The uncomfortably foreign subject of life as a slave is obviously the main emotional substance in both Douglass’ narrative and ‘Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl’. Both texts begin with a bleak story of childhood in captivity, focusing on estrangement from family. Where Frederick Douglass had no recollection of his birthday or parents, Harriet Jacobs recalls her father’s yearning to purchase his two children and free them from the family who owns them. These texts enlightened me on how brutal the conditions really were, as on top of the violence both narrators experienced they also both write about their experiences with harsh temperatures (Douglass recounting the frost that formed on his feet causing gashes big enough to hold the pen he writes with, or the summer heat from which Jacobs had no protection from except the shingles on top of her). However, where Jacobs shines new light on this subject is during her experiences in escaping her slave life. Where Douglass focuses on his learning to read in his new life, Jacobs narrates her challenges with motherhood. So much she wrote about them and her joy of hearing their sweet voices, but never actually being able to unite with them, longing for a home. “Through my peeping-hole I could watch the children, and when they were near enough, I could hear their talk.” This separation and the fondness which Jacobs describes her one-sided encounters with her children made this text hard to read. This text focuses more on the aspect of family, as Aunt Martha is Jacobs’ only real connection to a normal domestic life, offering her the luxury of stability and comfort.
Thanks for posting. The challenge of dealing with harsh temperatures is just a tiny bit of the difficulty and brutality that both Douglass and Jacobs witnessed and endured.