Heroines in Uncle Tom`s Cabin Author(s)

Heroines in Uncle Tom's Cabin
Author(s): Elizabeth Ammons
Source: American Literature, Vol. 49, No. 2 (May, 1977), pp. 161-179
Published by: Duke University Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2925420 .
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Heroines in Uncle Tom's Cabin
ELIZABETH AMMONS
Tufts University
LATE
IN THE NINETEENTH
CENTURY
HarrietBeecherStowean-
nouncedthatGod wroteUncle Tom's Cabin (I852). The novel
by thenseemedtoo monumentaleven to its authorto have been
Stowehad
imaginedby one woman.1Earlierin herlife,in contrast,
book or thatshewas inspired
no doubtthatshewrotethesubversive
preciselybeto writeit, despitemaritaland householdirritations,
causeshewas a woman.
In a letterto herhusbandten yearsbeforethe publicationof the
novel, and almost ninetyyears beforeVirginia Woolf's famous
declarationof independenceon behalfof all women writersin A
Room of One's Own (I929), HarrietBeecherStowe said: "There
is one thingI mustsuggest.If I am to write,I musthavea roomto
whichshallbe myroom."3Withherroomcame themission
myself,
to writewhat became America'sbest-knownnovel,and the missionfellto her,she believed,becauseshe was a mother.She recalled
forone of her grownchildren,"I well rememberthe winteryou
werea babyand I was writing'Uncle Tom's Cabin.' My heartwas
burstingwiththe anguishexcitedby the crueltyand injusticeour
nationwas showingto the slave,and prayingGod to let me do a
littleand to cause my cryforthemto be heard.I remembermany
a nightweepingover you as you lay sleepingbeside me, and I
thoughtof the slave motherswhosebabiesweretornfromthem."'
One ofhersevenchildrendiedwhilestillan infant.She says:"It was
at his dyingbed and at his gravethatI learnedwhat a poor slave
mothermayfeelwhen herchildis tornaway fromher."5Authors'
1 See Annie Fields, Life and Letters of Harriet Beecher Stowe (Boston and New York,
I 898), p- 3772 Ellen Moers gives a telling glimpse of Stowe's domestic situation in Literary Women:
The Great Writers (New York, I976), pp. 3-4; for the view that Stowe's sympathy with
enslaved people might be traced to her own experience with servitude as a wife and mother,
see JohnR. Adams, Harriet Beecher Stowe (New York, I963).
3 Charles Edward Stowe, Life of Harriet Beecher Stowe Compiled from Her Letters and
lournals (Boston and New York, I889), p. I04.
4 Ibid., p. I 49.
5 Ibid., p. I98.
I62
American Literature
provemisleading,
on thegenesisof theirworksometimes
remarks
experience
as the
in
on
maternal
butnot thiscase.Stowe'sinsistence
theethicalcenofUncleTom'sCabinidentifies
principle
generative
andoftenmisunderterofthenovel,andhelpsexplaintheunusual,
ofTom.
characterization
stood,
long-suffering
domestic,
pious,chaste,
isgentle,
Stowe'sprotagonist
thoseattributes
heroine,
In a nineteenth-century
and self-sacrificing.
withtheheroof
them,however,
Associate
wouldnotseemstrange.
andreaders'
foritsAdamicrebels,
an American
novel,a genresifted
UncleTom'sCabin
Indeed,thefarther
can evaporate.
complacence
the
slavery,
reality
ofchattel
has movedin timefromthehistorical
Tomhasbecome;
"effeminate"
andthemorecriticized
moreobvious
it is statedin so manywordsor not,oftenwhatis
and whether
insteadofa
to is thefactthatStowemakeshima heroine
objected
ofTom,andthewayStowelinks
feminization
Thatdeliberate
hero.6
blackand
ofmothers,
himto Eva andthembothto a constellation
white,arewhatI wishto discuss.
critical
The importance
ofwomenin Stowe'snovelhas attracted
in
remarks
that"thegreatevangelists
notice.EdwardWagenknecht
.
.
.
like
Eva
little
girls
of
them
female-some
fiction
are
all
her
thepowerof
in UncleTom'sCabin,whosavesTopsybyembodying
thatTom is
Jesus'slove."7Donald K. Pickens,who maintains
bluntly
in spiteof Mrs. Stowe'sracistinclinations,"
"admirable
It is a feminist
tract.The
states:"UncleTom'sCabinis subversive.
areupin counter
distinction,
. . . Women,
menarenotattractive.
AliceC. Crozierexplainsthat
rightandtruetotheirinnerselves."8
6 On Tom as an unmanned characterwho reflectshis author's racism, see James Baldwin,
58I. Less responsible is
"Everybody's Protest Novel," Partisan Review, XVI (June, I949),
the vehement and often ad feminam attack on Stowe and her novel in J. C. Furnas's
Goodbye to Uncle Tom (New York, I956). (For a sound discussion of Stowe's racial attitudes in an historical context, which shows them liberal for her day, see Thomas Graham,
"Harriet Beecher Stowe and the Question of Race," New England Quarterly,XLVI [Dec.,
fictionfavored domesticated heroes
The fact that much nineteenth-century
I973], 6I4-622.)
is an historical commonplace (see, e.g., Fred Lewis Pattee, The Feminine Fifties [New York
and the prevalence of effeminized heroes (by today's standards) in
and London, I940]),
popular fictionof Stowe's (lay does shed light on her depiction of Tom. Where Stowe departs
from her contemporaries, primarily, is in making Tom inherently feminine rather than
women, and in providing her own theological and
exteriorly domesticated-"tamed"-by
political constructto support her unusual conception of Tom.
7Edward
Wagenknecht, Harriet Beecher Stowe: The Known and the Unknown (New
York, I965), p. 99.
8 Donald K. Pickens, "Uncle Tom Becomes Nat Turner: A Commentary on Two American Heroes," Negro American Literature Forum, III (Spring, I969), 47, 46.
Heroines in Uncle Tom's Cabin
I63
thenovelcharacterizes
mothers
as "therealsaviorsof society,"
and
shepointsoutsomesimilarities
between
Stowe'smothers
andUncle
Tom on theone handand littleEva on theother.9
Whatneeds
discussion
is thenature
ofStowe'sfeminism
inthenovelandherodd
equationof mothers/Eva/Tom,
an equationwhich,if followed
through
to itslogicalconclusion,
arguestheradicalsubstitution
of
feminine
andmaternal
formasculine
values.10
Stowe'streatment
of maternal
valuesmayat a glancelook unremarkable.
