Harriet Jacobs Attic

Some boards were laid across the supports at the top and between these boards and the roof was a very small attic never occupied by anything but rats and mice.

Harriet jacobs attic. The book documents jacobs s life as a slave and how she gained freedom for herself and for her children. She soon ran away finding refuge in the attic of her free grandmother where she remained for seven years. For those not familiar with the life of harriet jacobs this very brief synopsis does not do justice. Her own story captured in her narrative incidents in the life of a slave girl and a 2004 biography by jean fagan yellin harriet jacobs.

Instead the narrative was published under the pseudonym linda brent the narrative s formal sometimes melodramatic style that emulates the style of 19th century romantic novels seemed totally inappropriate for its delicate subject matter. From that tiny crawl space. Finally in 1842 she escaped to a ship then to the north where she found a home in new york. Unlike conventional slave narratives incidents does not acknowledge harriet jacobs as its author.

Reaching the north in 1842 jacobs eventually found work in the antislavery reading room above frederick douglass newspaper the north star in rochester new. It was stifling in the summer and frigid in winter home to rodents and stinging insects. The harriet jacobs project at yale university includes writings by and about jacobs and a resource guide. Still according to the same principle mother and children should have.

For refusing her enslaver s sexual advances harriet jacobs in 1835 was sent from his house to his plantation. Harriet jacobs february 11 1813 march 7 1897 who was enslaved from birth. About 9 feet long 7 feet wide and 3 feet high the attic admitted no light until jacobs drilled a tiny hole. Escaping first to a swamp and then to her grandmother s house harriet jacobs hid in the attic s crawl space only nine feet long seven feet wide and three feet high for nearly seven years.

Coming up for air by harriet jacobs a small shed had been added to my grandmother s house years ago. For nearly seven years jacobs hid in her grandmother s gloomy attic a small room that was only nine feet long seven feet wide and three feet tall. Harriet jacobs was born in 1813 in edenton north carolina to delilah horniblow a slave of the horniblow family who owned a local tavern. Under the principle of partus sequitur ventrem both harriet and her brother john were enslaved at birth by the tavern keeper s family as a mother s status was passed to her children.

Incidents in the life of a slave girl written by herself is an autobiography by harriet jacobs a mother and fugitive slave published in 1861 by l. Maria child who edited the book for its author jacobs used the pseudonym linda brent. Harriet ann jacobs was born at edenton north carolina in 1813 to delilah the daughter of molly horniblow aunt martha the slave of margaret horniblow. The sexual abuse of enslaved black women.

Jacobs spends seven years hiding in her grandmother s attic where she passes the time sewing and reading the bible.