St. Clare, however, is hurt when he tries to stop a fight at a tavern and dies. Because of this, he cannot keep his promise to free Tom. His wife sells Tom to a plantation owner named Simon Legree. Legree takes Tom to Louisiana. There, he meets other slaves, including Emmeline (who Legree bought at the same time that he bought Tom). Legree begins to hate Tom when Tom disobeys his order to whip the other slaves. Legree beats him, and decides to destroy Tom's faith in God. However, Tom secretly continues to read the Bible and help the other slaves. At the plantation, Tom meets Cassy, another black slave. Her two children had been sold, and she had killed her third child because she was afraid that her child would be sold, too.
Loker has been changed because of the Quakers. George, Eliza, and Harry have finally reached Canada and become free. Meanwhile, Uncle Tom feels so unhappy that he almost gives up, but he has two visions of Jesus and Eva. He decides to continue to be a Christian, even if he has to die. Cassy and Emmeline, with Tom’s encouragement, run away. They cleverly use Legree’s superstitious fears to help them. When Tom does not tell Legree where they are, Legree tells his men to beat him to death. Tom forgives the two men who beat him as he dies, and they feel sorry and become Christians. George Shelby comes just as Tom is dying to free him. He is very angry and sad. However, Tom, saying smilingly, “Who,—who,—who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” dies.
Uncle Tom, the title character of the story, is a patient, noble, unselfish black slave. Stowe wanted him to be a “noble hero”: in the book, he stands up for what he believes in. Even though they do not want to, even his enemies admire him.
Recently, however, his name has also been used negatively. People often think of "Uncle Tom" as an old black man trying to make his masters happy, as people have criticized his quiet acceptance of slavery. However, others argue that this is not true. First of all, Uncle Tom is not really old - he is only eight years older than Mr. Shelby, which shows that he is probably around fifty. Also, Tom is not happy with slavery. His acceptance is not because of stupidity or because he likes slavery. It is because of his religious faith, which tells him to love everyone. Wherever Uncle Tom goes, he loves and spreads comfort and kindness. He helps slaves escape, such as Eliza, Emmeline and Cassy. He also refuses to beat other slaves. Because of this, he is beaten himself. Stowe was not trying to make Tom an example for "blacks" but for white "and" black people. She says that if white people were to be loving and unselfish like Uncle Tom, slavery would be impossible.
Eliza Harris is Mrs. Shelby's favorite maid, George Harris' wife, and Harry's mother. Eliza is a brave, intelligent, and very beautiful young slave. Eliza loves her son, Harry, very much. It is possible her love for him was even greater because she lost two of her first infant children. Her motherly love is shown when she bravely escapes with her son. Perhaps the most well-known part of "Uncle Tom's Cabin" is the part where Eliza escapes on the Ohio River with Harry.
This escape is said to have been inspired by a story heard in the Lane Theological Seminary in Cincinnati by John Rankin to Stowe's husband Calvin, a professor at the school. In Rankin's story, in February, 1838, a young slave woman had escaped across the frozen Ohio River to the town of Ripley, Ohio with her child in her arms and stayed at his house before she had gone further towards the north.
Eva "Evangeline" St. Clare is St. Clare and Marie's angelic daughter. She enters the story when Tom saves her from drowning when he was going to be sold. Eva asks her father to buy Tom. She says, "I want to make him happy". Through her, Tom becomes St. Clare's leading coachman and Eva's "especial attendant (helper)...Tom had...orders to let everything else go, and attend to Miss Eva whenever she wanted him,—orders which our readers may fancy (imagine) were far from disagreeable to him." She is very beautiful: "Her form was the perfection of childish beauty...Her face was remarkable less for its perfect beauty of features than for a singular (strange) and dreamy earnestness (seriousness) of expression...all marked her out (made her different) from the other children, and made every one turn and look after her".
To Tom, she "...seemed something almost divine; and whenever her golden head and deep blue eyes peered (looked) out upon him...he half believed that he saw one of the angels stepped out of his New Testament." He says that "She's got the Lord's mark in her forehead." Eva is an almost perfect, Christ-like child. She is very sad about slavery. She does not see the difference between blacks and whites. She talks very much about love and forgiveness. Even Topsy is touched by her love. Eva becomes one of the most important people in Tom's life.
Ophelia St. Clare is perhaps the most complicated female character in the novel. St. Clare calls her, "...desperately ... good; it tires me to death to think of it." She does not like slavery. However, she does not like to be touched or come close to any black person as a human being. When she first saw Eva "...shaking hands and kissing" with the blacks, she declared that it had "...fairly turned her stomach (made her feel sick)." She adds, "I want to be kind to everybody, and I wouldn't have anything hurt; but as to kissing...How can she?"
She has a "clear, strong, active mind", and is very practical. However, she has a warm heart, which she shows in her love for St. Clare and Eva. Ophelia hates slavery, but has a deep prejudice against blacks. St. Clare, as a challenge to her, buys Topsy. He tells her to try educating her. At first she tries to teach and help Topsy simply because of duty. However, Stowe says that duty is not enough: there must be love. Eva's death changes Ophelia. When Topsy cries, ""She" said she "loved" me...there an't (is not) "nobody" left now...!" Ophelia gently says, as "honest tears" fell down her face, "Topsy, you poor child..."I" can love you, though I am not like that dear little child. I hope I've learnt something of the love of Christ from her. I can love you...and I'll try to help you to grow up a good Christian girl." Stowe thought that there were many people like Miss Ophelia St. Clare, who did not like slavery but could not think of blacks as people. She wanted to write about such problems through Miss Ophelia.
"Uncle Tom's Cabin"'s most important theme is the evil of slavery. Every part in "Uncle Tom's Cabin" develops the characters and the story. But most importantly, it always tries to show the reader that slavery is evil, un-Christian, and should not be allowed. One way Stowe showed the evil of slavery was how it forced families from each other.
Stowe thought mothers were the "model for all of American life". She also believed that only women could save the United States from slavery. Because of this, another very important theme of "Uncle Tom's Cabin" is the moral power and sanctity of women. White women like Mrs. Bird, St. Clare’s mother, Legree’s mother, and Mrs. Shelby try to make their husbands help their slaves. Eva, who is the "ideal Christian", says that blacks and whites are the same. Black women like Eliza are brave and pious. She escapes from slavery to save her son, and by the end of the novel, has made her whole family come together again. Some critics said that Stowe's female characters are often unrealistic. However, Stowe's novel made many people remember "the importance of women's influence" and helped the women's rights movement later.