Nearlyeverypage of UncleTom's Cabinhymnsthe
virtues
of Mother,
therevered
figure
whosebenigninfluence
over
domestic
lifein thenineteenth
century
was conveniently
supposed,
andpromoted,
toredress
in
theabusesagainst
humanity
engendered
the masculine,
money-making
realm.Stowe,however,
refusesto
appoint
Mother
thehandmaiden
ofMammon
in UncleTom'sCabin.
in theunorthodox
Instead,
sheenlists
thecultofmotherhood
cause
ofchallenging,
notaccommodating,
thepatriarchal
status
quo. Like
her sisterCatharineBeecher,HarrietBeecherStowedisplaysin
UncleTom's Cabina facility
forconverting
essentially
repressive
concepts
offemininity
intoa positive
alternative
(andactivist)
system
ofvaluesin whichwomanfigures
notmerely
as themoralsuperior
ofman,hisinspirer,
butas themodelforhiminthenewmillennium
abouttodawn."
In thenovelStoweacceptsthedefinition
of womanpopularat
The Novels of HarrietBeecherStowe (New York, I969), pp. 24, 33,
Crozier offersvaluable analysis of the role of mothers and the importance of the family
in Uncle Tom's Cabin, but her discussion does not study the symbolic implications and connections Stowe builds into the charactersof Eva and Tom which, in my opinion, distinguish
the novel from conventional nineteenth-century
American novels in praise of mother-loveand
domesticity.
10John William Ward, though he finally rejects Stowe's view as inadequate and criticizes her characterization of Tom, provides a concise summary of her feminine bias in the
Afterwordto Uncle Tom's Cabin (New York, I966), pp. 490-492.
Also, although he does
not have space to explore the fact, Kenneth S. Lynn notes that Stowe's Christian vision is
emphatically feminine yet: "Oddly enough, she made her main character a man. Uncle Tom
has all the feminine virtues, however, that Mrs. Stowe wished to celebrate-gentleness,
patience, understanding, devotion to his family, and a taste for religious reading that is
'confined entirelyto the New Testament'" ("Introduction," Uncle Tom's Cabin [Cambridge,
Mass., I962],
xxiv). Part of my purpose will be to explain how Tom, who is odd, emerges
as an importantheroine in Uncle Tom's Cabin.
11 For an excellent analysis of how Catharine Beecher uses to woman's advantage popular nineteenth-centuryideology about domesticity and femininity,see Kathryn Kish Sklar,
f' Alice C. Crozier,
I9.
CatharineBeecher:A Studyin AmericanDomesticity(New Haven, Conn., and London,
I 973).
i64
AmericanLiterature
She recognizesthattwo"spheres"exist,one mascuthemidcentury.12
the otherfeminineand domestic,and has no
line and commercial,
to the leftquarrelwiththe set of qualitiescommonlypartitioned
womanliness-meansunhand "sphere."For her,femininity-true
shakableallegianceto the Christianvirtuesof faith,hope, charity,
purityin body and mind; ethicaldepenmercy,and self-sacrifice;
dence more on emotionthan on reason; submissionto mundane
of the
exceptwhenit violateshigherlaws; and protection
authority
these
stereoMoreover,
home as a sacredand inviolableinstitution.
are in Stowe'sopiniontheonlyworthfeminineattributes
typically
while humanones becausetheyplace the welfareof the group,of
beforethatof self.Her ideal person,therethewholehumanfamily,
one: pious,pure,
fore,is a heroine,and a completelyconventional
emotional,domestic,and outwardlysubunselfish,
noncompetitive,
waysin
in unconventional
missive.Yet Stoweusestheconventional
fora new
Uncle Tom's Cabin.Her novelproposesas thefoundation
femininenurture:a
era,in place of masculineauthority,
democratic
Eva, whosename
girl-child,
typeofloveepitomizedin theChristlike
calls to mindtheEdenicmotherof therace.Figuringas Eva's adult
black
are severalmothersand one man: sweet-tempered
counterparts
loyalto a domesticsetof values.
Tom, meeklike Christyetfiercely
of genderin theEva/Christand
The author'sobviouscontradiction
associations,
bothofwhichserveas savioranaloguesin
Tom/heroine
as she laterstatedit plainly,that
thenovel,animatesherconviction,
"therewas in Jesusmoreof thepurefeminineelementthanin any
otherman."13The feminineChristis no figureof speechforStowe.
12 See Barbara Welter, "The Cult of True Womanhood: 1820-1860,"
American QuarWelter, "Anti-Intellectualism and the American
terly, XVIII (Summer, I966),
I5I-I74;
258-270;
Carroll Smith-Rosenberg,
Woman: i8oo-i86o," Mid-America, XLVIII (I966),
"The Hysterical Woman: Sex Roles and Role Conflict in Igth-Century America," Social
655-656; Page Smith, Daughters of the Promised Land:
Research, XXXIX (Winter, I972),
p. 2I0; Aileen S. Kraditor, Up
Women in American History (Boston and Toronto, I970),
from the Pedestal: Selected Writingsin the History of American Feminism (Chicago, I968),
pp.
II-I3.
13 Harriet
in The Writings of Harriet Beecher
Beecher Stowe, Religious Studies (I877)
Stowe (Boston and New York, I896), XV, 36. In context Stowe analyzes the relationship
between Mary and Jesus to support and explain Christ's feminine nature: "He was bone of
her bone and flesh of her flesh-his life grew out of her immortal nature. We are led to
see in our Lord a peculiarity as to the manner of his birth which made him more purely
sympatheticwith his mother than any other son of woman. He had no mortal father. All
that was human in him was her nature; it was the union of the divine nature with the
nature of pure woman. Hence there was in Jesus more of the pure feminine element than
in any other man. It was the feminine element exalted and taken in union with divinity"
(ibid.).
Heroines in Uncle Tom's Cabin
I65
Itis a concept
thatguidescharacterization
andinspires
thematernalin UncleTom'sCabin.
feminist
casttohervisionofethical
revolution
The Redeemer
fromthesinsofthefathers
in thenovelis not,as traditional
theology
putsit,a secondAdam(an emblem
utterly
familiar
ofcourseto anyonewhowasthedaughter,
andwifeofminsister,
isters),
butas Stowewouldputit,a secondEve.
The openingepisodeof UncleTom's Cabinintroduces
Stowe's
argument
by portraying
mothers,
blackand white,as activeopscenemakesclear,is
The system
thisfirst
ponents
ofslavery.
itself,
basically
masculine:
whitemenbuyandsellblackpeoplewhilethe
whitewomanstandsbypowerless
tointervene.
