Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Written by Herself

8 ways to start a deeper conversation.

Contains spoilers for the entire book.

Discussion topics

Topic 01 of 08

Why do you think Jacobs wrote under the name Linda Brent and changed the names of others?

There is no single right answer. Bring your own reading.

Why do you think Jacobs wrote under the name Linda Brent and changed the names of others?
Keep the conversation going
- What does her preface ask of readers?
- Who was she writing for?
What did Linda's early childhood, believing herself free, mean to her later?
Keep the conversation going
- What did her grandmother mean to her?
- How did her first mistress's will betray her?
How does Jacobs describe Dr Flint's pursuit of her, and what does it reveal about slavery?
Keep the conversation going
- Why couldn't the law protect her?
- What does Mrs Flint's jealousy show?
How did you respond to Linda's choice to take Mr Sands as a lover?
Keep the conversation going
- Why does she ask readers not to judge her by the standards of free women?
- What did it give her, and cost her?
How do Linda's children shape her decisions?
Keep the conversation going
- What did she risk for them?
- How did you feel about how Mr Sands treated his promises?
How did you respond to Linda's years hidden in her grandmother's tiny garret?
Keep the conversation going
- What kept her going?
- What did she see through the hole she bored in the wall?
What did Linda find when she reached the North?
Keep the conversation going
- Was she truly free there?
- What did the Fugitive Slave Law mean for her?
How did you feel about her ending 'with freedom; not in the usual way, with marriage'?
Keep the conversation going
- Why did she resent being bought, even to free her?
- What does her account ask of readers today?

There is no single right answer. Bring your own reading.