The Unacknowledged Legacy of 19 th Century Slave Narratives
without June . Even as June tries to save Hannah from Gilead , she knows that their mother-daughter relationship has languished . Unlike Jacobs , who quietly bemoans the loss while being forced to deepen it — she spends time away from her children to earn money caring for a white woman ’ s child , while her son learns a trade and her daughter is sent away for school — June expresses her rage toward Serena : “ What is wrong with you ? How can you do this ? You ’ re deranged . You ’ re ... you ’ re ... You ’ re fucking evil . You know that ? You are a goddamn motherfucking monster ! Fucking heartless , sadistic , motherfucking evil cunt ! Fuck you , Serena ! You are gonna burn in goddamn motherfucking hell , you crazy , evil bitch !” (“ Night ” 26:13-27:02 ). Here , audiences are reminded of June ’ s privilege ; she is able to speak with violence and intensity in a way that no Black woman , especially an enslaved woman , is allowed .
The outraged mother , like June and Jacobs , does not exist without the sexual deviant . The narrative gaps and silences are just as much a part of a slave ’ s story as the text itself ; in women ’ s slave narratives , who she is in those gaps is as important as the outraged mother she portrays in writing . With Jacobs as the model , the gaps readers find in women ’ s slave narratives pertain to sex : Jacobs deftly avoids detailing the majority of the sexual abuse she endured serving Dr . Flint and obscures the nature of her relations with Mr . Sands . She avoids scandalizing her story and shields the reputation of white male slaveholders . Relegated to the undertell of her story is the sexual deviant , the other representation of Black womanhood in 19 th century slave narratives .
The outraged mother and sexual deviant work in tandem . However , they access power in different ways : the outraged mother finds strength in community and the love she has
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