Thismaynotbe the
pattern
in everycasebut,in Stowe'sopinion,
it is themodel,as her
primeand detailedtreatment
ofit suggests.
Whentheslave-holder,
Mr.Shelby,
getshimself
intodebtanddecidesthathe mustsellsome
property,
hesettles
on Eliza'sson,Harry,
andUncleTom.Shelby,
it
is true,doesnotwantto sellthepretty
childor thekindmanwho
raisedhimfroma boy;butsellhedoes,andtoa trader
heknowsto
be so callous,so "'aliveto nothing
buttradeand profit. . . [that]
he'd sell his own motherat a good per centage.'"'i Figuratively
and
Shelbywoulddo thesame,as hissellingofTom demonstrates,
Stoweemphasizes
howfinethelineis thatseparates
the"benevolent"
planter
Shelbyand thecoarsetrader
Haley,whosefavorite
topicof
conversation
(to Shelby'sdiscomfort)
alwayshas to do withslave
mothers'
aggravating
attachment
to theirchildren,
whomHaleyis
inthebusiness
ofsellingawayfromthem.Shelby
isin thesamebusiness,one stepremoved,
butwouldrathernot admitit. His wife
confronts
him.Although
helplessto overrule
himlegally,
shecries
out againsthis refined
brutality,
callingslavery"'a bitter,
bitter,
mostaccursed
anda cursetotheslave!
thing!-acursetothemaster
I wasa fooltothink
I couldmakeanything
goodoutofsucha deadly
evil.. . . I neverthought
thatslavery
was right-never
feltwilling
toownslaves'"(I, 58). Whenhermatesuggests
theysneakoffon a
tripto avoidwitnessing
theblackfamilies'
griefat separation,
her
resistance
crystallizes.
"'No, no,'saidMrs.Shelby;'I'll beinno sense
accomplice
or helpin thiscruelbusiness'"(I, 59). LikewiseTom's
wife,
AuntChloe,reacts
rebelliously,
supporting
Elizainherdecision
14 HarrietBeecherStowe,UncleTom's Cabin; or,Life AmongtheLowly (Boston,I852),
I, 59. Citationsin mytextare to thepagesof thiseditionand are precededby thenumeralI
or II to indicatevolumeI or II.
i66
AmericanLiterature
to runaway withherchildand urgingTom to go withher.These
two maternalantagonistsof slaverysecureEliza's flight.Because
encouragesthe slaves to sabotagethe
Mrs. Shelby surreptitiously
searchforEliza, and becauseAunt Chloe stallsthe pursuitby producingculinarydisasterswhichkeep the searchpartyat dinnerfor
hours,Eliza is able to makeherbreakforfreedomacrossthefrozen
Ohio,babyin arms.
one whiteand one
Due to the conspiracyof the two mothers,
Mrs.Bird,
ofstalwart
black,followedbytheequallycrucialassistance
bereaved
wifeofa wrong-headed
Ohio Senatorand herselfa recently
mother,
Eliza and childarrivesafelyat a Quakerstationon theroute
servesas a hintof the ideal in Uncle
to Canada. The community
nonviolent,egalitarian;and
Tom's Cabin. It is family-centered,
especiallyimpressiveamong its membersare two heartymatrons,
namedRuthand Rachel.Stoweremarks:"So muchhas
significantly
said
been
and sung of beautifulyounggirls,why don't somebody
wake up to thebeautyof old women?" (I, I96). For StoweRachel
as a motherand fromthe
Halliday'sbeautyissuesfromherperfection
(because
way sheusesherpowerin whatis in practicea matriarchal
community.
Stowe playswith the idea
completelyhome-centered)
cailing her a figuremuch more
of Rachel as a mother-goddess,
Venuswhom"bards"liketo
worthyofa "cestus"thantheoverrated
followsthatremarkwitha glimpse
singabout,and thenimmediately
operaof Rachel'shusbandhappily"engagedin theanti-patriarchal
tionof shaving"(I, 204-205).
Of course,Stoweis beingwhimsical
here,but onlyin the sensethatshe is too confidenta Christianto
need to appeal seriouslyto pagan conceptsto expressthe principle
incarnatein Rachel,whoseearthymaternalloveStowewill bringto
Eva
Christ-figures,
lifein thetwounlikelybutmotherly
transfigured
and Tom. As a matterof fact the Quaker communityis "antiand
social structure,
patriarchal"in its pacifismand its matrifocal
thatis its beautyforStowe."Rachel neverlooked so trulyand benignlyhappyas at thehead ofhertable.Therewas so muchmotherevenin thewayshepasseda plateofcakes
linessand full-heartedness
or poureda cup of coffee,
thatit seemedto puta spiritintothefood
and drinkshe offered"
(I, 205). RachelHalliday,sittingat thehead
of herfamily'stablein a scenethatbringsto mindChrist'sministry
how humaneand spiritually
nourishing
at theLast Supper,illustrates
mother-rule
mightbe.
Heroines in Uncle Tom's Cabin
I67
Eliza and her familyescapetheirwhitemasters.Most slavesdid
not,and HarrietBeecherStowe places particularemphasison the
by the system'smaternalvictims.The firstslave
horrorssuffered
auctionin the book focuseson an aged motherand teen-agedson
who are sold apartoverthe old woman'spleas and sobs.A young
black woman whosebabyis stolenand sold drownsherselfin the
an entryin a slavetrader'sledgerunder
Mississippi,
heronlyobituary
"losses."A middle-agedslave,her twelvechildrenauctionedaway,
drinksto silencememoryof herthirteenth
babywho was starvedto
death; drunkonce too often,thewoman is lockedin a cellaruntil
herowners'wrath.The degradation
thesmellof hercorpsesatisfies
of Cassy,Simon Legree's chattelconcubine,began with a white
lover'sclandestinesale of her two small children.Cassysparedher
nextbaby;in herown words,"'I tookthelittlefellowin myarms,
whenhe was twoweeksold,and kissedhim,and criedoverhim; and
thenI gave him laudanum,and held him closeto mybosom,while
he sleptto death. . . . I am notsorry,to thisday; he,at least,is out
of pain'" (II, 2IO). These cruellyseveredtiesbetweenmothersand
Stowe'sexposeof slaveryforseveralreachildrenrecurthroughout
sons: to stirAbolitionist
passionwithinparentsin Stowe'saudience,
to assertthehumanityof theblack race in theface of racistmyths
thatblacksdo notsharetheemotionsofwhites,to showthatwomen
sufferhorribletortures
in the midstof a societyboastfulabout its
chivalrytowardthe "gentlesex,"and-most important-todramamaternal
of life-giving
tize therootevilof slavery:thedisplacement
masculineethicthatregardshumanbeings
valuesbya profit-hungry
commodities.
drivers,
bountyhunters,
Planters,
traders,
as marketable
and the
judges,voters-allarewhite,all are men,all areresponsible;
childrenin Uncle Tom's Cabin show the
mothersand motherless
humancostofthesystem.
