Directions:
Watch the two videos below and answer ONE of the questions listed at the bottom of the post as a comment reply of 2-3 sentences. Due Thursday, June 15, by the start of class. Remember this is effort based so even though the ideas are pretty advanced, I want to see a good try of thinking with them and we can discuss replies in class.
Below is a video lecture focused on “the cult of true womanhood,” a cultural idea about gender expectations and roles in the 19th and early 20th century (also referred to as the Victorian period. The video is 11 mins long.
Below is a 12 min video on Hortense Spillers’s black feminist concept of the “captive body” and how gender differences to lost to the slave during the Middle Passage or when one becomes a slave. This lecture is based on Spiller’s seminal Black feminist and Black studies essay accessible online “Mama’s Baby, Papa’s Maybe: An American Grammar.”
Answer ONE of the following as a comment reply of 2-3 sentences:
- How can the “cult of true womanhood” help us think about Linda’s boundaries and the way she affirms herself? Are there limitations to Linda’s focus on being virtuous?
- What is the difference between women and men according to the true cult of womanhood? What are the expectations for women versus men or gender roles?
- What does Hortense Spillers mean when she says “the captive body” loses gender? Why might this loss help us think about what Harriet Jacobs creates or tries to salvage for herself as she tries to fit into ideal forms of womanhood (e.g. wife and mother)?
- What does Harriet Jacobs mean that there is no custom or law to protect the slave woman?
- What do we start to notice or think about when we recognize how Linda hides herself in her grandmother’s garrett (a kind of attic)? What does Linda become in the space of the garret?
2. Women were assigned the primary role of domesticity. They were expected to excel in household tasks such as cooking, cleaning, child-rearing, and managing the household. Their worth and success were often measured by their ability to create a warm and nurturing home environment for their families.
In contrast, men were expected to embody characteristics associated with strength, assertiveness, and the role of the provider. They were expected to be the breadwinners of the family, responsible for earning a living and financially supporting their households. Men were seen as the leaders and decision-makers, both within the family and in society.
What does Harriet Jacobs mean that there is no custom or law to protect the slave woman?
There were no social or legal frameworks in existence during the institution of slavery to address the mental and spiritual health of enslaved women. They were not allowed to follow their own religious convictions, openly express their emotions, or find peace and comfort in the ways that meant something to them Instead, they were frequently compelled to follow the religious customs and beliefs that their owners imposed upon them.
Additionally, enslaved women frequently lived apart from their families, lived in continual fear and uncertainty, and were the targets of abuse and brutality.
How can the “cult of true womanhood” help us think about Linda’s boundaries and the way she affirms herself? Are there limitations to Linda’s focus on being virtuous?
Harriet Jacobs, also known as Linda, courageously challenges the expectations of piety, purity, submissiveness, and domesticity imposed on women, particularly enslaved women, during her time. By continuously refusing to submit to her master’s will she defies the dehumanizing nature of slavery and asserts her strength and resilience. She uses her voice to speak up despite the anger and consequences it causes her. When her purity is forcibly taken away, she then asserts control over her own body and takes agency in choosing her next partner as a means to reclaim her sense of self.
However, it is crucial to recognize that her actions are shaped by the oppressive environment in which her freedom and autonomy are violated. It is difficult to fully comprehend the extent of her character outside of the context of abuse and the intersecting forces of slavery and sexism.
5. What do we start to notice or think about when we recognize how Linda hides herself in her grandmother’s garret (a kind of attic)? What does Linda become in the space of the garret?
While reading about Linda’s time in the garret one of the things that stood out to me the most was the way her family starts to treat her. It is almost like she reverts back to being a very young child. So much of Linda’s childhood was stripped away from her but once she hides in the garret she has to rely on her family to take care of her when she is sick, to feed her, and to make sure she is safe. In some ways they have to care for her the same way one would care for a small child. I think the garret can symbolize many things but what sticks out to me the most is the symbol of motherhood. The garret allows Linda to mother in a way that ensures her children’s freedom, it allows her to be mothered, and when Linda leaves the garret she is a new and more free person (rebirth).
2) What is the difference between women and men according to the true cult of womanhood? What are the expectations for women versus men or gender roles?
According to the true cult of womanhood, women are expected to be pure and untouchable. This meant that she would stay at home with children and be in charge of household duties while the man has to provide and establish social connections. This reminds me of an often reoccurring motif of the woman looking through the glass window. In which women are depicted looking though a window but instead it feels more like they are imprisoned by the gender roles imposed by them (aka not being truly independent in society).
2. The difference between women and men according to the true cult of womanhood is that the woman are separated from the outside world and the man is expected to take care of the economic world outside. Women are expected to stay at home, and take care of the children versus the men’s role is to work, and provide for the family. This is what’s ideal and shows high status.
2. What is the difference between women and men according to the true cult of womanhood? What are the expectations for women versus men or gender roles?
