At the beginning of her story, she explains to the reader that she was unaware that she was a slave, until she discovered that she had been enslaved at the age of six. He thought he was living a “normal” life and that things were just the way they were. Jacobs writes, “I was so fondly protected that I never imagined myself to be a commodity, entrusted to them for safe keeping, and liable to be called upon at any moment.” (911). Looking back on her experience and now writing about it, Jacobs is empowered to call herself a free woman. The idea of ​​being free was a goal that took much difficulty to acquire, so when she writes about her imprisonment, she too acknowledges that imprisonment made a woman stronger. Comparing the captivity of Frederick Douglas and Harriet Jacobs, Jennie Miller concludes, "Both experienced painful discontent as they reflected on their condition of slavery, which, in turn, fueled each writer's determination to gain his own freedom." (32). Without being a prisoner, Jacobs would never have drawn strength from her determination to be free. Although she escaped from her master, Jacob's only way to survive before his escape was to hide for nearly seven years. He writes: “It was painful for me, in many ways, to remember the sad years I spent in slavery. I would gladly forget them if I could." (931). The fact that she