Stowe'schargemorestarklythanTopsy.
No characterillustrates
kept ignorantby
Motherlessall her younglife and systematically
whites,whatcan thechildbelieveexceptthatshe "justgrowed"?It
is a miraclethatshe has managedthat.For yearsher ownershave
routinelybeatenher withchainsand fireplacepokers,starvedher,
and lockedherin closetsuntilshe can respondto nothingbut pain
byan
and violentabuse.The childhas beencrippledpsychologically
entiresocialstructure
designedto stripher (and herblack
purposely
brothers)of all senseof humanselfhood.StowedefendsTopsyas a
i68
American Literature
crediblecharacterin A Key to Uncle Tom's Cabin (I853): "Does
anyone wishto knowwhatis inscribedon theseal whichkeepsthe
greatstoneoverthe sepulchreof Africanmind? It is this,-which
wassotruly
saidbypoorTopsy,-'NOTHING
BUT A NIGGER!
Itisthis,
burntinto the soul by the branding-iron
of cruel and unchristian
scorn,thatis a sorerand deeperwoundthanall thephysicalevilsof
slaverytogether.
Thereneverwas a slavewho did notfeelit."15
It is significant
thatonlyEvangelineSt. Clare can dressTopsy's
"wound"and awakenin themotherless
blackgirlfeelingsof tenderness,trust,
and self-respect.
To understand
theetherealblondechild's
life-renewing
influence,
one musttakeseriously
theunearthly
qualitiesStoweattachesto Eva. She is not a realisticcharacterany more
thanHawthorne'spreternatural
Pearl in The ScarletLetter(I850)
orMelville'sPip in MobyDick (I85I). Stowe,too,relieson Romantic
convention
in UncleTom's Cabin,first
publishedseriallyin I85I-52.
She consistently
describesEva as dreamy,buoyant,inspired,cloudlike,spotless;and flatlystatesthatthischild has an "aerial grace,
suchas one mightdreamof forsomemythicand allegoricalbeing"
(I, 2II). Stowe is clear thather mythicand allegoricalcharacter
resemblesJesus.Tom, who "almostworshippedher as something
heavenlyand divine,"oftengazes on Eva "as theItaliansailorgazes
on his image of the child Jesus,-witha mixtureof reverenceand
tenderness"
(II, 6i). Eva's Mammyconsidersher a "blessedlamb"
not destinedto live long (II, 85). Stowe calls her a "dove" and
associatesherwiththe morningstar(II, 47, io6, II4). Ophelia describesheras "Christ-like"
and hopesthatshehas learned"something
of theloveof Christfromher" (II, 95, II7). Tom, beforeherdeath,
visualizesEva's faceamongtheangels;and aftersheis gone he has
a dream-vision
of the saintlychild readingChrist'swordsto him,
wordsofcomfort
whichendwith" 'I am theLord thyGod,theHoly
One of Israel,thySaviour'" (II, I87). Even while alive Eva's selflessnessseemssupranatural.
Sightsand storiesof slavery'satrocity
make "her large,mysticeyesdilatewithhorror"(IT, 6) and move
She explains,
herto layherhandson herbreastand sighprofoundly.
with
" 'thesethingssinkintomyheart"' (II, 28). The childidentifies
theslaves'misery,
tellingTom finally:" 'I can understand
whyJesus
wantedto die forus. . . . I would die forthem,Tom, if I could"'
15
Harriet Beecher Stowe, A Key to UncleTom's Cabin (Boston, I853),
p.
5I.
Heroines in Uncle Tom's Cabin
I69
(II, 84). On thefigurative
level-the onlylevelon whichEva makes
her deathto demonstrate
sense-she getsherwish.Stowecontrives
spiritin thecorruptplantathatthereis no lifefora pure,Christlike
tioneconomythebookattacks.
None of thismeansthatEva "is" Christ.But I thinkit does mean
thatshe reflects
by way of her name a typeof Christ,and Stowe's
unusualtypologyvivifiesthe moral centerof Uncle Tom's Cabin.
As Ursula Brummexplainsof typologyin generalin American
Thoughtand ReligiousTypology:"Typologyis a patternforcon. . . The
struingtheworld'seventsas leadingtowardredemption.
typeis not a symbolof Christ.It is a definitehistoricalpersonor
Christ,yetexistswithits
eventof theOld Testamentthatprefigures
own independentmeaningand justification."16
The mostcommon
typehas alwaysbeen Adam-Christ;just as the race was born in
Adam, so it is rebornin Christ,the new Adam. Stowe suggestsa
different
type: Eve-Christ.(It is worthnotingthat Marie, Eva's
the
mother,in name-though in nothingelse-helps strengthen
of
personification
Christportionof theemblem.)Eva is no ordinary
whichis fullof
literature
Christianlove,evenin nineteenth-century
saintlytubercularchildrenand incrediblyvirtuousheroinesimmen.One critic
pedestaledas thespiritualbetters
of theirlessperfect
laughsat Stowefortheignorantblunderofmakingthechild"a sort
of paper-dollChristof thewrongsex."17Paper-dollshe mightseem;
mythicand allegoricalbeingsare noteasyto bringto life.But there
is no mistakein gender.Stowecreatesa girland namesherforEve as
obviousin
a prefigure
ofChristbecauseshebelieves,as is everywhere
UncleTom's Cabin,thattheSavior'sloveis thatofwoman,especially
mothers.Stowesaid of thenovela coupleof yearsafteritspublication,"This storyis to show how JesusChrist,who livethand was
has stilla mother'slovefor
dead,and now is aliveand forevermore,
the poor and lowly."18To personify
Christ'smaternallove in the
novelStowealludesto thebiblicalmotherof all people,Eve, whom
she implicitly
frominfamyin the personof an innocent
resurrects
Typology(New Brunswick, N. J.,
Ursula Brumm, AmericanThoughtand Religiotus
she does not discuss Uncle
p. 23. Although Brumm mentions Stowe (pp. 200-203),
Tom's Cabin or Stowe's use of typology; the book's analysis of midcenturyliteratureconcentrateson Emerson, Hawthorne, and Melville.
