Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl

Mrs. Flint knew her husband’s character well and watched him carefully. He, knowing that he was under her surveillance, founds ways to hide his sexual appetites. One day, he caught Harriet practicing her writing. Initially displeased, he warmed to the idea when he realized that he could pass her notes. However, she pretended to be unable to read them. When Harriet threatened to tell her grandmother about Dr. Flint’s propositions, he threatened to kill her.

When Harriet turned 16, Mrs. Flint grew increasingly jealous, quarreling with her husband, who refused her entreaties to have Harriet punished. To gain closer access to Harriet, Dr. Flint decided that his four-year-old daughter would “sleep in his apartment” (55), while he slept closer to Harriet’s room. Harriet took the precaution of getting her great aunt to sleep beside her, since the cautious Dr. Flint would want to avoid being exposed in front of the elderly woman. When Mrs. Flint found out about his scheme, she demanded that Harriet swear her innocence on a Bible and arranged for her to sleep in a room next to her own. To test Harriet, Mrs. Flint approached the teenager in the middle of the night and spoke to her as Dr.