Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl · Chapter
XIX: The Children Sold explained
Dr.
What happens
Dr. Flint returns from New York empty-handed and, pressed for money, agrees to sell Linda's brother William and her two children to a slave trader for $1,900. The trader, secretly working for Mr. Sands, buys them and then releases them to the grandmother. Linda, hidden in her garret, experiences a vision of her children and learns from Betty that they have been bought by their father and are safe. Dr. Flint threatens revenge but Linda feels a profound relief knowing her children are free from his power.
Themes in this chapter
Motherhood and Family Separation
Linda's anguish over the sale of her children and her vision of them highlight the constant threat of family separation under slavery. The chapter shows both the trauma of separation and the relief of reunion.
Dehumanization and Identity
The description of enslaved people being 'driven away like cattle' and the trader's casual brutality underscore the dehumanization inherent in the slave trade.
Resistance and Escape
Mr. Sands' covert purchase of William and the children represents a form of resistance against Dr. Flint's power, using the system's own mechanisms to subvert it.
Characters to notice
- Linda Brent
Linda is hidden in her garret, tormented by uncertainty about her children. She experiences a vision of them and later learns they have been bought by Mr. Sands, bringing her first real happiness since childhood.
- Dr. Flint
Dr. Flint, disheartened and short on money, sells William and the children to a slave trader. He later discovers the deception and threatens Linda's family, but his power over her children is broken.
- William
William is sold along with the children, handcuffed and driven out of town, but is later freed by the trader acting for Mr. Sands. He is described as a 'bright, honest chap' by the trader.
- Ellen
Ellen is sold to the slave trader along with Benny and William, but is soon returned to her grandmother's home after Mr. Sands purchases her.
- Benjamin
Benny is sold and driven out of town, but is later brought back to his grandmother. He shows Aunt Nancy the marks he made counting the days in jail.
- Grandmother
Grandmother faints when she sees the children in the trader's cart, but later rejoices when they are returned. She prays in thanksgiving and confronts Dr. Flint about his threats.
- Betty
Betty comforts Linda after her vision, tells her the children are safe, and later joyfully reveals that Mr. Sands bought them.
- Mr. Sands
Mr. Sands secretly arranges the purchase of William and the children through a slave trader, securing their freedom from Dr. Flint.
- Aunt Nancy
Aunt Nancy visits the children in jail, bids them goodbye, and later witnesses their return.
Key passages
“The Doctor came back from New York, of course without accomplishing his purpose. He had expended considerable money, and was rather disheartened.”
Dr. Flint returned from New York having failed in his mission, and the money he had spent left him feeling discouraged.
Sets the stage for Flint's financial desperation, which leads him to consider selling the children.
“I sat there thinking of my children, when I heard a low strain of music. A band of serenaders were under the window, playing 'Home, Sweet Home.' I listened till the sounds did not seem like music, but like the moaning of children.”
While I was brooding over my children, a band played 'Home, Sweet Home' outside, and the melody transformed in my ears into the sound of children crying.
Linda's emotional state distorts a familiar song into a haunting omen, reflecting her deep anxiety.
“A streak of moonlight was on the floor before me, and in the midst of it appeared the forms of my two children. They vanished; but I had seen them distinctly.”
A beam of moonlight fell on the floor, and within it I clearly saw the shapes of my two children, who then disappeared.
Linda experiences a vision that she interprets as a sign that something has happened to her children.