17 Furnas, p. i8.
18 Charles Edward Stowe, Life, p. I 54.
16
I970),
I70
American Literature
child.19
Her unfallenEva yokesthetwoTestaments:sheis "'one of
forthe
therosesof Eden thattheLord has droppeddown expressly
poor and lowly'" (I, 257-258), at the same timethatthe motherly
littlegirl is the livingimage of a dead Grandmother(also named
and personification
of
Evangeline)who was "'a directembodiment
and
theNew Testament'"(II, I3). The idea ofwomanas evangelist
even as a new and betterEve workingwith the Redeemerto rewas not unique with
claim the worldfromits moderncorruption
Stowe.20But her suggestionof an Eve-Christtypologyis not common,and it is used to originalpurpose.StowemakesherChristlike
" 'evangel'" (I, 262) ofa new,democratic
an Eve/angel
millennium
-a femalespiritwho linksthegospelofJesuswiththemotherofthe
race-to offer
an unmasculine
idealforall humanbehavior.
home
Tom embodiesthatideal. As thetitleof thebook indicates,
at
his
and
Chloe's
and familymattermostto him.He firstappears
cabin,surroundedby children,21
and the firstthingwe hear about
thismanwho has "a voiceas tenderas a woman's"(I, I5I) is thathe
is "'an uncommonfellow'" (I, I4). St. Clare pronounceshim a
"'moral miracle'" (I, 305), and Stowe tellsus that,in additionto
and quietcharacter"
his"remarkably
(I, 208), he is blessed
inoffensive
"to thefull [with] thegentle,domesticheart,which,woe forthem!
has been a peculiarcharacteristic
of his unhappyrace" (I, I40).
Stowe offersthegeneralization
Sold, Tom hoversover
admiringly.
his sleepingchildrenforthe last timein a scenethe authormakes
topainta portrait
ofmasculinereserve.
"Sobs,
memorable
byrefusing
heavy,hoarseand loud, shook the chair [Tom leaned over], and
on thefloor"(I, 64). Tom makes
greattearsfellthroughhis fingers
no effort
to hide his emotion,and he weeps moreforhis children
Tom alwaysplacesthewellthanforhimself.That is characteristic.
beingof othersfirst.He goes peaceablywiththeslavetraderHaley
becausehe knowsthatif he runsawaya largenumberof slaveswill
be sold to matchthepriceShelbycan getforhim.He can evenforgive Shelbyand continueto love the cruelman he caredforfrom
or a
much (Stowe implies)as Christforgavehis oppressors
infancy,
19 On Stowe's divergence from "glacial" Calvinism and its doctrine of natural depravity,
see Crozier, pp. 85-I50.
20
See Welter, "Cult," p. I52.
21 For discussion of the house/cabin/family motif in Uncle Tomn's Cabin, see Egbert S.
Oliver, "The Little Cabin of Uncle Tom," CollegeEnglish,XXVI (Feb., I965), 355-36I.
Heroines in Uncle Tom's Cabin
171
mother
cancontinue
tolovethegrownchildwhobreaksherheart.
The reasonStowegivesforsuchamazingly
behavioris
generous
simple.
Tom,likemostwomenbutfewmenin thenovel,reallytries
to liveaccording
to theGospel'sinjunction
to lovehisneighbor
as
himself.
in UncleTom'sCabinemphasizes
Structure
thatHarrietBeecher
Stoweknowshowunusuala "hero"shedrawsin Tom. He is the
central
character
in thebook,yet,thoughmentioned
and glimpsed
in theearlychapters,
he doesnotentertheactionfullyuntilChapter
in ChapterI2,
IO, thento disappear
forone chapter
and reappear
in ChapterI3 and finallyreentering
theactionfor
disappearing
sustained
treatment
in Chapter14. Two devicesare at workhere.
First,
StowedelaysTom'sstory
untilafter
Eliza'sandGeorgeHarris's
havebeenassured.
successful
escapes
fromslavery
Theiractionshows
Stowe'sapprovalofcourageous
rebellion
againstslavery
and,in the
character
of proudGeorgeHarris,herrespectforconventionally
manlydefiance
of injustice
and enforced
submission.
Thus,bythe
timeUncleTom'sstory
it shouldbe clearthatthe
becomes
central,
authorfeminizes
himnotbecausesheis unableto makehimassertivelymasculine
butbecauseshe doesnotwishto do so. Second,
Stowearranges
Tom'ssustained
entrance
intotheaction,
Chapter
I4,
to associate
himwithmaternal
RachelHallidayin Chapter
figures:
I3 followed
by themotherly
childEva St. Clarein ChapterI4.
Stowe'sstrategy
is clearcut.
She presents
Rachelin all herwarm
maternal
glory,switchesto Tom readinghis Bible forlornand
family-less
on a southbound
steamboat,
thenintroduces
the"sunbeam"Eva whoseimagerefreshes
Tom andwhomStoweimmediatelyidentifies
as mythicand allegorical.
This progression
from
RacheltoTomandEvamarksa turning
pointinthenovel.Itsetsthe
stageforTom's story,
a courseof eventsinaugurated
by his and
Eva'simmersion
in theMississippi
together
(thefigurative
baptism
in theirsimitheironenessin Christ,
whichwilleventuate
signifies
larlyredemptive,
sacrificial
deaths);and it servesas an interpretive
crux.The three
juxtaposed
characters-the
earthy
mother,
thegentle
blackman,and the etherealgirl-child-embody
in different
yet
that
complementary
waystheredemptive
feminine-Christ
principle
informs
UncleTom'sCabin.
Actionas wellas structure
accentuates
Tom'sfeminine
character.
I72
American Literature
and saleofher
griefoverthetheft
a mother's
watches
He tearfully
baby,and
and cruel,because,
horrible
unutterably
to him,it lookedlikesomething
and to take
blacksoul!he had notlearnedto generalize,
poor,ignorant
of
by certainministers
enlargedviews.If he had onlybeeninstructed
ofit,andseeninitan every-day
better
Christianity,
hemighthavethought
ofan instituofa lawfultrade;a tradewhichis thevitalsupport
incident
tionwhichsomeAmericandivinestellus has no evilsbut suchas are
life.ButTom,
in socialanddomestic
fromanyotherrelations
inseparable
hadbeenconfined
whosereading
fellow,
as we see,beinga poor,ignorant
with
andsolacehimself
couldnotcomfort
entirely
totheNew Testament,
viewslikethese.(I, I90-I9I)
here,butherpoint
getsheavy-handed
mockcontempt
The author's
as Stowe's
ofslavery
tothehorror
He reacts
aboutTomisimportant.
practicomfort,
compassion,
heroines
do: fromtheheart.Empathy,
describe
dispositions
support-these
cal assistance,
psychological
women.