The difference between men and women in accordance with the cult of true womanhood in an idealized version of feminity when it comes to white women. She is meant to rear children and remain firmly inside the home, not concerning herself with the gathering of financial and social capital outside the home, like her male counterpart who is free to gather both and is expected to as the ‘provider’. Within the white capitalist society, this structure is integral to the subjugation of women, furthered even more on black women due to intersectionality and the emotional and physical labor they are forced to perform as slaves.
What does Harriet Jacobs mean that there is no custom or law to protect the slave woman?
Female slaves were not more than “animals” or “objects” that could be treated as their masters pleased. The fact that sexual abuse against women was not considered a crime is a significant aspect of the dehumanization and objectification of enslaved women. Female slaves did not only have to endure sexual abuse from white males but they were also denied the opportunity to speak up for rape was not a crime. It is so ironic how white males were not condemned for raping enslaved women but enslaved women were condemned if they were to say who the father of their child/children was. Finally, it is absolutely devastating how the rape of enslaved women was so normalized at that time. This normalcy gave even more power to white masters while it destroyed enslaved women’s life. This led them to internalize feelings of disgust and degradation for not being able to defend themselves against their oppressor and having to play the role of a “submissive woman” against their will. Since no laws protect Linda from her master, she finds her own solution. This gives her some agency for she decides who the father of her children will be.
What does Harriet Jacobs mean that there is no custom or law to protect the slave woman?
Slave women really had it tough because when you talk about rights, they really didn’t have anything. I remember the text talking about during New Years, them having days off. However, for the work they did, the days wouldn’t add up. In general, slave women did not have any rights for their protection. Their jobs were to please their “master” with anything and everything. The fact that even sexual abuse wouldn’t even be considered a crime displays a huge matter for slaved women. The salves women would be brutally punished as if they weren’t humans, but some sort of animals if they were to make a mistake. With salve women, the ideology was followed that everything in the house was to be taken care of, such as cooking, cleaning, taking care of children etc. This is difficult when slave women would be separated from their families when they are bought by masters.
Harriet Jacobs means, by highlighting the lack of law of custom protecting the slave woman because there straight up isn’t one. The idea of slave men, slave women, or slave children needing protection by law is a concept that has blossomed in the minds of too few and smells foul to most those with the power to do it. And custom … why would there be a societal custom to protect someone who does not exist in society (yet)?
2. In the 19th and early 20th century, the cultural idea of gender expectations and roles for women, often referred to as the “cult of true womanhood”, was prevalent during the Victorian period. This concept emphasized specific virtues and expectations for women, setting them apart from men. The domestic sphere was considered the natural domain of women. Their primary role was to create a nurturing and harmonious home environment for their families. Women were expected to excel in household management, cooking, cleaning, and child-rearing. These gender roles and expectations confined women to the private sphere, emphasizing their roles as wives, mothers, and homemakers, while men were the bread winners.
One thing we notice when Linda hides herself in her grandmother’s garret is the paradox of freedom. Previously she was under the control and confinement of Dr. Flint and constantly at risk of being sexually assaulted and always being sexually harassed by him. Yet, she had more physical space than she did in the garret, and although enslaved she was not in hiding. However, to be “free” from the abuse of Dr. Flint and eventually her enslavement she has to physically confine herself to an extremely small space. She also has the freedom to watch her kids and have their freedom from enslavement, yet she can not directly interact with them. She must sacrifice certain freedoms in her life to gain freedom from the abuses and horrors she was previously experiencing.
What do we start to notice or think about when we recognize how Linda hides herself in her grandmother’s garrett (a kind of attic)? What does Linda become in the space of the garret?
When Linda hides herself in her grandmother’s garrett we begin to notice, to what extremes she is willing to go in order to avoid Dr. Flint’s advances. In the Garret Linda becomes free or at least she has some semblance of it. Despite the size of the garrett she is free to do what she pleases while still keeping a watchful eye on her children. In a way Harriet resembles Anne Frank who similarly survived persecution in an attic.
4- What does Harriet Jacobs mean that there is no custom or law to protect the slave woman?
Harriet Jacobs, in her autobiographical narrative “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl,” highlights the lack of legal and societal protections for enslaved women. She means that there were no established customs or laws in place during that time to safeguard the rights, dignity, and well-being of enslaved women.
Enslaved women were at the mercy of their enslavers and the broader system of slavery, which denied them basic human rights and subjected them to various forms of exploitation and abuse. They lacked legal recourse and protection against the mistreatment they endured, particularly in relation to their status as enslaved individuals.
The absence of customs or laws to protect enslaved women meant that they were vulnerable to sexual exploitation, physical violence, family separation, and other injustices without any legal means of seeking redress. They were treated as property, stripped of agency, and denied the fundamental rights and protections that would be accorded to free individuals.
