the 19th century. Her editor, L. Maria Child remarks on this in the introduction:

I am well aware that many will accuse me of indecorum for presenting these pages to the public; for the experiences of this intelligent and much-injured woman belong to a class which some call delicate subjects, and others indelicate. This peculiar phase of Slavery has generally been kept veiled; but the public ought to be made acquainted with its monstrous features, and I willingly take responsibility fore presenting them the veil withdrawn. I do this for

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r the men in their homes, neighborhoods, churches, and communities that change could be made. They also sought out those sympathetic men, however, who would also be willing to work change in the government policies and help keep fugitive slaves free: I do it with the hope of arousing conscientious and reflecting women at the North to a sense of their duty in the exertion of moral influence on the question of Slavery, on all possible occasions. I do it with the hope that every man who reads this narrative will swear solemnly before God that, so far as he has power to prevent it, no fugitive from Slavery shall every be sent back to suffer in that loathsome den of corruption and cruelty (Child in Jacobs, 2002, p. 442). Jacobs openly talks to her audience: "O, ye happy women, whose purity has been sheltered from childhood, who have been free to choose the objects of your affection, whose homes are protected by law" (Jacobs, 2002, p. 500). Through these and other statements Jacobs demonstrates that it is mostly women that she is appealing to. She ends her narrative with a statement that acknowledges that these women chose to read her tale, and not just another romantic novel when she says: "Reader, my story ends with freedom; no

Category: History - F