Stowe'sUncleTom justas theydo mostofheradmirable
is nothis
choosestoremember
whichpopularculture
The passivity
given
possible(whichis infrequent,
dominant
whenever
attribute;
hisslavestatus)Tom doestakeaction.Buthe is alwaysnonviolent
a microcosm
ofthecommercial
and patient.
At Legree'splantation,
a commiseraoffeeling,
whiteethicStoweindicts,
Tom's"tenderness
and newto them"(II, i88) so
tionforhisfellow-sufferers,
strange
SimonLegreethathe becomesobmasculine
infuriates
grotesquely
ofmakingTom "hard"(II, I89)-brutal,
sessedwiththechallenge
Butno amountof
a fitcandidate
foroverseer.
callous,authoritarian:
canmakeTom agreetofloghisfellowslaves.Legreecannot
torture
rather
himself
sacrificing
hardenhim.To theendTomremains
soft,
slavewomen.
thanbetray
thehidingplaceoftwofugitive
tocharacterize
inchoosing
Stowedisplays
shrewd
strategy
political
selfheroine:pious,domestic,
herheroas a stereotypical
Victorian
and
ethical
in
to
people
uninhibitedresponse
emotionally
sacrificing,
makeTomunthreatenNotonlydoesthecharacterization
questions.
waythatwouldplayintothehandsofbelligerently
inginanyliteral
whomustbe
thatblackswerebrutes
racistwhiteswhomaintained
insinuates
Tom intothenineteenththecharacterization
oppressed;
in younggirls
offeminine
sentimentalized
virtue,
century
idolatry
is thatshe
inMother.
andsacrosanct
Stowe'sgeniusas a propagandist
in a
and
the
latter
former
in
Eva
both
conventions-the
exploits
Heroines in Uncle Tom's Cabin
173
panoramaof mothersof bothraces (especiallyRachel Halliday)
and then,havingcapturedher audience'sallegiance,extendsthat
allegianceto Tom by making him, a black man, the supreme
thenovelaskswho,withoutforsaking
heroineofthebook.Implicitly
reverenceforMotherand the sanctityof the Home, could fail to
championTom's rightto libertyforhimselfand his familyand, by
thatsamerightforall slaves?
extension,
of Tom also is importantbecauseit argues
Stowe'sfeminization
of slavinfluence
to thecorrupting
resistance
hercase fornonviolent
ery as the only hope for the permanenteradicationof a system
based on violence.In Stowe'sview,ten yearsbeforethe Civil War,
the solutionto slaverydoes not lie in armed rebellion,meeting
withthatreaction
violencewithviolence(thoughshe sympathizes
to
in the characterof GeorgeHarrisand returns the idea of black
novelinspired
fouryearslaterin her antislavery
counter-aggression
by the Nat Turnerrebellion:Dred, A Tale of the Great Dismal
Romanticin this,locates
Swamp [I856]). In I852 Stowe,thoroughly
the solutionto slaveryin a revolutionof whitevalues which will
honor emotionalveritiesabove rationalizedmaterialistschemes.
Nurturantvalues in her opinion have been, but should not be,
shuntedoffby men into the safekeepingof women; truthsof the
fitto governonly the
heartare consideredfeminineand therefore
domestic"sphere"of life.In A Key to Uncle Tom's Cabin Stowe
commentson theworldlydrive"to be above othersin power,rank
man
whichdistinguishes
and station"and says:"If thereis anything
it is thathe is par excellencean oppressive
fromothercreatures,
animal.On thisprinciple. . . all empireshave been founded;and
theidea offoundinga kingdomin anyotherwayhad notevenbeen
thoughtof when Jesusof Nazarethappeared";she saysthat"Jesus
Christalone foundedhis empireupon LOVE."22 This oppositionbeforsocialorganization
tweenpowerand loveas possiblefoundations
or
of aristocracy
appearsin Uncle Tom's Cabin as the alternatives
democracyand, in economicterms,capitalismor cooperativism.
Stowe so obviouslycriticizesthe firsthalf of each antithesis(she
uses thewomanishspokesmanAugustineSt. Clare,Eva's father,to
hercase) thatCharlesH. Fosterdoes notdistortthebook
articulate
22
Key,p. 229.
I74
American Literature
it in a Marxianlight.28
Fosteris mistaken,
bydiscussing
however,
capitalism
whenhe concludesthatStowe'sattackon laissez-faire
provides"the masculineedge, the intellectualbite of Uncle Tom's
Cabin."24Quite the contrary.
Stowe'scriticismof the profitmotive
heartof herarrevealsthedistinctly
feminine,
specifically
maternal,
gumentagainstwhat she and othersreferred
to as "the patriarchal
institution,"
slavery.25
She insiststhatlove is moreimportantthan
power; and Uncle Tom's Cabin endorsesa domesticideology,espeto makethepoint
ciallyin thepersonof itsgentlemale protagonist,
thathomeand mothermustnotfigureas sanctuaries
fromtheworld
butas imperative
modelsforitsreconstitution.
The taskoffeminizing
or Christianizing
dominanthumanvalueswill not be easy.White
menholdall worldlypower;and untiltheyundergoa radicalchange
of heart,Stowe realistically
believes,no fundamentalchange will
occur.Nevertheless
she argues,or one mightmore accuratelysay
hopes,thatradicalyetpeacefulchangecan takeplace. In thenovel
Tom's unbelligerent
characterprovokeshis murder,and thatcauses
GeorgeShelby,theson of Tom's originalowner,to freetheShelby
slaveswhen he returnsto the Kentuckyplantation.That is, Tom's
at thehandsof brutalSimonLegreeinspireslimitedbut
martyrdom
concretesocial change,a change thatbeginsin one youngman's
heartand radiatesfromtheretobringone smallsegmentofthesocial
23 CharlesH. Foster,The RunglessLadder: HarrietBeecherStowe and New
England
Puritanism(Durham, N. C., 1954), pp. 49-55. Also Thomas P. Riggio points out that
"Mrs. Stowe's decision to make the novel's archvillain [Legree] a nightmare version of the
Yankee peddler . . . highlighted the capitalist basis of slavery," and implicated the North
along with the South ("Uncle Tom Reconstructed: A Neglected Chapter in the History of a
Book," American Quarterly,XXVIII [Spring, I976], 64).
