Letters in Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl

The plethora of letters being sent back and forth in the book represent the importance of written communication. While many times, the letters sent to Linda; either by Dr. Flint or other persons interested in possessing Linda as chattel are viewed as undesirable ones which emphasize Linda's condition as a slave and as a piece of property, in more frequency than the latter, letters represent Linda's power as a literate human being to reject the supremacy of those who would claim it, and outwit the ones who would trick Linda back into the 'jaws of slavery'. Dr. Flint's letters to Linda are used as a means to further his power over her and to "help to advance his favorite scheme," (31) to browbeat Linda into complete mental and physical submission. Linda's rejection of the letters- her refusal to read them, and her conscious decision to reject not only the letters, but with it, its proposals, is symbolic of her refusal to submit to her condition, despite the overwhelming evidence of the futility of her resistance.
Later in the work, numerous letters are written to Linda by those who wish to recapture Linda and to bring her back into the power of Dr. Flint. Her literacy, her ability to read between the lines, and her ability to discern between genuine words of honesty and well crafted phrases designed to confuse and fool her, are what keep Linda from becoming the chattel which she struggles so valiantly to resist becoming. Linda's literacy is essential to her successful rejection of a life of bondage. The letters which appear so frequently in the book serve to emphasize the precipitous dangers which constantly loom over Linda, as a fugitive slave, and consequently serve to emphasize the intelligence, bravery, and courage of the woman who employs these letters to her own advantage in order to escape these very dangers.