Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl: Chapters 15–28

by Harriet Jacobs
After escaping to New York, Harriet Jacobs wrote this account of the horrors of slavery, focusing particularly on the suffering of enslaved women.

Here are links to our lists for the autobiography: Chapters 1–5, Chapters 6–9, Chapters 10–14, Chapters 15–28, Chapters 29–41
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. facetious
    cleverly amusing in tone
    He seemed to be in a facetious mood, and I expected some jeers were coming.
  2. remonstrate
    argue in protest or opposition
    The spirit of the mothers was so crushed by the lash, that they stood by, without courage to remonstrate.
  3. tribulation
    an annoying or frustrating or catastrophic event
    I had received my mother's blessing when she died; and in many an hour of tribulation I had seemed to hear her voice, sometimes chiding me, sometimes whispering loving words into my wounded heart.
  4. fetter
    restrain with shackles
    They thought my children's being there would fetter me to the spot, and that it was a good place to break us all in to abject submission to our lot as slaves.
  5. abject
    showing utter resignation or hopelessness
    They thought my children's being there would fetter me to the spot, and that it was a good place to break us all in to abject submission to our lot as slaves.
  6. anathema
    a formal ecclesiastical curse accompanied by excommunication
    When she was alone, I could hear her pronouncing anathemas over Dr. Flint and all his tribe...
  7. construe
    make sense of; assign a meaning to
    I thought it likely Dr. Flint would do his utmost to taunt and insult him, and I was afraid my uncle might lose control of himself, and retort in some way that would be construed into a punishable offence; and I was well aware that in court his word would not be taken against any white man's.
  8. interstice
    small opening between things
    I bored three rows of holes, one above another; then I bored out the interstices between.
  9. irascible
    quickly aroused to anger
    I told my grandmother of it, when we had our next conference at the trap-door, and begged of her not to allow the children to be impertinent to the irascible old man.
  10. convivial
    occupied with or fond of the pleasures of good company
    If any poor fellow drowned his wits in the bowl, and, in the openness of his convivial heart, proclaimed that he did not mean to vote the Democratic ticket, he was shoved into the street without ceremony.
  11. purport
    the intended meaning of a communication
    He had suppressed the letter I wrote to grandmother, and prepared a substitute of his own, the purport of which was as follows...
  12. pecuniary
    relating to or involving money
    He might come under pecuniary embarrassments, and his property be seized by creditors; or he might die, without making any arrangements in his favor.
  13. requite
    make repayment for or return something
    The slaveholders pronounced him a base, ungrateful wretch, for thus requiting his master's indulgence.
  14. supplicant
    one praying humbly for something
    I was too proud to ask Mr. Sands to do any thing for my own benefit; but I could bring myself to become a supplicant for my children.
  15. factotum
    a servant employed to do a variety of jobs
    Indeed, she was the factotum of the household.
Created on Thu Aug 02 14:52:38 EDT 2018 (updated Thu Aug 07 10:06:05 EDT 2025)

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