Jacobs Omission of the Real Dr. Flint
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- Category: English: Novels
- Date Submitted: 10/18/2010 02:13 PM
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Jacobs Omission of the Real Dr. Flint
Harriet Jacobs wrote a poignant memoir about a slave girl named Linda, a character who was very close to her heart. In Jacob’s book, she addresses many harsh topics about the ways in which slaves were treated. In the book, she gives many examples of the harsh treatment of other slaves, but omits any overly abusive treatment by her own slaveholder. It is a topic that many critics have addressed, and argued that Linda was raped by her slaveholder, Dr. Flint. It is an arguable matter that Linda was in fact raped by Dr. Flint.
Although Jacobs did not say anything about rape, Linda hated Dr. Flint to very core of her being, and his lack of physical actions toward her in the text did not seem to merit her hatred to that point. In my view, Dr. Flint could very well have been a sociopath and possibly a sex addict. He fathered 11 children with other slaves, and it could be argued that he raped those women as well. It was very common for slaveholders to rape their slaves, which was not usually a secret to the entire household.
Dr. Flint even treated his own wife with such disregard, so I do not believe a man that is so incapable of having human emotion would be able to control his sexual or mental desire for Linda. To him it was all about power, and sex can be equated with power; especially the over-powering of a woman he was literally obsessed with. Throughout the book, Dr. Flint never lets Linda too far out of his sight. He even builds her a house by his plantation so that he can properly monitor her. The fact that Linda was able to actually escape and hide from him made him that much more obsessed with her.
The fact that Linda was light-skinned, beautiful and intelligent seemed to make Dr. Flint wild with desire for her. The fact that she hated him seemed to only fan the flames of desire. It was uncomfortable and uneasy to read of his meetings with her. If he wasn’t getting his way with Linda he would grow...
Harriet Jacobs wrote a poignant memoir about a slave girl named Linda, a character who was very close to her heart. In Jacob’s book, she addresses many harsh topics about the ways in which slaves were treated. In the book, she gives many examples of the harsh treatment of other slaves, but omits any overly abusive treatment by her own slaveholder. It is a topic that many critics have addressed, and argued that Linda was raped by her slaveholder, Dr. Flint. It is an arguable matter that Linda was in fact raped by Dr. Flint.
Although Jacobs did not say anything about rape, Linda hated Dr. Flint to very core of her being, and his lack of physical actions toward her in the text did not seem to merit her hatred to that point. In my view, Dr. Flint could very well have been a sociopath and possibly a sex addict. He fathered 11 children with other slaves, and it could be argued that he raped those women as well. It was very common for slaveholders to rape their slaves, which was not usually a secret to the entire household.
Dr. Flint even treated his own wife with such disregard, so I do not believe a man that is so incapable of having human emotion would be able to control his sexual or mental desire for Linda. To him it was all about power, and sex can be equated with power; especially the over-powering of a woman he was literally obsessed with. Throughout the book, Dr. Flint never lets Linda too far out of his sight. He even builds her a house by his plantation so that he can properly monitor her. The fact that Linda was able to actually escape and hide from him made him that much more obsessed with her.
The fact that Linda was light-skinned, beautiful and intelligent seemed to make Dr. Flint wild with desire for her. The fact that she hated him seemed to only fan the flames of desire. It was uncomfortable and uneasy to read of his meetings with her. If he wasn’t getting his way with Linda he would grow...