Family and the attempt to preserve some sort of domestic was a key goal in Jacobs life. Jacobs viewed her refuge in the garret as a means to keep some semblance of domesticity and family life by being near her children. She suffered in seclusion for seven years, residing in the garret that ."..was only nine feet long and seven wide. The highest part was three feet high..." (91). Jacobs did in the name of family, in yearning for domesticity, for through all her discomfort she was able to take solace and even joy in at least being able to be near her children, "But I was not comfortless. I heard the voices of my children" (92). Jacobs' pains illustrate how strong of a desire for the domestic family life that was denied. Even after obtaining freedom for her children and herself, she writes, "The dream of my life is not yet realized. I do not sit with my children in a home of my own. I still long for a hearthstone of my own" (156). A traditional family life remained Jacobs' most desperate dream which she partially obtained in her freedom, but not in the same manner that a white woman could enjoy.
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