Dear Ms. Jacobs,

First of all, I wanted to thank you for writing your narrative. I'm sure it couldn't have been easy to sift back through all those painful memories, but your contribution to both the abolitionist movement and history is invaluable. After reading your narrative, I had a couple questions:

1. I know you wrote you felt sorry for Mrs. Norcom. I can understand why you felt sorry for her; the institutions of slavery and sexism had reduced her to a jealous, powerless, cruel women. In that way, she can be seen as a victim of the systems she lived under. However, if I were to imagine how I would feel in your situation, I think I would have trouble seeing her as a victim. You yourself wrote, "Her nerves were so strong, that she could sit in her easy chair and see a woman whipped." She may be a victim in some aspects, but she is more of an oppressor than a victim, as I see it. I was wondering if you really feel sorry for her, or if you wrote that in order to get more white women to be abolitionists. I can see how it would not be popular amongst that crowd if you criticised a white woman. If you truly do feel sorry for her, I was wondering if you could explain that a bit more. Why not harbour resentment or hatred against her? She could have seen you as a victim, too, but she did not. She did nothing to help you and only harassed you to ease her insecurities.

2. I was reading an essay by Nell Painter and she wrote that, "With slave families constantly subject to disruption, mistresses often functioned as mothers - good or bad - to their young female slaves. In this sense, the bitterness that Linda Brent felt as the prey of her master emerged against her mistress, just as victims of incest often hate their mothers for not saving them from the sexual advances of fathers and stepfathers." How do you feel about this? It seems to me that based on how she treated you, you are entitled to hate Mrs. Norcom in her own right, unrelated to her potential role as mother figure/protector. However, perhaps this is wrong. Do you think there is merit to what Painter is saying?


I know these are rather personal questions, so if you don't want to talk about any of this, that is fine. However, if you do feel comfortable with talking about these issues in private correspondence, please let me know. I have so much to learn from you.
Thank you,


Emily