Literary Analysis:

Throughout the reading of Uncle Tom’s Cabin I found interest in relationships between child and mother, so I focused on the theme of motherhood. Even though some of the characters that portray motherhood itself in the book aren’t mothers, Stowe definitely knew what emotions to tie to which characters to give this book life and meaning. In the book we see many mothers, to refresh your memory we saw Eliza, Aunt Chloe, Cassy, Mrs. Shelby, Marie St. Clare, Mrs. Bird, and Madame de Thoux and later Miss Ophelia becomes a mother to Topsy. There is also talk in the book about mothers who are deceased. At the beginning of the book we come to believe that Eliza is one of the main characters because of the portrait that is drawn. Some quotes from chapter seven which is called, “The Mother’s Struggle” helps support what a mother like Eliza goes through to save her only son, Harry.

          “But stronger than all was maternal love, wrought into a paroxysm of frenzy by the near approach of a fearful danger. Her boy was old enough to have walked by her side, and, in an indifferent case, she would only have led him by the hand; buy now the bare thought of putting him out of her arms made her shudder, and she strained him to her bosom with a convulsive grasp, as she went rapidly forward” (page 45). When reading this quote it is almost as if Eliza is being Harry’s hero. She doesn’t want anything bad to happen to her son, which no mother would want anything bad to happen to their child, but she also shows great maternal instinct through her journey.

Also in this chapter the author tries to pull the reader in to put the reader in Eliza’s shoes as a mother and protector.

         “If it were your Harry, mother, or your Willie, that were going to be torn from you by a brutal trader, to-morrow morning,--if you had seen the man, and heard that the papers were signed and delivered, and you had only from twelve o’clock till morning to make good your escape,--how fast could you walk? How many miles could you make in those few brief hours, with the darling at your bosom,--the little sleepy head on your should,--the small, soft arms trustingly holding on to your neck?” (Page 46). When first reading this quote in the book it gives me the shivers due to the fact that I felt like I was Eliza myself. To have to run with all your might to protect your child, to save a relationship and bond that you don’t want to get broken because of a slave trade is just a scary image that I could never imagine doing, but hands down would do it for my child someday if it came to it. Eliza’s motherly instincts are incredible! The way that Mrs. Shelby has raised her through Christian beliefs and values is overwhelmingly amazing to read through the adventures in Uncle Tom’s Cabin.

Although Susan, mother of Emmeline, isn’t mentioned above, I found her to be a very relatable character. When bad things were about to happen in my family, I remember my mom coming in and telling us as a family when my grandma was ill, and she didn’t leave us out of her sight. If she saw us struggling she would be there to hug or to comfort us in hard times. In this case, Susan is struggling to let Emmeline go to a sick, dangerous man. In chapter 30 we see conversation that leads us to believe and shows us the motherly instincts that Susan shows towards Emmeline.

          “I haven’t any heart to sleep, Em; I can’t; it’s the last night we may be together!” “O, mother, don’t say so! Perhaps we shall get sold together,--who knows?” “If’t was anybody’s else case, I should say so, too Em,” said the woman; “but I’m feared of losin’ you that I don’t see anything but the danger (page 301).” When reading this section from page 301 it was obvious that Susan’s upbringing with her daily Bible readings and Christian ways that it was only mother-like for her to have horror of her child being torn away from her. Further down the page there is another quote that really underlines what Susan has taught Emmeline as her mother. “And, Emmeline, if we shouldn’t ever see each other again, after to-morrow,--if I’m sold way up on a plantation somewhere, and you somewhere else,--always remember how you’ve been brought up, and all Missis has told you; take your Bible with you, and your hymn-book; and if you’re faithful to the Lord, he’ll be faithful to you (page 301).” This shows how Susan feels helpless, but she wants to protect her from whatever may come her way. With trusting in the Lord, she believes that the faith that she has taught Emmeline will keep her safe.

One last quote I’d like to share was one from page 72 with Mrs. Bird and Mr. Bird. Here we learned a lot about these two characters and their ways that Stowe painted them to be.

          “Now, John, I don’t know anything about politics, but I can read my Bible; and there I see that I must feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and comfort the desolate; and that Bible I mean to follow (page 72).”

Here we don’t only get to see the power that Mrs. Bird holds towards her husband, the senator, but also her sense in motherhood. She, herself, represents what any mother should do for her child and to anyone else’s child who needs some kind of love and protection. In class we got a handout that we had to look deeper into these two characters. We made a list that shows Mrs. Bird being timid, sweet, blushing, and how she can’t handle cruelty of any kind. As we keep reading through the chapter Mr. Bird loosens up after hearing Eliza’s story and changes what end of the spectrum he lies on for the fugitive slave law.

As we learned in class, Uncle Tom’s Cabin was written to the readers to let them know that slavery wasn’t good, that it should be abolished. With learning about the genre, sentimental fiction, it helped with the understanding of where Harriet Beecher Stowe was coming from in a sense. It helped us better understand that of the emotions of many characters and why religious overtones were so important. With connecting this to motherhood, it shows the significance in the spiritual guidance and wisdom the mother figures show throughout this novel. It shows that those women hold power in a different way than what we are used to hearing when people say that the men hold the power. In this case, as mentioned on a previous blog post, that in sentimental fiction, there are different spheres in which the genders fall into. Women: Home, domestic, private; Men: public, commerce, government. This is definitely outlined throughout the book through many of the characters relationships to their spouses. One of the first contexts at which we see this unfolding is when Mr. and Mrs. Shelby have a conversation about Mr. Shelby’s business trade.