Key Facts
full title ·
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Written by Herself
author · Harriet Jacobs (pen name Linda Brent)
type of work · Slave narrative
genre · Women's autobiography, African-American autobiography, didactic
literature
language · English
time and place written · 1850s, New York and Boston
date of first publication · 1861
publisher · Harriet Jacobs
narrator · Linda Brent
point of view · Linda Brent narrates her life story in the first person.
tone · Passionate, outraged, defiant, sarcastic, sentimental
tense · Past
setting (time) · 1820s–1840s
setting (place) · An unspecified Southern town; New York City; Boston; and, for a short
time, England
protagonist · Linda Brent
major conflict · Linda Brent struggles to protect herself from her lecherous master and
is torn between her desire to run away from him and her need to protect her
children.
rising action · Dr. Flint refuses to sell Linda to Mr. Sands; Dr. Flint banishes Linda
to his plantation; Aunt Martha tries to talk her out of running away; Linda
discovers that her children will soon be broken in as field hands.
climax · Linda runs away from the plantation and goes into hiding, leaving her
previous life behind and taking the first step away from slavery.
falling action · Dr. Flint throws Linda's children and brother in jail; Linda tricks Dr.
Flint into thinking she is living in the North; Mr. Sands promises to free their
children but then breaks that promise.
themes · The corrupting power of slavery; domesticity as paradise and prison;
the psychological abuses of slavery
motifs · Fractured family ties; confinement; graphic violence
symbols · Dr. Flint; Aunt Martha; the loophole of retreat
foreshadowing · Anecdotes about female slaves enduring sexual abuse and losing their
children foreshadow Linda's experiences.
