In Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Harriet Jacobs describes the cruelty she is shown at the hands of her mistress, Mrs. Flint. In Chapter VI “The Jealous Mistress,” however, the empathy that Jacobs shows towards Mrs. Flint depicts Flint as not just an enforcer of the institution of slavery, but rather a victim of the system as well.
Although Jacobs was someone whom Mrs. Flint “detested so bitterly,” Jacobs tells us that she herself had “far more pity than he had, whose duty it was to make her life happy” (Jacobs, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Ch. VI: “The Jealous Mistress” Project Gutenberg). Jacobs alludes to the fact that Mr. Flint engages in sexual relationships with many of the enslaved women without an ounce of remorse. Mrs. Flint has treated her with the utmost cruelty, but Jacobs realizes that the institution of slavery has also rendered her powerless in her relationship with her husband. When it comes to Mr. Flint, Jacobs recognizes that both she and Mrs. Flint are powerless to his whims and desires. This recognition and expression of pity shows that Mrs. Flint suffers as a result of slavery as well.
As Jacobs recounts the instances of sexual harassment and abuse that she has experienced at the hands of Mr. Flint, Mrs. Flint weeps and groans. Jacobs describes the empathy and pity she feels for Mrs. Flint in this instance saying, “She spoke in tones so sad, that I was touched by her grief” (Jacobs Ch. VI). However, Mrs. Flint is not completely resolved of the part she plays in enforcing and perpetuating slavery. This is revealed as Jacobs realizes that Flint’s tears are seemingly entirely self-interested: “She pitied herself as a martyr; but she was incapable of feeling for the condition of shame and misery in which her unfortunate, helpless slave was place” (Jacobs Ch. VI). Here we see the ultimately duality of Mrs. Flint’s position in the institution of slavery. She is both victim and oppressor, suffering because of slavery and causing suffering through it.
Jacobs ends the description of this interaction with Mrs. Flint by saying that she “knew she could not expect kindness or confidence from her under the circumstances in which I was placed” (Jacobs Ch. VI). Here, Jacobs reveals an understanding of the jealousy and powerlessness that Mrs. Flint feels. Jacobs claims she “could not blame her” for the feelings of jealousy because “Slaveholders’ wives feel as other women would under similar circumstances” (Jacobs Ch. VI). In acknowledging that other women would feel the same way, Jacobs makes Flint seem more relatable and less like a villain. However, Jacobs does distinguish her as a slaveholder’s wife. In doing so, Jacobs acknowledges the role Flint is playing in upholding slavery while also making room for the idea that she is a powerless victim of the system as well.
Discussion Questions:
How does Jacobs use Mrs. Flint as a tool to evoke an emotional response from white readers of different backgrounds (i.e. both white abolitionists and supporters of slavery)?
How does Jacobs’ portrayal of Mrs. Flint as a victim fit into a modern-day discussion of intersectionality?