I could work as much and eat as much as a man – when I could get it – and bear the lash as well! And ain't I a woman? I have bor
ne thirteen children, and seen most all sold off to slavery, and when I cried out with my mother's grief, none but Jesus heard me! And ain't I a woman? What is the primary purpose of the phrases "borne thirteen children" and "cried out with my mother's grief"? to encourage audience members to recall their own struggles to encourage the audience to sympathize with enslaved persons to emphasize the pain and struggle that Truth has lived through to emphasize Truth's belief that women should receive special treatment
