Answer:
Even if he could have obtained permission to marry me while I was a slave, the marriage would give him no power to protect me from my master.
And then, if we had children, I knew they must "follow the condition of the mother."
Explanation:
In Harriet Ann Jacobs' autobiographical work "The Life of A Slave Girl", she recounts how miserable slaves are, especially the womenfolk. The book provides an insight into the world of slavery, thus making it open for the people to notice.
In America, the slavery system made it legal for masters to do whatever they want with their slaves. Slaves are the same as material property, and much worse is the case for the female slaves. The lines from the text
Even if he could have obtained permission to marry me while I was a slave, the marriage would give him no power to protect me from my master.
And then, if we had children, I knew they must "follow the condition of the mother."
clearly shows just how much power and authority the masters have over their slaves. Even though marriages happen within the slaves, it wasn't happy affair for the master can still do whatever he wants with her even after her marriage to someone else. Moreover, her children will all be the same as their mother, that is, continue being slaves. But for the slave owners, this was a blessing for then, if their slaves have children, then it means more hands to work and more productivity for them. The two sentences best reflect the theme that slavery disrupted marriage and family structures within the slaves.
