Sobiner: “...can read well”
Sobiner’s story illustrates the anonymity of being enslaved. Although Sobiner’s enslaver noted that she could read, the ad focuses on the clothing that she took with little attention to Sobiner’s physical appearance or demeanor.
can read well
Sobiner could read, an uncommon skill for colonial women and even rarer for enslaved women. However, the work enslaved laborers performed often determined the skills that they were taught, so some did learn to read and write. It is unclear from the advertisement whether Sobiner’s work required reading.
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