Comparing Wells Brown And Harriet Jacobs: Incidents In The Life Of A Slave Girl
The Battle of the Mulatto
There is nothing more important to a woman than having the freedom to do as she pleases. It is an unexplainable feeling tingling on the inside of a person that is held captive against one’s will or bound to a master like a slave. Being bound by a slave master is horrible but being a woman of mixed color during that time can be detrimental to one’s soul. It is disheartening to a woman to be bound to her master in ways other than a servant. There were two narratives that tell of individual struggles of mulatto women bound under the control of another human being. Although the women in William Wells Brown Clotel; or, The President’s Daughter and Harriet Jacobs: Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl undergo drastically …show more content…
different journeys that led to similar endings, Brown and Jacobs both use mulatto women to demonstrate the treatment the mulatto women received and proves that mulatto women struggled as much as the other negroes did during slavery.
Slavery was prominent among African Americans in the past. Both African American men and women were owned mainly by Caucasian men. Slaves were bound to the master and had to submit to whatever was ordered by the master at the time. Although women are considered to be inferior to men, women bound by slavery did not receive different treatment than the men. The duties were one in the same in the plantation unless the woman was pregnant or nursing; Women not only had to submit to the master for slave duties but also had to submit to the master when asked for sex. Sexual relations between a slave and a slave master were prominent during the days of slavery.
Mulatto women were the results of the slave masters and slaves having relationships. Mulatto women are “women of mixed race that share a Caucasian father with an African American woman” (Brown 628). The fair appearance of the Mulatto woman made it difficult for the woman to live a normal life. The Mulatto children were often mistreated because inter racial relationships were frowned upon during those times. Although the woman is of a very light complexion she was treated the same if not worse than other slaves. The Mulatto woman was often seduced by the master for sex. This usually occurred with each master the woman was sold to. It was difficult for the woman because could not turn the master down for sex or she would be threatened to be sold or returned to the plantation.
In William Wells Brown narrative “Clotel: or The President’s Daughter written by Himself” Brown introduces the image of the tragic mulatto. The tragic mulatto is “a character of mixed race, mainly African American mixed with Caucasian, who is torn between the two races and whose life ends tragically” (Brown 628). Clotel was one of the main characters in the narrative. She was a mulatto woman fathered by President Thomas Jefferson and an African American mulatto woman named Currer (Lepore). Brown uses this to illustrate that the slaveholders were having sexual relations with the slaves. Clotel being fathered by President Jefferson shows that those with power and in the spotlight had African American mistresses, although it was looked down upon and not allowed during that time. Clotel was considered to be a “tragic mulatto” because she later committed suicide. Jill Lepore discusses President Jefferson’s relationship with the slaves under his authority and the effect of being a mulatto had on his daughter’s life. She elaborates and the suicide of Clotel and states “upon seeing she is trapped, she leaps into the Potomac to her death to prevent from being sold back into slavery” (Lepore). Although Brown introduces the tragic mulatto not all of the women in the narrative die tragically. Clotel’s daughter Mary was not a tragic mulatto figure in Browns narrative. In fact, the story ends with “Clotel’s daughter Mary ultimately marries the light skinned George Green, a fugitive slave with whom she is providentially re-united i France after a ten-year separation” (Gates and MacKay 345).
While Brown’s main focus is the tragic mulattos he also has an alternate depiction of the mulattos in his work: a slave woman housed in a cottage isolated from everyone else at the request of her master which is a white male. Brown demonstrates the lives of the mistresses being bound to the slaveholders. The mistresses were placed in cottages away from everyone to protect them and to allow the slaveholder to come and go as he pleases. The cottages were used as a bribe to ensure the slaveholders that the mistress would remain with them as long as the cottage was in the mistress possession. Clotel caught the eye of a white guy by the name of Horatio Green who promises to make her the “mistress of her own dwelling” (Gates and MacKay 329). Clotel was placed on a chopping block along with her mother and sister after President Jefferson died. Clotel was purchased by Horatio who keeps his promise of providing her with a cottage (Gates and MacKay 330). According to Brown the cottage was in a secluded area away from everyone because inter racial relationships as well as marriages between a slave and master were not allowed. It appeared that Horatio and Clotel were happy until Horatio decided to run for a political position. He had to marry a woman of Caucasian race in order to obtain a political position. Currer, the mother of Clotel also resided in a cottage and was abandoned by her lover for political reasons. The slaveholders would bribe the mulatto women with cottages. The women would fall in love with the masters and have children. The masters would abandon the mulatto women when pursuing political endeavors.
