17 pages • 34 minutes read
Ain't I A Woman
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Symbols & Motifs
Strength
Much of Truth’s speech focuses on the physical and emotional strength of women. As a former enslaved person, Truth performed hard labor and withstood physical pain. In her address, she references this personal history: “I have ploughed and planted, and gathered into barns” (Paragraph 2). Truth aims to prove that women possess physical strength. Prejudices about the supposed weakness of women should not be a basis for denying equal rights.
Truth also recounts her suffering as a mother. She states: “I have borne thirteen children, and seen most all sold off to slavery, and when I cried out with my mother’s grief, none but Jesus heard me” (Paragraph 2). Considering that motherhood was a key feature of womanhood in American society at the time, Truth’s reference to her experience as a mother establishes her similarity to other women, especially the white women in her audience.
Pints and Quarts
Truth uses the symbols of pints and quarts to create a visual representation of the rights and resources suffragettes are calling for. She argues that women are only asking for what they can already “hold” (Paragraph 3), which is less than a man currently holds. She states that women want only a “half measure full” (Paragraph 3) compared to the quart that men have. Truth also suggests that it would be “mean” (Paragraph 3), meaning stingy, for men to keep a woman’s pint from her. Truth uses this metaphor to argue that men do not need to be threatened by the requests made by the suffragettes.
Religion
Truth investigates the role of religion in the women’s suffrage movement, referencing two separate stories from the Bible. Truth was a very religious woman herself, having listened to the Bible being read aloud and studied with a minister. She first argues against the idea that men are superior because Christ was a man. She does so by referencing the creation of Christ through God and a woman. Truth then goes on to reference the tale of Eve and the forbidden fruit. She suggests that because one woman on her own caused harm to humanity, a whole group of women would be capable of “get[ting] it right side up again” (Paragraph 5). Truth relies on her knowledge of religion to bolster her arguments and ultimately advocate for women’s suffrage.
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