Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl · Character

Mrs. Flint

The master's wife, whose jealousy curdles into cruelty, she punishes Linda for a predation she cannot prevent and refuses to see the enslaved as human.

supporting

Also known as young Mrs. Flint, old Mrs. Flint, the Children Mrs. Flint

First appearance: The New Master and Mistress

As a supporting figure in Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Mrs. Flint is not background color—the story leans on what they do once the chapter opens.

A church member who watches whippings calmly and spitefully spoils food to prevent slaves from eating leftovers.

In the storyThe New Master and MistressOpen this moment free

Mrs. Flint knows her husband's character intimately and could have shielded the young enslaved women in her household, but instead directs her suspicion and malevolence at Linda. She would rather sell Linda to a distant state than see her married nearby, and she sneers at enslaved people's desire for family ties as an absurdity. Her cold complicity shows how white women in slaveholding households could weaponize their own powerlessness, deepening Linda's isolation and making escape feel like the only sanity.

See Mrs. Flint in The New Master and Mistress Book page

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Character Web

25 connections

A slice of how Mrs. Flint sits in the book — open the reader for the full interactive map.

Relationship types

Rivalry
Psychological
Social

Character groups

Linda's Support Network
Protagonist

+20 more in the full Character Web

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Narrative arc

Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Exposition.

Setup
Escalation
Breaking point
Aftermath
Closing

In this climactic moment, the emotional peak occurs when Linda finally musters the courage to confess her "gre…

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Relationships

Grandmother
rivalry · negative
Grandmother and Mrs. How this plays out →
Ellen
psychological · negative
Mr. Sands
social · negative
Dr. Flint
psychological · negative
Linda Brent
psychological · negative
Grandmother
rivalry · negative
Grandmother and Mrs. How this plays out →
Linda Brent
psychological · negative
Grandmother
rivalry · negative
Grandmother and Mrs. How this plays out →
Ellen
psychological · negative
Ellen
psychological · negative
Mr. Sands
social · negative
Dr. Flint
psychological · negative

Grandmother
Grandmother and Mrs. Flint are adversaries, with Mrs. Flint resentful of Grandmother's moral authority and independence.
Ellen
Ellen is a child victim of Mrs. Flint's cruel and capricious treatment as her enslaved maid.
Mr. Sands
Mr. Sands and Mrs. Flint are acquaintances within the slaveholding society, with Mrs. Flint suspicious of his involvement with Linda.
Dr. Flint
Dr. and Mrs. Flint are married, but their relationship is marked by mutual suspicion, cruelty, and shared tyranny over enslaved people.
Linda Brent
Mrs. Flint is Linda's obsessive and vindictive tormentor, driven by jealousy and cruelty.
Grandmother
Grandmother and Mrs. Flint are adversaries, with Mrs. Flint resentful of Grandmother's moral authority and independence.
Linda Brent
Mrs. Flint is Linda's obsessive and vindictive tormentor, driven by jealousy and cruelty.
Grandmother
Grandmother and Mrs. Flint are adversaries, with Mrs. Flint resentful of Grandmother's moral authority and independence.
Ellen
Ellen is a child victim of Mrs. Flint's cruel and capricious treatment as her enslaved maid.
Ellen
Ellen is a child victim of Mrs. Flint's cruel and capricious treatment as her enslaved maid.
Mr. Sands
Mr. Sands and Mrs. Flint are acquaintances within the slaveholding society, with Mrs. Flint suspicious of his involvement with Linda.
Dr. Flint
Dr. and Mrs. Flint are married, but their relationship is marked by mutual suspicion, cruelty, and shared tyranny over enslaved people.

Relationship notes

How these ties play out is in the reading companion — open the free preview.

See Mrs. Flint in The New Master and Mistress

In the story

Mrs. Flint appears across 9 companion beats. Open any chapter in the free preview to see the notes beside the text.

The New Master and Mistress
A church member who watches whippings calmly and spitefully spoils food to prevent slaves from eating leftovers.
V: The Trials of Girlhood
Mentioned as the mistress who, instead of protecting the enslaved girl, responds with jealousy and rage.
VI: The Jealous Mistress
Jealous mistress who watches Linda obsessively, accuses her of falsehoods, and torments her with nightly vigils.
VII: The Lover
Despises Linda and would rather see her sold far away than married locally, as she believes slaves have no right to family ties.
X: A Perilous Passage in the Slave Girl's Life
Accuses Linda of involvement with her husband, contributing to the gossip and Linda's grandmother's knowledge.
Scenes at the Plantation
Old Mrs. Flint visits the plantation, is closeted with her daughter-in-law, and urges that Linda's children be brought to the plantation to keep her there.
XVIII: Months of Peril
Expresses cruelty and contempt, threatening to kill or spoil Ellen and vowing to sell Linda to a sugar plantation.
Still in Prison
Visits grandmother only out of social pressure and Christian condescension, and cruelly expresses gladness that Benny was bitten by a dog.
XXVIII: Aunt Nancy
Nancy's mistress, who forced Nancy to sleep on the entry floor for years, causing multiple premature births, and later sentimentally wishes to bury Nancy in the family plot.

Chapter companion notes

Spoil-light check-ins for Mrs. Flint unlock in the free preview.

See Mrs. Flint in The New Master and Mistress