Read this excerpt from incidents in the life of a slave girl by harriet ann jacobs: o, ye happy women, whose purity has been sheltered from childhood, who have been free to choose the objects of your affection, whose homes are protected by law, do not judge the poor desolate slave girl too severely! if slavery had been abolished, i, also, could have married the man of my choice; i could have had a home shielded by the laws; and i should have been spared the painful task of confessing what i am now about to relate; but all my prospects had been blighted by slavery. i wanted to keep myself pure; and, under the most adverse circumstances, i tried hard to preserve my self-respect; but i was struggling alone in the powerful grasp of the demon slavery; and the monster proved too strong for me. what is the purpose of comparing the circumstances of slave women and free women in this excerpt? it highlights how free women are ignorant of and responsible for the troubles faced by slave women. it illustrates how nineteenth-century america created a system that favored men over women. it draws a parallel between slave and free women to emphasize the disparities faced by slave women. it serves as a logical appeal showing how slavery created a rift between enslaved and free women. it informs free women of the suffering of slave women to embolden all women to pursue equal rights.