"With Deliberate Calculation": The Adaptation of Sentimental Conventions in Harriet Jacobs' Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to describe and analyze the conventions of sentimental literature used by Harriet Jacobs in her slave narrative, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl.

The work begins with a review of the historical and literary context in which Jacobs wrote. Chapter One contains a brief history of the slave narrative and its connection to the sentimental tradition and a discussion of the differences between male and female narratives, with a focus on Jacobs' work. Chapter Two deals with the various forms of the sentimental novel, including themes, plots, and stereotypes. Chapter Three describes how Jacobs adapts images of women and domesticity to her own life. Chapter Four analyzes Jacobs' manipulation of the seduction plot to reject the passive heroine and create a positive female protagonist. Chapter Five focuses on the conventions of womanhood and motherhood that Jacobs uses to tell of her heroine's struggle for survival as a woman and a mother.

The conclusion of this study is that Jacobs may have intentionally imitated the style of sentimental fiction. By casting her persona, Linda Brent, in the role of sentimental heroine, she could subvert familiar conventions to present the black slave woman as a positive figure.