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Mrs. Bruce
Mr. Bruce’s second wife, whom he marries after the death of the first Mrs. Bruce. Linda returns to nurse her young baby and finds that, like her predecessor, she is a kind and generous employer as well as a fierce opponent of slavery. She helps Linda hide from Dr. Flint twice, and eventually makes arrangements to buy her freedom. The independence Mrs. Bruce demonstrates contrasts sharply with the lack of agency Linda observes in Southern wives like Mrs. Flint. The contrast between these two marriages suggests that the abolition of slavery increases white women’s moral and practical status within their own marriages.
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Young Mrs. Bruce Character Timeline in Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
The timeline below shows where the character Young Mrs. Bruce appears in Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter Forty: The Fugitive Slave Law
...Linda returns to work for Mr. Bruce, who has remarried and had another baby. The young Mrs. Bruce is a woman of “excellent principles” with a “hearty dislike” for slavery, who proves a...
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...knows she’s in New York and is trying to capture her. She confides in the young Mrs. Bruce , who immediately rallies to her aid. She even suggests that Linda take her baby...
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One of young Mrs. Bruce ’s relatives scolds her for risking herself this way, but she says she’d much rather...
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Chapter Forty-One: Free At Last
...and Mrs. Dodge have arrived in the city. Linda goes to stay with friends of young Mrs. Bruce ; just after she leaves the house, mysterious messengers begin to arrive, asking about her...
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...she is and that she refuses to buy the freedom to which she’s already entitled. Young Mrs. Bruce encourages Linda to leave the city, but she stubbornly refuses, tired of running away. Outside,...
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...Ellen convinces her mother to leave the city and the two travel to New England. Young Mrs. Bruce writes her proposing to resolve the situation by buying Ellen’s freedom herself, but Linda is...
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Nevertheless, Linda feels relieved that she will never have to hide or escape again. Young Mrs. Bruce receives her with tears of joy and Linda remembers the efforts of her father and...
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...live with her children, but for now she’s content to remain in the employment of young Mrs. Bruce , who has been such a loyal and generous friend. Remembering and writing about her...
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