Doxtader 1

Rachael Doxtader

Professor Taheri

English 137H

4 October 2022

“Ain’t I a Woman” by Sojourner Truth

Sojourner Truth is widely celebrated for her speech “Ain’t I a Woman,” delivered at the

1851 Women’s Convention in Akron, Ohio (Brown). However, most individuals who admire

Truth are unaware that the most common portrayal of her speech today is an inaccurate

representation of her original words. As an emancipated slave, Truth was unable to read or write,

so historians use versions of her speech transcribed by others, particularly Marcus Robinson and

Frances Gage. Three weeks after the convention, Robinson, a close friend of Truth’s, published

her speech after collaborating with her on the transcription (Siebler 511). Twelve years later,

Gage transcribed a more famous version of the speech - one which differs greatly from

Robinson’s record. Because there is no evidence that Gage worked with Truth on the

transcription of her speech and instead relied on old memories, it is likely that Robinson’s

version of the speech is more accurate to Truth’s original words (514). Gage takes liberties while

transcribing Sojourner Truth’s speech, altering her original words in order to increase the

effectiveness of the speech for her white audience. Frances Gage’s version of “Ain’t I a Woman”

relies on stereotypes, humor, and an appeal to the audience’s sympathy as well as the

demonstration of Truth’s credibility to convince the audience of the need for the rights of women

and black Americans.

The incorporation of dialect and the description of Truth’s physical appearance (both of

which are absent in Robinson’s version of “Ain’t I a Woman”) in Gage’s transcription of the
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speech portray Truth as a stereotypical emancipated slave. Truth, who was raised in the North

and spoke Dutch as her first language, would not have spoken the stereotypical “slave dialect”

that Gage adopted in her version of the speech (Siebler 516). Relying on the misrepresentation of

Truth’s identity, Gage creates an image of Truth as a southern, uneducated black woman to

appeal to her white audience’s biases and assumptions. By choosing to include dialect inaccurate

to the original speech, Gage fabricates “an image of a racially romanticized picture of Sojourner

Truth, creating the ex-slave that many people still need and use today” (516). Further

embellishing Truth’s identity as a black woman, Gage exaggerates Truth’s physical features,

describing her “Amazon form, which stood nearly six feet high” and her muscular arms,

reinforcing the stereotype that African American women are stronger and more masculine than

their white counterparts (Stanton et al. 116). The portrayal of Truth using dialect and the

exaggeration of her physical features caters to the white audience’s stereotypical beliefs about

slaves (Siebler 516). Stripping Truth of her humanity, Gage transforms her into an icon that

represents all African American women, promoting the rights of women and black Americans by

providing her white audience with an inspiration for the movements. Even with her depiction of

Truth as an unintelligent emancipated slave, Gage seeks to portray her as witty and likeable to

her audience.

Gage’s use of humor and satire in “Ain’t I a Woman” places the readers in the excitement

of the moment, making them more inclined to engage with the speech. Incorporating her own

side comments, Gage adds depth to Truth’s speech. She records​Truth responding to a man in the

crowd, who argued that women and men cannot have equal rights because Jesus is not a woman.

After posing the question, “Whar did your Christ come from?” twice, Truth responds to her own

inquiry, stating that Jesus was created from God and a woman and that “man had nothing to do
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with him” (Stanton et al. 116). Gage sustains the humorous effect of Truth’s alleged words by

writing the side comment, “Oh, what a rebuke that was to that little man” (116). Robinson’s

version of “Ain’t I a Woman” does not incorporate the same humor as Gage, suggesting that it

was absent from Truth’s original speech (Siebler 523). By faking the presence of humor in the

speech, Gage creates a more dynamic and interesting presentation, capturing the attention of her

audience. Gage’s use of humor creates an atmosphere that nurtures the audience’s fondness for

Truth, enabling them to set aside their conflicting beliefs to genuinely consider her arguments.

Throughout the speech, Gage seeks to soften her audience not only through the inclusion of

humor but also by appealing to the values and humanity of the audience.

Gage utilizes religious rhetoric and fabricates Truth’s personal experiences, capturing the

sympathy of the audience and demonstrating Truth’s credibility. Gage documents that Truth

references Adam and Eve as well as Lazarus, a deceased man who was brought back to life by

Jesus, providing Truth with more credibility in the eyes of her white, religious audience (Siebler

519). By demonstrating Truth’s religious knowledge and beliefs, Gage presents her as pious,

connecting her to an audience that is more likely to sympathize with a woman whom they view

as devout and trustworthy. She also includes Truth’s personal experiences, presenting her as

more credible to the audience because she has lived through the inhumanities of slavery herself.

In Gage’s version of the speech, Truth is documented to have said, “I have borne thirteen chilern,

and seen 'em mos' all sold off to slavery, and when I cried out with my mother's grief, none but

Jesus heard me! And a'n't I a woman?” (Stanton 116). This example of Truth’s pain seeks to

make a connection with the women in the audience, relating to their shared experience of

motherhood and evoking their sympathy by speaking about the loss of one’s children. The

experience of losing a child (let alone almost thirteen children) is a powerful example of an
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enslaved woman’s suffering. Through this example, Gage brings forth the sympathy of the

audience to convince them of the need for both women’s rights and the rights of black

Americans. However, this piece of the speech is not only absent from Robinson’s version, it is

also false; Truth only had eight children, none of whom were slaves. Gage likely fabricated this

example, epitomizing the cruelty of slavery by having Truth experience trauma that is widely

viewed as inhumane, creating a more provocative speech that appeals to the emotions of the

audience, causing outrage (Siebler 526).

Frances Gage’s transcription of “Ain’t I a Woman” by Sojourner Truth increases the

effectiveness of the speech for her white audience by stereotyping Truth, using humor, and

appealing to the audience’s sympathy as well as illustrating Truth’s credibility. Incorporating

dialect and exaggerating Truth’s physical features, Gage portrays Truth as a stereotypical

emancipated slave, catering to the biases of the audience and presenting Truth as a symbol for

the women’s movement. Through the inclusion of side comments, Gage incorporates humor into

the speech to engage her audience, making them more likely to consider Truth’s perspective.

Using religious rhetoric and fabricating Truth’s personal experiences, Gage creates a more

provocative speech and conveys Truth’s trustworthiness. Because of Gage’s adjustments to

Truth’s original speech, her transcription of “Ain’t I a Woman” is the most widely known version

of the speech today. While Gage’s version serves as an inspiration for those who fight for the

equality of all genders and races, the erasure of Truth’s original words and her stereotypical

portrayal has the potential to harm the very individuals the true speech is meant to help.
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Works Cited

Brown, Stacy M. “‘Ain't I a Woman?’ Sojourner Truth Proved the Strongest of All.” Washington

Informer, Jun, 2020, pp. 30. ProQuest,

https://ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/login?qurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.proquest.com%2Fn

ewspapers%2Faint-i-woman-sojourner-truth-proved-strongest-all%2Fdocview%2F24154

67403%2Fse-2%3Faccountid%3D13158.

Siebler, Kay. “Far from the Truth.” Pedagogy, vol. 10, no. 3, 2010, pp. 511–533.,

https://doi.org/10.1215/15314200-2010-005.

Stanton, Elizabeth Cady, Susan B. Anthony, Matilda Joslyn Gage, and Ida Husted Harper,

eds. 1881. History of Woman Suffrage. Vol. 1: 1848 – 61. Rochester, NY: Charles Mann.