The Confined Voices of Female Slaves

The Confined Voices of Female Slaves

Slave narratives provide a first-hand experience on slave lives and reveal the truth about slavery. Through the writing of narratives, slaves hoped to expose the cruel and inhumane aspects of slavery and their struggles, sorrows, and triumphs. In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, slave narratives were important means of opening a dialogue between blacks and whites about slavery and freedom. Some slave narratives were crafted to enlighten white readers about the realities of slavery as an institution and the humanity of black people. Today, slave narratives are one of the few reliable sources for the study of slave lives.

Many female slave narratives indicated that gender was an important factor in determining the fate of a slave even though slave owners often did not differentiate between genders in the assigning of tasks. Thus, women often ended up working along side men. Most male slaves performed chores such as trapping and hunting animals or working in the fields. Their jobs mainly consisted of some type of physical labor which required strength and endurance. However, a woman's place in society, throughout the travesty of slavery, was somewhat different. Women often performed domestic duties, attempted to keep the slave family healthy and unified, and tended to their masters' demands and whims. Above all jobs, women slaves also represented an authority figure within their families and communities. In times of melancholy they were relied upon for guidance and comfort through agony, and in times of ecstasy they came together with the slave community to share in the happiness.

Slave families had a tendency to be unstable, due to the nature of the institution of slav...

... middle of paper ...

... mentality that the community raises the child also precedes the Civil War. Each of these demonstrate how slavery greatly influenced the generations to follow. The role played by slave women is one that is present in the lives of many modern day families-- the foods eaten by families today as catfish, ox tail, pigs feet, and chitlins were once the leftover animal parts the slave owners no longer had a use for and gave to the slaves for nourishment. Without choice, those ingenious women created an eating tradition that once was used out of necessity for sustenance. Little did they realize that future generations would utilize that creative knowledge and treasure it as their heritage and part of the history of their people.

Bibliographical Sources

1. http://weber.u.washington.edu/~sunstar/ws200/dimitrio.htm

2. http://ftp.oit.unc.edu/docsouth/neh/specialneh.html