What is the role of miscegenation in the novel "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl"?

The heinous practice of misceganation in the antebellum
South is explored in this autobiographical novel by Harriet Jacobs.  Linda, the main
character, is born into slavery, but her parents are fairly well-treated and well taken
care of, as slaves go, and her early childhood is spent in a happy home situation.  When
Linda's mother dies, Linda is sent to the mistress her mother served, where she is,
again, treated fairly well, and taught to read and write.  However, Linda's luck does
not hold when her mistress dies; Linda is given to some relatives who do not treat her
well, and where her new owner pressures her to have sex.  She works hard to avoid this,
and ultimately consents to an affair with a neighboring white man, with whom she has
two children, in an effort to avoid her disgusting owner.  Her hope is that by doing so,
her owner will be irritated and sell her; however, he instead gets revenge by sending
her to work in the fields.

One thing about Linda's
(Harriet's) situation that likely differed from that of many slave women during the time
before the Civil War was the fact that she had a choice--sort of--in refusing Dr.
Flint.  She was able to keep him at bay, and ultimately, find an "alternate"
relationship and thereby avoid him.  Most slave women who were "visited" by the owners
of their plantations were not offered a choice in the matter.