Sojourner Truth was an emancipated slave who gave the speech “Ain’t I a Woman” at the 1851 Women’s Convention in Akron, Ohio
Could not read or write so speech was transcribed by others
Her words as we read them are not actually her words but a representation of her words by whoever transcribed them
“These secondary rhetors were mindful of audience and purpose, their audience and purpose, which may have been a different audience and purpose from what Truth intended” (Siebler).
Two versions of Sojourner Truth’s “Ain’t I a Woman”
First version published three weeks after convention by Marcus Robinson in the Anti-slavery Bugle, an abolitionist publication edited by Robinson
Second version transcribed by Frances Gage twelve years after Truth delivered it
Versions are very different from each other
Robinson’s version probably more closely reflected what Truth said/intended to say than Gage’s version
Truth worked with Robinson on his transcription of the speech
Robinson and Truth were good friends who worked together on issues of women’s and slave’s rights
Gage relied on notes and memories that were more than a decade old and there is no record that Gage worked with Truth on the transcription of her words
Thesis: Gage takes liberties while transcribing Sojourner Truth’s speech, altering her original words in order to increase the effectiveness of her speech for his white audience. Frances Gage’s version of “Ain’t I a Woman” relies on dialect, humor, and appeal to the audience’s sympathy as well as Truth’s credibility in order to convince the audience of the need for women’s rights.
The incorporation of dialect in Gage’s transcription of “Ain’t I a Woman” portrays Truth as a stereotypical emancipated slave.
Robinson’s version is written without dialect
Dialect in Gage’s speech
Dialect is represented to communicate identity or perspective
The dialect Gage represented is a white woman’s version of how a southern, uneducated Black woman would sound
Since Sojourner Truth was born and raised in the North, her first language being Dutch, she would not have a dialect that resembled the stereotypical “slave dialect.”
Included dialect to make the speech more effective for the audience
Writers typically do not represent dialect when transcribing speeches
Relying on stereotypes
“Gage’s version creates an image of a racially romanticized picture of Sojourner Truth, creating the ex-slave that many people still need and use today” (Siebler)
Gage’s use of humor and satire places the readers in the excitement of the moment and makes the audience more inclined to engage with Truth’s speech.
Robinson’s version reads less dynamically and makes a general call for equality and freedom with less humor
Gage punctuates the speech with narrative asides that document the applause and appreciative response of the audience
The use of humor and satire as represented in Gage’s text also adds depth to the speech
Audience is rooting for Truth and feel that they are facing her resistant audience with her
Gage uses religious rhetoric and fabricates Truth’s personal experiences, capturing the sympathy of the audience and demonstrating Truth’s credibility.
Religious rhetoric
References to both Adam and Eve and Lazarus
Gave Truth more credibility in the eyes of the white, religious audience
Added ethos, as Truth was seen as more pious
Personal experiences
Gives her more credibility
Gage’s version: “I have borne thirteen children and seen them almost all sold off into slavery, and when I cried out a mother’s grief, none but Jesus heard — and aren’t I a woman?”
Emphasizes a connection to the women in the audience as well as makes a point about the inhumanity of slavery
This example does not appear in Robinson’s version
Truth probably did not use this example, especially because it is not true
Truth, by her own account, had only eight children, and they were not slaves to be sold but indentured servants. It was Truth who left her children behind when she fled slavery, carrying only the youngest with her
Robinson likely made this up to appeal to the emotions of his audience and make the speech more provocative