Poetry · Chapter
The Reunion explained
Aunt Chloe encounters her long-lost son Jakey on the street, and they reunite with great joy.
What happens
Aunt Chloe encounters her long-lost son Jakey on the street, and they reunite with great joy. She learns that her other son Ben is married with children in Tennessee, and she plans to bring the whole family together now that she is free from Old Mistus's power.
Themes in this chapter
Motherhood and Family
Aunt Chloe's reunion with her son Jakey and her desire to gather all her children and grandchildren emphasize the centrality of family bonds.
Freedom and Liberation
The chapter celebrates the freedom that allows Jakey to search for his mother and Aunt Chloe to reclaim her son without fear of separation.
Characters to notice
- Aunt Chloe
Reunites with her son Jakey and expresses joy and relief at being free from Old Mistus's control.
- Jakey
Returns after being free, having searched for his mother, and brings news of his brother Ben.
- Mistus
Mentioned as having lost power over Aunt Chloe and having no children after Mister Thomas's death.
- Mister Thomas
Mentioned as deceased, leaving Mistus without children.
- Brother Benny
Mentioned as living in Tennessee with a wife and three children; Aunt Chloe plans to bring him home.
Key passages
“I grasped him tight, and took him home— What gladness filled my cup! And I laughed, and just rolled over, And laughed, and just give up.”
I held him close and brought him home, overwhelmed with joy, laughing until I could barely stand.
Aunt Chloe's ecstatic reaction to seeing her son Jakey after a long separation.
“Old Mistus got no power now To tear us both apart.”
Mistress no longer has the authority to separate us.
Aunt Chloe asserts her newfound freedom from the control of her former enslaver.
“I'm richer now than Mistus, Because I have got my son; And Mister Thomas he is dead, And she's got nary one.”
I am wealthier than Mistress because I have my son, while she has lost her husband and has no children.
Aunt Chloe values her family above material wealth, contrasting her fortune with Mistus's loss.