Reclaiming Black (Female) Subjectivity and the Othered Gaze in Harriet's Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl: Analyzing White Representation in the Black Imagination
St. Mary’s University, English Literature and Language, San Antonio, Texas, United States.
Review Article
Magna Scientia Advanced Research and Reviews, 2024, 12(01), 021–027
Article DOI: 10.30574/msarr.2024.12.1.0142
Publication history:
Received 31 July 2024; revised on 08 September 2024; accepted on 10 September 2024
Abstract:
This essay explores the representation of whiteness and the reclamation of black (female) subjectivity in Harriet Jacobs' Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. Written by a black female author during the antebellum period, Jacobs’ narrative offers a unique critique of the hegemonic power structures that defined her era. The essay examines how Jacobs uses her narrative to subvert the dominant racial and gender ideologies, presenting whiteness as the Other and reclaiming her identity and agency through the act of writing. By analyzing the text through the theoretical lenses of Slave Narrative, Feminist Discourse, and Otherism, this paper highlights the complex ways in which Jacobs negotiates her subjectivity in a society that systematically denies (her) black humanity.
Keywords:
Black Subjectivity; Analyzing White Representation; Slavery; Female Subjectivity, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl.
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Copyright © 2024 Author(s) retain the copyright of this article. This article is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Liscense 4.0