In addition to William Wells Brown, Harriet Jacobs imitates the images of mulatto women in cottages.
Jacobs relives her personal experience as a slave. She remembers the countless acts of sexual advances towards her by the slave master whom she resided with at the time. Therefore, she can relate to the women that were experiencing being seduced by their owners having to give in to them and have sexual intercourse with them. In her narrative Jacobs discusses “the sexual abuse she endured while in slavery” …show more content…
(Britannica).
In Harriet Jacobs narrative “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl written by Herself”, narrated by Linda Brent, Jacobs also imitates the life of the mulatto woman in the cottages. Cottages were also used in this narrative as a bribe for the women. The slave holders did not want to be turned down by the women; therefore they used the tactic of making them a lady by having their own dwelling place. The cottages were built away from everyone so that the mistress could be comfortable and protected. Jacobs discusses an African American girl named Linda that is being seduced by her slave master unsuccessfully. Linda is afraid of Dr. Flint’s wife and is also interested in a guy that is free and is in her own race. Dr. Flint offers Linda a cottage of her own. Linda gets pregnant and moves in the cottage under the condition that she will not see the child’s father again; Dr. Flint states that he will “build a small house, for me in a secluded place, four miles away from the town (Gates and MacKay 289). Linda refuses the offer of Dr. Flint. Dr. Flint advises Linda that he will send her to the plantation. Linda takes him up on his offer to protect her children. While residing in the cottage she stages her escape.
It is obvious that there are striking similarities between the mulattos in William Brown’s Clotel: or The President’s Daughter and Harriet Jacobs “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl”.
Jacobs’s narrative echoed Clotel’s story. The women in both narratives received a bribe from the slave masters. It was obvious that becoming a “lady” and having a dwelling place such as a cottage was a major incentive to the mulatto women. In both narratives the cottages were in areas far away from everyone so that the mistress and the master can have a peaceful relationship. Both Clotel and Linda were sixteen when offered a dwelling place. It appeared that the mulatto women were more attractive than the slaves that were not of a mixed race. The mulatto women had to deal with the constant sexual advances from the
masters.
William Wells Brown and Harriet Jacobs criticized the treatment mulatto women received from their slave masters and others in society. Women of mixed race were not accepted openly and were often mistreated. The appearance of the mulatto woman was very beautiful causing them to catch the eye of white masters. The women had to deal with the constant sexual advances from the masters. There were times that they were forced into sexual intercourse as well as times they had fallen in love with the master. It was common for the mulatto woman to be abandoned by the lover to pursue political endeavors. The mulatto woman mainly carried the title as the mistress and could never fully become the wife of a slave master because it was not allowed during that time. The women endured a lot of sexual abuse due to the fair skin color. One would think that the mulatto would be treated better than a fully African American slave but unfortunately the mulattos were not treated any better. Some mulatto’s lives ended tragically due to the ongoing issues that were faced daily while other mulattos dealt with living the life as a mistress in a dwelling place of her own, known as a cottage.
Word Count 1608
Works Cited
Brown, Sterling “The Negro Character as Seen By White Authors” The New Cavalcade:
African American Writing from 1760 to the Present. Vol. 1. Eds. Arthur P. Davis, J.Saunders Redding and Joyce Ann Joyce. Washington D.C.: Howard University Press,1991. 607-39. Print
Brown William Wells. “Clotel; or, The Presidents Daughter.” The Norton Anthology of
AfricanAmerican Literature. Ed. Julia Reidhead. New York: W.W. Norton & Company Inc.,2004. 325-345. Print.
"Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica, 2011. 16 Apr. 2011. Web.
Jacobs, Harriet. “The Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl.” The Norton Anthology of
AfricanAmerican Literature. Ed. Julia Reidhead. New York: W.W. Norton & Company Inc.,2004. 280-315. Print.
Lepore, Jill. "PRESIDENT TOM'S CABIN." New Yorker 84.29 (2008): 86-91. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. 16 Apr. 2011. Web.