24 Foster, p. 56.
25 Stowe used the term in correspondence about her
manuscript to the National Era, the
weekly that serialized Uncle Tom's Cabin beforeit appeared in book form; see ForrestWilson,
Crusaderin Crinoline:The Life of HarrietBeecherStowe (Philadelphia, 1941), p. 259. The
term "patriarchal institution" as a synonym for slavery was common, especially among
Southernerswho used it as a favorable label (see Severn Duvall, "Uncle Tom's Cabin: The
Sinister Side of the Patriarchy,"New England Quarterly,XXXVI [March, I963],
3-22,
and
Barrie Hayne's bibliography for "Yankee in the Patriarchy: T. B. Thorpe's Reply to Uncle
Tom's Cabin," AmericanQuarterly,
XX [Summer, I968], I80-I8I,
n. I); so too much
should not be made of Stowe's repeating the phrase. Yet in the novel she does use the words
"patriarch" and "patriarchal" and, as I have already pointed out, "anti-patriarchal" in
provocative ways. She once refersto slavery as "the patriarchal institution" (I, 23) and her
purpose is to deflate prettymyths about benevolent slavery. Also, she uses the word "patriarch" several times but never to referto a white man. She attaches it instead to Uncle Tom
and to a pious old Negro on Shelby's plantation (I, 50, 52; II, 309); in each case Stowe uses
"patriarch" to referto a black man who is respectedin the black community for his religious
faithand wisdom, not for his worldly power (neither man has any).
He-oines in Uncle Tom's Cabin
I75
orderin linewiththevaluesof Mrs.ratherthanMr. Shelby,the
mother
rather
thanthefather.
is important
becauseit demonstrates
FinallyTom's character
in accordwithher
Stowe'sbeliefthata man can liveadmirably
and gentleness
ideal.Tom'ssensitivity
nineteenth-century
maternal
Instead,they
do notin heropinionmakehim a weak character.
andcourage
attractive
malestrength
combine
withhistraditionally
to createa morally
and morelovingthanaveragemanin
superior
to
theAmericashe fictionalizes.
(Stowedoesat timescondescend
blackTom. The otherside of thatcontroversy,
lowly,ignorant,
manin thenovel
however,
is thefactthatshemakestheworthiest
isgenuine.)
black,andhercommitment
One couldarguethatthepurposeof UncleTom'sCabin,a book
is to definetrue
truewomanliness,
confident
aboutwhatcomprises
in thecharon crudemasculinity
manliness.
Stowegivesherverdict
actersofHaley,Marks,Loker,Skeggs,and SimonLegree,whoare
and dealersin death.Legree,withhis
all antisocial,
misogynist,
anda veryserious
one,
is a caricature,
bulletheadandironknuckles,
withthedevil,Christ's
of supermasculinity,
whichStoweassociates
is thehell of UncleTom's Cabin
antagonist.
Legree'splantation
antimaternal,
antifamily
princibecauseit is builton antifeminine,
hishorror
bymakingLegree'soneterror
ples,as Stoweemphasizes
ofthefeminine.
againstthecoilofEva'shairthat
He is defenseless
and thesoftness
of Tom's character
reminds
himof his mother,
arewhitemenlike
maddens
him.At theotherendofthespectrum
to
andMr.Wilsonwhosesusceptibility
Senator
BirdorMr.Symmes
or impulsesmakesthempotentially
feminine
influence
admirable,
commercial
butonlypotentially,
becausetheydefythemasculine,
thandoingso publicly
ethicsecretly
andwitha senseofguiltrather
and conscientiously
like the maternally
guidedQuakermen.In
a
whois forall hisrefinement
between
thepolesstandMr.Shelby,
St.Clare,the
mancloserto Legreethantohiswife,andAugustine
to
mosttortured
whitemanin thebook.In hishearthe subscribes
and
to slavery
Christian
values,as his verbalopposition
feminine,
In some
hisdyingword"Mother!"
testify;
buthiswillis impotent.
privilege
exampleof masculine
waysSt. Clareis a moreterrifying
hehasthepowerto
andpowerthanLegree:heknowswhatis right,
at leastwithrespect
to his own slaves,but
acton thatknowledge
an
to
his refusalto act.If
he invokes arrogant
paternalism justify
AmericanLiterature
I76
one faceof the problem,brutemasculineoppresLegreerepresents
another:patheticmasculinesophistry.
sion,St.Clarerepresents
of masculineethicsdoes not mean thatall of
Stowe'sindictment
Opheliaearns
thewomenin UncleTom's Cabindeserveadmiration.
herown racism,and Eva's
our regardonlyaftershe has confronted
to the end. (Stowe does exmotherremainsviciouslyself-centered
butthewomanis still
byincludingitspathology,
tenuatehercruelty
a destructive
person.)Nor are all whitemen villains-thoughmost
Stowedoesnotcondemnwhite
of themare.Yet thisis notmisandry.
butfortheexploitiveand inhumanevaluesthey
men forthemselves
live by and enforceas the rulingclass in America.A disenchanted
directlyin Dred, the novel thatfolplanterstatesStowe'scriticism
lowed Uncle Tom's Cabin: "'As mattersare going on now in our
I musteitherlowermy standardof rightand honor,and
country,
or I mustbe whattheworld
searmysoulin all itsnoblersensibilities,
calls an unsuccessful
man. There is no pathin life,thatI know of,
where. . . a man can makethepurityof his moralnaturethefirst
in contrast,
denouncesslavery"withthat
object.'"26 This man'ssister,
and generousindignation
whichbelongstowomen,who,
straight-out
generallyspeaking,are readyto followtheirprinciplesto anyresult
thanmen."27
Women,excluded
fearlessness
withmoreinconsiderate
fromthewhitemasculine"success"ethic,had littleor no powerto
in Stowe'sviewplaceprinciplebeforet
beginwithand couldtherefore
of slavery.
withthe immorality
prestigeor profitwhen confronted
ofthestatusquo in her
theydo notfigureas conservers
Consequently
antislavery
fiction.Most of themstandas modelsof an alternative,
humaneethicwhich Stowe envisionsas the foundationforan enand equitablenewera.
lightened
The architecture
of theconcludingchaptersof UncleTom's Cabin
be defined
underscoresStowe's vision,her wish that masculinity
of society.The final
along morefemininelinesforthereformation
one female
chaptersprovidethreepositivemale modelsand, finally,
model. Foremostis Tom, an ideal. Stowe presentshis death as a
Christlikevictoryof the feminineprincipleover satanic:Simon
Legree.Then she presentsGeorge Harris.She makeshim an eloquentspokesmanfortheproud,free,blackman,whoseunderstand26
HarrietBeecherStowe,Dred, A Tale of the GreatDismal Swamp (Bostonand New
York, 1856), p. I8.
