Linda's trials of girlhood

The beginning chapters of Jacobs’ novel really caught my attention. She begins the book immediately with tragic narratives and experiences of the narrator, Linda.

I was especially moved by chapter V, "The Trials of Girlhood." Linda’s experiences are heart wrenching. She is trapped in a house, powerless against her master’s aggressive sexual advances. She literally had nowhere to turn; she was not safe in her home and could not retreat to her grandmother’s home.

“But he was my master. I was compelled to live under the same roof with him where I saw a man forty years my senior daily violating the most sacred commandments of nature. He told me I was his property; that I must be subject to his will in all things. My soul revolted against the mean tyranny. But where could I turn for protection?” (Chapter V).

I felt angered by Linda’s situation. Her grandmother and her relatives held her to such high standards of keeping her “virtue” and not succumbing to vile acts, like other slave girls had done. What power did Linda have to stop her master from raping her? The answer is none, yet her grandmother expected her to be able to fight off a man who was older and stronger than her, not to mention had the law wholly on his side.

“No matter whether the slave girl be as black as ebony or as fair as her mistress. In either case, there is no shadow of law to protect her from insult, from violence, or even from death; all these are inflicted by fiends who bear the shape of men” (Chapter V).

In the later chapter where Linda gets pregnant with Mr. Sands child, her grandmother disowns her and completely banishes her from her house. I thought this was absolutely ridiculous. I didn’t understand how her grandmother could be so uncaring when Linda truly needed her. Linda was forced into a corner and was desperate to save herself from being raped by her master; having sex with Mr. Sands, someone who was actually caring, seemed to be the lesser of two evils. Her grandmother should not have expected Linda to be exempt from this fate: no slave girl could wholly escape it. I found this double standard to be foolish; instead of shaming Linda into being afraid of being honest about Dr. Flint’s sexual advances, her grandmother should have prepared her for them and how to handle them.

On a side note, this is exactly how I feel about sexual education in schools. It is better to be open about the facts and realistic about what is going on, rather than preaching about virtues and hiding the consequences of sex from students. If they can be knowledgeable, they can be safe. However, if all they’ve ever been taught is abstinence, they’ll have no idea how to handle sexual situations that they WILL get into before marriage.

Going back to Jacobs’ book and Linda’s situation – if her grandmother had prepared her better for her master’s sexual aggression, Linda might not have been so desperate as to have sex with Mr. Sands. She might have been able to seek some sort of protection from her grandmother or a better way to handle with situation.