There is nothing more important to a woman than having the freedom to do as she pleases. It is an unexplainable feeling tingling on the inside of a person that is held captive against one’s will or bound to a master like a slave. Being bound by a slave master is horrible but being a woman of mixed color during that time can be detrimental to one’s soul. It is disheartening to a woman to be bound to her master in ways other than a servant. There were two narratives that tell of individual struggles of mulatto women bound under the control of another human being. Although the women in William Wells Brown Clotel; or, The President’s Daughter and Harriet Jacobs: Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl undergo drastically …show more content…
different journeys that led to similar endings, Brown and Jacobs both use mulatto women to demonstrate the treatment the mulatto women received and proves that mulatto women struggled as much as the other negroes did during slavery.
Slavery was prominent among African Americans in the past. Both African American men and women were owned mainly by Caucasian men. Slaves were bound to the master and had to submit to whatever was ordered by the master at the time. Although women are considered to be inferior to men, women bound by slavery did not receive different treatment than the men. The duties were one in the same in the plantation unless the woman was pregnant or nursing; Women not only had to submit to the master for slave duties but also had to submit to the master when asked for sex. Sexual relations between a slave and a slave master were prominent during the days of slavery.
Mulatto women were the results of the slave masters and slaves having relationships. Mulatto women are “women of mixed race that share a Caucasian father with an African American woman” (Brown 628). The fair appearance of the Mulatto woman made it difficult for the woman to live a normal life. The Mulatto children were often mistreated because inter racial relationships were frowned upon during those times. Although the woman is of a very light complexion she was treated the same if not worse than other slaves. The Mulatto woman was often seduced by the master for sex. This usually occurred with each master the woman was sold to. It was difficult for the woman because could not turn the master down for sex or she would be threatened to be sold or returned to the plantation.
In William Wells Brown narrative “Clotel: or The President’s Daughter written by Himself” Brown introduces the image of the tragic mulatto. The tragic mulatto is “a character of mixed race, mainly African American mixed with Caucasian, who is torn between the two races and whose life ends tragically” (Brown 628). Clotel was one of the main characters in the narrative. She was a mulatto woman fathered by President Thomas Jefferson and an African American mulatto woman named Currer (Lepore). Brown uses this to illustrate that the slaveholders were having sexual relations with the slaves. Clotel being fathered by President Jefferson shows that those with power and in the spotlight had African American mistresses, although it was looked down upon and not allowed during that time. Clotel was considered to be a “tragic mulatto” because she later committed suicide. Jill Lepore discusses President Jefferson’s relationship with the slaves under his authority and the effect of being a mulatto had on his daughter’s life. She elaborates and the suicide of Clotel and states “upon seeing she is trapped, she leaps into the Potomac to her death to prevent from being sold back into slavery” (Lepore). Although Brown introduces the tragic mulatto not all of the women in the narrative die tragically. Clotel’s daughter Mary was not a tragic mulatto figure in Browns narrative. In fact, the story ends with “Clotel’s daughter Mary ultimately marries the light skinned George Green, a fugitive slave with whom she is providentially re-united i France after a ten-year separation” (Gates and MacKay 345).
While Brown’s main focus is the tragic mulattos he also has an alternate depiction of the mulattos in his work: a slave woman housed in a cottage isolated from everyone else at the request of her master which is a white male. Brown demonstrates the lives of the mistresses being bound to the slaveholders. The mistresses were placed in cottages away from everyone to protect them and to allow the slaveholder to come and go as he pleases. The cottages were used as a bribe to ensure the slaveholders that the mistress would remain with them as long as the cottage was in the mistress possession. Clotel caught the eye of a white guy by the name of Horatio Green who promises to make her the “mistress of her own dwelling” (Gates and MacKay 329). Clotel was placed on a chopping block along with her mother and sister after President Jefferson died. Clotel was purchased by Horatio who keeps his promise of providing her with a cottage (Gates and MacKay 330). According to Brown the cottage was in a secluded area away from everyone because inter racial relationships as well as marriages between a slave and master were not allowed. It appeared that Horatio and Clotel were happy until Horatio decided to run for a political position. He had to marry a woman of Caucasian race in order to obtain a political position. Currer, the mother of Clotel also resided in a cottage and was abandoned by her lover for political reasons. The slaveholders would bribe the mulatto women with cottages. The women would fall in love with the masters and have children. The masters would abandon the mulatto women when pursuing political endeavors.
