ves killed. Yet it never occurs to Dana that her speech, her education, her whole aura was unlike any other slave encountered before and therefore she was a potential threat to the slaveholders way of life.Further parallels exist in the relationship they have with their masters. Jacobs master, Mr. Flint, is obsessed with having her and takes every chance he gets to proposition her in some vulgar fashion. Yet while he desires her, he never tries to force or beat her into submission. Instead he attempts to manipulate her and when that fails threatens to beat or kill her. Jacobs does not hide her dislike of Dr. Flint and at times wonders herself why he does not punish her. She states, Sometimes I so openly expressed my contempt for him that he would become violently enraged, and I wondered why he did not strike me (Jacobs 35). With the threat of physical violence constantly hanging over her head, she is terrified and traumatized by Dr. Flints constant harassment.Danas master Rufus treats her much the same. Once he grows into a young man, he too becomes obsessed with her and makes every attempt to seduce her. He is often kind and sweet but once rejected he becomes enraged and violent. Dana recalls, I cant be with you Rufus. You dont love me. You just want what you cant have. His eyes shot daggers into hers and then it came. A blow that sent her falling to the ground. (Butler 86) Dana later wakes up back in her own time confused and shocked at the turn of events. This is the turning point for Dana. She now knows she can no longer live with slavery and begins to devise a plan for her escape.Desperation for escape is the next parallel that exists between Dana and Harriet Jacobs. Although enacted differently, they are the same in nature due to the extremes in which they accomplish it. After yet another violent episode with Rufus, Dana checks out once and for all. She creeps into the attic and slits her wrists. As Kevin stated Why the hell did ...
