Passage In The Slave Girl's Life Chapter Summary
In the chapter, A Perilous Passage in the Slave Girl’s Life, Brent’s lover has tried and failed to buy her from master. Dr. Flint now implements new schemes in attempts to woo Linda into sexual obedience. He now is offering to build a home in the woods, where he could make her into a “lady” but she has a different plan. Later in the chapter Brent meets Mr. Sands, a white lawyer who has shown much attention in her. She decides to consent to be his mistress in the hopes that he will buy her from Dr. Flint. She becomes pregnant by Mr. Sands and gives birth to her first child, not mentioning the name of the father to Dr. Flint nor her grandmother. When Linda tried to explain the situation to her grandmother she get choked up, leading her grandmother
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Flint proclaims that he will take Linda’s life is she comes back to the main house. Dr. Flint is still abusive to Brent one incident he throws her down the stairs and cuts her hair in a fiery rage when he finds out she is pregnant again. “When Dr. Flint learned that I was again to be a mother, he was exasperated beyond measure. He rushed from the house, and returned with a pair of shears. I had fine head of hair; and he often railed about the pride of my arranging it nicely. He cut every hair close to my head, storming and swearing all the time. I replied to some of his abuse, and he struck me.” (Jacobs 830) Brent later gives birth again to a baby girl, Ellen. The narrative shows the reader that Brent is not free to choose her own path in life, but is forced and led by Dr. Flint. Linda centers on the new sufferings she is forced to endure as the mother of two children. She is especially troubled at the birth of her daughter, because she realizes that, as a girl, the child will be forced to follow in her mother’s footsteps: "When they told me my new-born babe was a girl, my heart was heavier than it had ever been before. Slavery is terrible for men; but it is far more terrible for women." (Jacobs 830) Not even as a mother could Brent truly protect her children from harm’s way, leaving her
Flint proclaims that he will take Linda’s life is she comes back to the main house. Dr. Flint is still abusive to Brent one incident he throws her down the stairs and cuts her hair in a fiery rage when he finds out she is pregnant again. “When Dr. Flint learned that I was again to be a mother, he was exasperated beyond measure. He rushed from the house, and returned with a pair of shears. I had fine head of hair; and he often railed about the pride of my arranging it nicely. He cut every hair close to my head, storming and swearing all the time. I replied to some of his abuse, and he struck me.” (Jacobs 830) Brent later gives birth again to a baby girl, Ellen. The narrative shows the reader that Brent is not free to choose her own path in life, but is forced and led by Dr. Flint. Linda centers on the new sufferings she is forced to endure as the mother of two children. She is especially troubled at the birth of her daughter, because she realizes that, as a girl, the child will be forced to follow in her mother’s footsteps: "When they told me my new-born babe was a girl, my heart was heavier than it had ever been before. Slavery is terrible for men; but it is far more terrible for women." (Jacobs 830) Not even as a mother could Brent truly protect her children from harm’s way, leaving her