Revealing of Concealment

It is important to try and understand the demons that existed through slavery by reading the stories of former slaves who survived the hardships and torture, yet we hardly come close. While there are many of these tales written by former male slaves, Harriet A. Jacobs presents a different side of the story in her novel Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. Matriarchy and womanhood has everything to do with her novel, especially since the female house slave is often overlooked to focus on the severity of slave field laborers although Jacobs can attest to a similar severity of treatment which was less physical and more psychological. Historically, women have always been forced to conceal themselves in many ways. After a life of concealment, Jacobs reveals her hardships and agonies of slavery defying this ridiculous assumption society creates of the veiling of women. 

The master/slave relationship is the main source of all concealment in Jacobs' book. From the foundational elements of slavery, the master makes the slaves believe that he is good and fair to them, to prevent them from thinking otherwise which may potentially lead to slave rebellion which lies at the base of all fear within the master. The master, Dr. Flint, accepts Linda as his own secret love slave to rid his life and marriage of dullness and to maintain his control and ego. Linda's private home Dr. Flint had built for her is a direct metaphor for concealment from his vindictive wife. Although Linda utilizes it as her own safe haven from encounters with Mrs. Flint, Dr. Flint still demonstrates superiority, barging in whenever he pleases.

Despite all of her concealment, Linda makes one attempt of revealing in hopes it would benefit her own position. Instead when she reveals to Dr. Flint that she is pregnant from another man, it only makes things worse. Flint becomes furious and feels betrayed by someone he held in high respect supposedly. This is the only truthful revealing in the entire story, and proves to be the most mentally destructive event in her life, at least up to this point. In all other tribulations, Linda chooses to conceal the truth which produces less complicated results. 

Jacobs major transition from slavery to freedom demonstrates determination, depravation, ad desperation. Jacobs must hide within the belly of the beast to destroy the beast. In the small loft space above the back room of her grandmother's house, Linda conceals herself there for seven years. From a small peep hole Linda could observe and listen but remained speechless and motionless for her own protection. Imagine the heart wrenching image of a mother forced to watch her only children grow without the love of their mother who remains with them without their knowing. To me, that mental torture would be more to bear than the confines of the space. After seven years with the inability to freely move and exercise one's limbs, Linda's body suffered numerable damages and pain, almost even crippling her. This idea of inflicting physical pain on oneself by confinement conveniently alludes to the age old traditions of woman obtaining physical beauty. These opposing opinions of a similar action mark a dividing line of the upper or middle class whites and the oppressed blacks. 

Jacobs' cautiousness in her concealment was an essential element to her freedom. Even in the letters she had carefully written to Dr. Flint, she created confusion in her concealment, postmarking them from random addresses in New York although she remained very close to him. Flint replies to her letters with a similar level of falsehood, referring to her family members he never even talked to and his family's forgiveness of her actions and hope of her return. So desperately inconceivable are his letters that it is humorous to imagine him actually imagining them working, and Linda returning home expecting a warm welcome. 

Concealment is such a reoccurring theme in Jacobs' novel that it leads us to believe it was the only guarantee of attaining freedom. Surely a huge burden was lifted from Jacobs' spirit when she was able to reveal her history and release her bottled emotions that darkened her childhood and early womanhood. This notion of concealment in relation to slavery may take even a modern standpoint. Society attempts to conceal this infamous treatment of African Americans which impacted history so immensely. With the tension of discrimination the modern white man's consciousness avoids references to historic human oppression, with a feeling of guilt from these irrational acts of his ancestors from a different time.