Jacobs’ assertion highlights the systemic injustice of slavery, which perpetuated a complete disregard for the well-being and rights of enslaved women. It underscores the profound power imbalance and dehumanization that characterized the institution of slavery, leaving enslaved women without legal recourse or societal protections against the abuses they endured.
2) What is the difference between women and men according to the true cult of womanhood? What are the expectations for women versus men or gender roles?
The difference of women and men according to the cult of true womenhood, is that women were suppose to be inside taking care the children. This would be considerated a role or an attribute for women. And for men are supposed to be in politics and sociable outside the home. This challenges the women intelligence and women freedom.
And for the expectation for women versus men, is for the women to be married, have children, and does not interact with the outside world. However, For the husband, is able to go outside and come back inside, hence able to interact with society.
These were the standards within the 19th century that were not questioned.
Question 2
What is the difference between women and men according to the true cult of according to the True Cult of Woman? What are the expectations for versus men gender roles?
The difference between women and men according to the True Cult of Womanhood is based on the roles each had to play in society. The role of a woman was to be married and have children. If you had status you did not work. It was the woman’s responsibility to take care of the home. It was not the woman’s place to involve in politics or business. The male role in this system involved being outside the home. He may be a successful businessman, a politician, or a planter but the home was the woman’s domain. The True Cult of Womanhood was created from a male perspective.
The expectations of men were that they would be hunters, soldiers, farmers, businessmen, and politicians and they would rule society. The role of women was to be married, and a mother and the home were the women’s domain. She was expected to cook, sew and take care of the children. She was considered to have less intellect than her male counterpart. A single woman who had to work was considered one without status and some manner morally inferior.
Question 4
What does Harriet Jacob mean that there is no custom or law to protect slave women?
As mentioned in the video in the 19th century rape was defined as the forcible carnal knowledge of a female against her will and without her consent. On the other hand, the attempted rape of an enslaved woman was an offense neither recognized nor legislated by law. This law excused white culpability because of the highly sexual nature of enslaved women and because of this, there is no rape. In order to recognize a rape of an enslaved woman first you have to consider her a human being of equal status. The unprotected laws embolden White men to rape enslaved women. In their minds these women were some sex crave beings that drew white men to attack them. In reality, it was an exercise of power and control by the oppressor to take what he wanted when he wanted.
2) What is the difference between women and men according to the true cult of womanhood? What are the expectations for women versus men or gender roles?
According to the true cult of womanhood, women are expected to be pure and untouchable. This meant that she would stay at home with children and be in charge of household duties while the man has to provide and establish social connections. This reminds me of an often reoccurring motif of the woman looking through the glass window. In which women are depicted looking though a window but instead it feels more like they are imprisoned by the gender roles imposed by them (aka not being truly independent in society).
What do we start to notice or think about when we recognize how Linda hides herself in her grandmother’s garrett (a kind of attic)? What does Linda become in the space of the garret?
When Linda is in between spaces she gets the opportunity to feel a degree of freedom, to be alone with herself and away from the harm that awaits her when she comes across Dr. Flint. I say a degree of freedom because in reality there are only ounces of time when she can be free of violation. When Linda hides in the attic it shows how heavy the harm is on her body and self, she is attempting to find refugee within the spaces she is allowed to be in.
5. What do we start to notice or think about when we recognize how Linda hides herself in her grandmother’s garrett (a kind of attic)? What does Linda become in the space of the garret?
Linda’s grandmother garret symbolizes her own sanctuary, escape, built by her own family. This is the personal, sentimental belonging of hers that makes her feel safe, built by her uncle and to pass down onto future generations. This illustrates a form of freedom, akin to freedom in that moment for Linda, and the rebirth of social death, finally creating a path to have social relationships currently and in the future. She can watch her children from afar, providing protection from a distance because she has no choice, escaping away from her master even for a moment, forgetting what it means to be enslaved, trapped or owned by someone. This is her interstitial space, her path to freedom, just as Miranda Green Barteet’s argument.
What is the difference between women and men according to the true cult of womanhood? What are the expectations for women versus men or gender roles?
According to the true cult of womanhood, women were to fulfill the role of domesticity. They were simply to attend to motherly or wifely duties, such as caring for children, maintaining the home, and working the kitchen. Men on the other hand, were to be characteristically masculine. They went out to work and provide for the family, and were the main source of income in the household, while maintaining a macho aura about them. This, I feel, led to the rise of a generation that dealt with much toxic masculinity.
4. When Harriet Jacobs says that there is no custom or law to protect the slave woman, she is bringing attention to the vulnerability and lack of legal recourse experienced by enslaved women. In the context of Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Jacobs points out that enslaved women were denied the rights and legal protections that should have shielded them from exploitation and abuse. This absence of legal safeguards left slave women at the mercy of their owners, who could subject them to abuse without legal consequences. Jacobs’ statement underscores the systemic oppression and disregard for the rights of enslaved women within the institution of slavery.