27
Ibid.,p. 563.
Heroines in Uncle Tom's Cabin
I77
values,
byhisdevotiontohealingfeminine
is tempered
ablebitterness
namedGeorgeas
significantly
suchas Eliza's. His whitecounterpart,
well,is thefreedplanter,youngShelby;he renounceshisfatheras a
thefamily'sslaves,an actionhis motherhas
modelby emancipating
always favored.These threemen-Tom, George Harris,George
Stowe'sbeliefthatthemaleofthespeciescan be as
Shelby-illustrate
as
thefemalebutonlyifold modelsof masculinity
morally
beautiful
areradicallyrevised.
To describehow thatchangeofmasculineheartmightcomeabout,
Stowe reservesthe last chapterof Uncle Tom's Cabin for herself.
thelasttestimony,
thelastmodelin thebook and offers
She presents
She admitsthatshewas afraid
and it is as a womanthatshetestifies.
of her subject.Slaverywas too huge,too horriblefora woman to
writeabout.But,then,if a woman,a mother,would not speakout,
would anyone?She makesan impassionedappeal to whiteAmeriand
and farmers,
cans,devotinga few linesto sailors,ship-owners,
hervanguard:
thenaddresses
bythecradlesofyourown
whohavelearned,
Mothers
ofAmerica,-you,
children,to love and feelforall mankind,-bythe sacredlove you bear
spotlessinfancy;by themotherly
yourchild; by yourjoy in his beautiful,
pity and tendernesswith which you guide his growingyears; by the
anxietiesof his education; by the prayersyou breathefor his soul's
eternalgood; -I beseechyou,pitythemotherwho has all youraffections,
and not one legal rightto protect,guide, or educate,the child of her
bosom! By the sick hour of yourchild; by thosedyingeyes,whichyou
can neverforget;by thoselast cries,that wrung your heartwhen you
could neitherhelp nor save; by the desolationof thatemptycradle,that
silent nursery,-I beseech you, pity those motherswho are constantly
And say,mothersof America,
made childlessbytheAmericanslave-trade!
is thisa thingto be defended,sympathizedwith,passedover in silence?
(II, 3I6)
She asks,"What can anyindividualdo?" and concludes:"Thereis
one thingthateveryindividualcan do,-theycan see to it thatthey
feelright.. .. The man or woman who feelsstrongly,healthilyand
justly,on the great interestsof humanity,is a constantbenefactorto
the human race. See, then, to your sympathiesin this matter! Are
theyin harmonywith the sympathiesof Christ? or are theyswayed
and pervertedby the sophistriesof worldlypolicy?" (II, 3I7) . Stowe's
appeal is unabashedly emotional, and her vision of reformcan be
I78
American Literature
as nothing
sentiment.
ofpersonal
criticized
morethanan adjustment
tofeeland
ofemotion-being
unafraid
Butprecisely
thatadmission
and thus
steptoAbolition
profess
one'sfeelings-is
forherthefirst
protests
themotivating
aesthetic
ofUncleTom'sCabin.Oneheroine
to feeltoo
whenhercerebral
husbandsays"'You allow yourself
" 'Feeltoomuch!AmnotI a woman,
much'" ontheissueofslavery:
"feeltoo
-a mother?'"(I, i io). Stowewrites
tomakeallAmericans
much"withherwhitewomen,herblackslaves,andherchildrenpeoplewhoarestillaliveto natural
legallynonexistent,
"feminine"
discipline
of
in themasculine
feelings
becausetheyare untrained
reemotionto reason,the discipline
automatically
subordinating
in Stowe'sopinionforlegalizedslavery.
Like her older
sponsible
a handicap
intoan asset.Lowly
sister
Catharine
Stoweturns
Beecher,
man'sworld.
feminine
feeling
canrevolutionize
of
HarrietBeecherStowestoppedshortof theradicalfeminism
heryounger
sister,
IsabellaBeecherHooker,who becamean avid
Harrietdid not
of VictoriaWoodhull.At leastpublicly,
follower
was closeat
declarewithIsabellathebeliefthat"theMillennium
hand[when]thewholeworldwouldsoonbecomea singlematriNordo I find
as Isabellacalledit."28
archy-a'maternal
government,'
convicStowecommenting
on hersister's
anywhere
HarrietBeecher
as
tionthatshe,Isabella,was destinedto rulein theMatriarchy
For
Stowewasmoremoderate.
HarrietBeecher
Christ's
vice-regent.
forwoman's
shesupported
butdid notactively
campaign
instance,
Woodhullon thesubjectof
letaloneagreewithVictoria
suffrage,
UncleTom'sCabinshowstheBeecherhalffreelove.Nevertheless
convinced
thatIsabella
thanbiographers,
sisters
closerideologically
Both womenassociatedChristwith
was mad, like to imply.29
and
in matrifocal
terms,
woman,definedthecomingMillennium
forethicalrevolution
lookedto feminine
valuesas thefoundation
Stowehada
in America.
byI870, HarrietBeecher
Clearlyimpatient
on theissueof women'srights:
character
sympathetic
pronounce
it is this-Shall
"The womanquestionofourday,as I understand
oftheaffairs
MOTHERHOOD
everbe feltin thepublicadministration
p. 57I.
29 Wilson, pp. 571,
28 Wilson,
599; Wagenknecht, p. 34; Johanna Johnston,Runaway to Heaven:
The Storyof Harriet Beecher Stowe (New York, I963), p. 437.
Her-oinesin Uncle Tom's Cabin
I79
of state?""0Stowe had reasonto sound impatient.She had asked
Americathatsame questiontwentyyearsearlierin Uncle Tom's
characters,
odd, maternal-yet-Christlike
Cabin withits purposefully
as
a
blackand
as
of
literal
variety
mothers,
UncleTom and Eva, well
white.
30 Harriet Beecher Stowe, MIy Wile and I; or, Henry Henderson's History (New York,
p. 37.
I87I),