Student Question
What challenges did Linda Brent face under Flint in Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl?
Quick answer:
Linda Brent faced numerous challenges under the Flints, rooted in the cruelty of slavery. She endured inadequate clothing and food, constant threats, and the jealousy of Mrs. Flint, who subjected her to harsh punishments. The greatest challenge was Dr. Flint's sexual exploitation, which began when she was fifteen. He used threats and verbal abuse to assert his control over her. Linda's attempt to marry a freed slave was met with violence and threats, highlighting her lack of autonomy and rights.
The challenges that Linda Brent experienced in the Flint household are rooted in slavery's cruelty.
As early as the second chapter, Linda Brent gives glimpses of these challenges. She talks about the "scanty wardrobe" that Mrs. Flint gives to her. Additionally, Brent was "frequently threatened with punishment" even though she was so very young. While she "could catch a bit of food," she was not given full meals. These challenging realities remind the reader how slavery was predicated upon cruelty to even the smallest of children.
In Chapter 4, Brent details the challenge of living with the jealous Mrs. Flint. Her vengeful nature can be seen when she orders Linda to not wear her shoes because of the sound they make on the creaking floorboards. However, this was not the last in her display of power:
She then sent me a long distance, on an errand. As I went through...
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the snow, my bare feet tingled. That night I was very hoarse; and I went to bed thinking the next day would find me sick, perhaps dead.
Mrs. Flint's cruel wrath proves to be a challenge for Linda while living in the Flint household.
However, the greatest challenge for Linda was the master of the house, Dr. Flint. In chapter 5, Linda turns fifteen, representing "a sad epoch in the life of a slave girl." She lives under constant sexual exploitation from Dr. Flint. This challenge took on different forms. Some of it involved inappropriate speech, as Dr. Flint would "whisper foul words" to Linda. It continued with his repeated reminders that she was "his property" and that she must "be subject to his will in all things." Linda describes how such a challenge escalated over time:
She [The slave girl] listens to violent outbreaks of jealous passion, and cannot help understanding what is the cause. She will become prematurely knowing in evil things. Soon she will learn to tremble when she hears her master's footfall. She will be compelled to realize that she is no longer a child. If God has bestowed beauty upon her, it will prove her greatest curse.
Any time she voiced objection, Dr. Flint "swore" he would kill Linda if she "was not as silent as the grave." The challenge of sexual exploitation is another dimension to slavery's cruelty. It represents one of the most difficult challenges that Linda had to face while living under Flint.
In Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, describe an average day for Linda Brent.
Just to take one example, note how Linda is treated when she tells Flint, her owner, about her plan to marry a freed slave in Chapter Seven. When she tells Flint about her plan to marry, he first hits her, jumping on her "like a tiger" and giving her a "stunning blow" and then threatens her, shouting at her with the following words:
By heavens, girl, you forget yourself too far! Are you mad? If you are, I will soon bring you to your senses. Do you think that any other master would bear what I have borne from you this morning? Many masters would have killed you on the spot. How would you like to be sent to jail for your insolence?
This, then, is an example of the kind of treatment Linda experienced every day. She is forcibly reminded of her complete lack of rights, her lack of any ability to make decisions about her own life and destiny without permission from her master, and also her lack of power in a world where she is nothing more than a possession to be disposed of as her master wills. This is the reality of life for Linda that is communicated to the reader.