In addition to William Wells Brown, Harriet Jacobs imitates the images of mulatto women in cottages.
Jacobs relives her personal experience as a slave. She remembers the countless acts of sexual advances towards her by the slave master whom she resided with at the time. Therefore, she can relate to the women that were experiencing being seduced by their owners having to give in to them and have sexual intercourse with them. In her narrative Jacobs discusses “the sexual abuse she endured while in slavery” …show more content…
(Britannica).
In Harriet Jacobs narrative “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl written by Herself”, narrated by Linda Brent, Jacobs also imitates the life of the mulatto woman in the cottages. Cottages were also used in this narrative as a bribe for the women. The slave holders did not want to be turned down by the women; therefore they used the tactic of making them a lady by having their own dwelling place. The cottages were built away from everyone so that the mistress could be comfortable and protected. Jacobs discusses an African American girl named Linda that is being seduced by her slave master unsuccessfully. Linda is afraid of Dr. Flint’s wife and is also interested in a guy that is free and is in her own race. Dr. Flint offers Linda a cottage of her own. Linda gets pregnant and moves in the cottage under the condition that she will not see the child’s father again; Dr. Flint states that he will “build a small house, for me in a secluded place, four miles away from the town (Gates and MacKay 289). Linda refuses the offer of Dr. Flint. Dr. Flint advises Linda that he will send her to the plantation. Linda takes him up on his offer to protect her children. While residing in the cottage she stages her escape.
It is obvious that there are striking similarities between the mulattos in William Brown’s Clotel: or The President’s Daughter and Harriet Jacobs “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl”.
Jacobs’s narrative echoed Clotel’s story. The women in both narratives received a bribe from the slave masters. It was obvious that becoming a “lady” and having a dwelling place such as a cottage was a major incentive to the mulatto women. In both narratives the cottages were in areas far away from everyone so that the mistress and the master can have a peaceful relationship. Both Clotel and Linda were sixteen when offered a dwelling place. It appeared that the mulatto women were more attractive than the slaves that were not of a mixed race. The mulatto women had to deal with the constant sexual advances from the
masters.
William Wells Brown and Harriet Jacobs criticized the treatment mulatto women received from their slave masters and others in society. Women of mixed race were not accepted openly and were often mistreated. The appearance of the mulatto woman was very beautiful causing them to catch the eye of white masters. The women had to deal with the constant sexual advances from the masters. There were times that they were forced into sexual intercourse as well as times they had fallen in love with the master. It was common for the mulatto woman to be abandoned by the lover to pursue political endeavors. The mulatto woman mainly carried the title as the mistress and could never fully become the wife of a slave master because it was not allowed during that time. The women endured a lot of sexual abuse due to the fair skin color. One would think that the mulatto would be treated better than a fully African American slave but unfortunately the mulattos were not treated any better. Some mulatto’s lives ended tragically due to the ongoing issues that were faced daily while other mulattos dealt with living the life as a mistress in a dwelling place of her own, known as a cottage.
Word Count 1608
Works Cited
Brown, Sterling “The Negro Character as Seen By White Authors” The New Cavalcade:
African American Writing from 1760 to the Present. Vol. 1. Eds. Arthur P. Davis, J.Saunders Redding and Joyce Ann Joyce. Washington D.C.: Howard University Press,1991. 607-39. Print
Brown William Wells. “Clotel; or, The Presidents Daughter.” The Norton Anthology of
AfricanAmerican Literature. Ed. Julia Reidhead. New York: W.W. Norton & Company Inc.,2004. 325-345. Print.
"Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica, 2011. 16 Apr. 2011. Web.
Jacobs, Harriet. “The Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl.” The Norton Anthology of
AfricanAmerican Literature. Ed. Julia Reidhead. New York: W.W. Norton & Company Inc.,2004. 280-315. Print.
Lepore, Jill. "PRESIDENT TOM'S CABIN." New Yorker 84.29 (2008): 86-91. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. 16 Apr. 2011. Web.