Born into slavery, Linda spends her early years in a happy home with her mother and father, who are relatively well-off slaves. When her mother dies, six-year-old Linda is sent to live with her mother's mistress,who treats her well and teaches her to read.After a few years, this mistress dies and bequeaths Linda to a relative. Her new masters are cruel and neglectful,and Dr. Flint,the father,takes an interest in Linda and tries to force her into a sexual relationship with him. Linda continues to thwart his attempts and maintain her distance.Knowing that Flint will do anything to get his way,Linda consents to a love affair with a white neighbor,Mr.Sands.She is ashamed at her discretion,but she knows it is better than being raped by Dr.Flint.During their affair,Mr.Sands and Linda have two children.Their names are Benjamin,who is often called Benny in the narrative,and Ellen.Throughout her narrative,Jacobs argues that a powerless slave girl cannot be held to the same standards of morality as a free woman.She also has practical reasons for agreeing to the affair:she hopes that when Flint finds out about it,he will sell her to Sands in disgust.Instead,the vengeful Flint sends Linda to his son's plantation to be broken in as a field hand.