Incidents In The Life A Slave Girl Analysis

As for the treatment of the theme, Linda and Charity both make the decision to have sex before marriage. However, the way they go about it and the context of each novel makes all the difference on the reader’s perspective of the heroines. In Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Linda would have preferred to stay chaste, or at least marry her colored suitor. This is displayed when she states, “I wanted to keep myself pure; and, under the most adverse circumstances, I tried hard to preserve my self-respect; but I was struggling alone in the powerful grasp of the demon Slavery; and the monster proved too strong for me. I felt as if I was forsaken by God and man; as if all my efforts must be frustrated; and I became reckless in my despair”(69-70).
Also, on numerous occasions she speaks about how the system of slavery terminates her capability of acting with free will in society. She uses this as a way to assert some free will and make her own sexual choice, which acts as a form of resistance. She further explains this when she says, “It seems less degrading to give one’s self, than to submit to compulsion. There is something akin to freedom in having a lover who has no control over you, except that which he gains by kindness and attachment” (70). On the other hand, Charity of Summer, understood that the difference in social class between her and Lucius make the likelihood of them getting married impossible, yet she still pursues a sexual relationship with him. When she saw a diamond ring and thought about marriage, “she did not know why the thought had occurred to her. Harney would never buy her an engagement ring: they were friends and comrades, but no more” (149). Though Charity envisions herself marrying Lucius, she makes it very clear that these visions are fleeting and not likely to happen. She proves to be right when he’s said to be marrying Annabel, despite having told Charity they would get