Jacobs Journal

 

Author Quote:
"Why does the slave ever love? Why allow the tendrils of the heart to twine around objects which may at any moment be wrenched away by the hand of violence? When separations come by the hand of death, the pious soul can bow in resignation, and say, "Not my will, but thine be done, O Lord!" But when the ruthless hand of man strikes the blow, regardless of the misery he causes, it is hard to be submissive. I did not reason thus when I was a young girl. Youth will be youth. I loved and I indulged the hope that the dark clouds around me would turn out a bright lining. I forgot that in the land of my birth the shadows are too dense for light to penetrate. A land

    Where laughter is not mirth; nor thought the mind;
    Nor words a language; nor e'en men mankind.
    Where cries reply to curses, shrieks to blows,
    And each is tortured in his separate hell."

Internet Quote:

"A significant personal history by an African American woman, Harriet Jacobs’ story is as remarkable as the writer who tells it. During a time when it was unusual for slaves to read and write, self-publishing a first-hand account of slavery’s atrocities was extraordinary. That it was written by a woman, unprecedented."(harrietjacobs.org)

Summary: Jacobs questions the reader after she recalls the first person in her life that she had truly loved. 

Personal Response:

I have to say this passage captivated me the most. When she mentions the term "slave," I imagine something a little past the people that white Americans had captured and tortured years and years ago. When I read "slave" in this context, I imagine all people, because I believe that every one is a slave to something or someone. If we go back to the literal meaning of the text, we can wonder with Jacobs why the slave still loves after she is tormented. At the same time, we can wonder why we allow ourselves to be "enslaved" by a person or object, no matter how destructive it may be. She writes: " I loved and I indulged the hope that the dark clouds around me would turn out a bright lining." By this, she is indicating that, no matter how much it enslaves and chains down our hearts, minds and souls, we continue to love, and hope and believe that some day there will be a change and happiness. The change of a kind master to a cruel one in Linda's case could symbolize the turn of a good relationship to a destructive one. "When separations come by the hand of death, the pious soul can bow in resignation, and say, "'Not my will, but thine be done, O Lord!'" The ending part of this quote is from the Bible, when Jesus was being sacrificed for the sake of his current and future believers because of his unconditional love for them as sinners. The author uses this to convey the unconditional love, duty, and sacrifice that her grandmother, mother, and self had given for their masters.