Rachel And Harriet Jacobs Summary

“Line of Color, Sex, and Service: Sexual Coercion in the Early Republic” is a publication that discusses two women, Rachel Davis and Harriet Jacobs. This story explains the lives of both Rachel and Harriet and their relationship between their masters. Rachel, a young white girl around the age of fourteen was an indentured servant who belonged to William and Becky Cress. Harriet, on the other hand, was born an enslaved African American and became the slave of James and Mary Norcom. This publication gives various accounts of their masters mistreating them and how it was dealt with.
Rachel and Harriet were both forced to have sexual relations with their masters. In both account, the girls recounted the many times they had resisted and cried in an attempt to avoid the powers of their masters. Rachel attempted to avoid the power of her master by threatening to inform his wife about their sexual encounters. Rachel also refused to allow William to have sex with her inside the home forcing William to order her into a dark field. She felt as if this disrupted his original attempts at a seamless consensual interaction. Harriet tried to avoid the power of her master in several different ways. For example, Harriet’s master

would write her notes expressing his sexual intentions and Harriet would pretend that she could not read. She also kept in the sight of other people as much as possible and used her own position as a slave to avoid James’ sexual overtures.
Since Rachel and Harriet were both being forced to have sexual relations with their masters, there were very few people they could turn to or confide in; however, often times slaves or indentured servants would become allies with the master’s wife.

In the case of Rachel, William’s wife, Becky was often suspicious of Rachel and William’s relationship. Becky eventually confronted Rachel and discovered the truth. This formed an alliance between Rachel and Becky that allowed Rachel some protection from her master. Harriet, much like Rachel, also created an alliance with her master’s wife, Mary. Harriet confessed to Mary that James had been sexually harassing her and Mary promised to protect Harriet from harm. This eventually led to Harriet being

relocated.
In the accounts of Rachel and Harriet there are many similarities. These two girls were fighting very similar battles in two completely different worlds. Both girls were being sexually harassed and taken advantage of by their masters and were unsure how to stop the abuse. These two girls both turned to relatives within their family for help, Rachel turned to her father while Harriet turned to her grandmother who was free. Both girls were fighting what seemed to be a losing battle. They were both afraid of what might happen to them, or their family, if they confessed what was happening to them. Overall, they were experiencing the same emotions and dealing with the same problems they just had different skin colors.
In the comparison of Rachel and Harriet, slavery makes all the difference. Rachel, being a white indentured servant had a better chance at getting out of her situation, while Harriet was stuck simply because she was an African American slave. Initially, when Becky found out that William was having a sexual relationship with Rachel, Becky demanded that Rachel be removed from the home. Rachel was sent to live elsewhere; however, this did not stop William from visiting her. When Rachel confessed to her father what was happening, he initiated a rape prosecution against William. William was found guilty and sentenced to ten years in prison. Harriet, on the other hand, was removed from her master’s home when his wife discovered James was having a sexual relationship with their slave. Harriet was relocated and placed in a new home with a new master where James continued to visit her and have sexual relations. When this did not end, Harriet eventually became a runaway slave and hid in her grandmother’s attic for seven years. Even though both girls were owned by their masters, they were treated different. Rachel was white and an indentured servant, her master would be persecuted for mistreating her. Since Harriet was an African American slave, white people did not care that she was being abused. Many masters had sexual relations with their slaves and there were never consequences for their actions. As for African American’s, they cared that Harriet was being abused; however they feared the repercussions of their master. Harriet stated that her friends and relatives knew she was being abused and still hesitated to volunteer verbal or physical assistance. The other slaves knew they would be punished if they spoke of what was happening.