Ain't I A Woman

As mentioned above, Frances Gage transcribed and published the version of Truth’s speech that is most widespread today. However, experts have recently questioned the authenticity of that edition. For example, historian Nell Irvin Parker suggests that Truth never actually spoke the now-famous line, “And ain’t I a woman?” (Paragraph 2). Painter writes: “Gage made [Truth] into a tough-minded, feminist emblem by stressing Truth’s strength and the clash of conventions of race and gender and by inventing the riveting refrain” (Painter, Nell Irvin. “Representing Truth: Sojourner Truth’s Knowing and Becoming Known.” The Journal of American History, vol. 81, no. 2, Sept. 1994, pp. 461-92).

Painter also believes that Gage took liberties with Truth’s original words, making Truth sound Southern though she was born in a Dutch-speaking area of New York State and spoke Dutch until the age of nine. There is also a discrepancy between the number of children Gage claims Truth said she had and what historians know. Painter points out that Gage’s version says Truth lost all 13 children to enslavement when, in reality, “Truth had five children and said so in her Narrative” (Painter). Some historians believe Gage exaggerated these elements of Truth’s story to create a more dramatic effect and encourage readers to feel sympathy for the causes of abolition and women’s suffrage.

A second version of the speech was published by Marius Robinson. Born in Massachusetts in 1806, Robinson became a minister, abolitionist and newspaper editor. From 1830 to 1865, Gage lectured around the country about slavery and theology. In 1851, he served as the official secretary of the Women’s Rights Convention where Truth gave her speech. A few weeks later, Robinson published his account of Truth’s speech in The Anti-Slavery Bugle. Historical evidence shows that Robinson and Truth were friends, and Robinson showed his account to Truth before publishing it. Yet, this version did not gain the popularity that Gage’s did.

Robinson’s account differs from Gage’s in several ways. Robinson does not include the question “And ain’t I a woman?” anywhere in his recounting. Instead, he writes that Truth stated, “I am a woman’s rights” (Robinson, Marius. “Women’s Rights Convention.” The Anti-Slavery Bugle, June 1851, pp. 160). Another difference is that Truth does not mention her children in this version, nor does she mention being a mother. The final difference is in tone, with Robinson’s account lacking any hint of a southern accent in Truth’s dialect.

There are also similarities between the versions. In both, Truth mentions her physical strength and the labor she can perform. They also discuss the question of intellect and use the metaphor of a quart and pint. In Robinson’s version, she says: “You need not be afraid to give us our rights for fear we will take too much, for we can’t take more than our pint’ll hold” (Robinson). Both versions also mention the tense sociopolitical environment of the time. But while Gage’s transcription says white men will be in “a fix,” Robinson’s version says of white men: “The poor slave is on him, woman is coming on him, and he is surely between a hawk and a buzzard” (Robinson).