Uncle Tom’s Cabin · Chapter
An Authentic Ghost Story explained
On Legree's plantation, ghostly legends spread among the slaves, and a figure in a white sheet is seen walking the house at night.
What happens
On Legree's plantation, ghostly legends spread among the slaves, and a figure in a white sheet is seen walking the house at night. Legree, disturbed by the rumors, drinks heavily and has terrifying visions. Meanwhile, on a steamboat, George Shelby encounters Madame de Thoux, who reveals herself to be the sister of George Harris. Cassy, overhearing the conversation, learns details about her lost daughter and faints from the emotional revelation.
Themes in this chapter
Family and Separation
The revelation that Madame de Thoux is George Harris's sister and Cassy's hope of finding her daughter underscore the theme of family bonds broken by slavery.
Resistance and Agency
Cassy's decision to trust George Shelby with her story and the ghostly figure's haunting of Legree represent acts of defiance against oppression.
Hypocrisy of American Society
Legree's terror of the ghost contrasts with his brutal daytime behavior, exposing the moral hypocrisy of slaveholders.
Characters to notice
- George Shelby
Traveling on a steamboat, he meets Madame de Thoux and learns she is George Harris's sister; he also witnesses Cassy's fainting spell.
- Cassy
Traveling with George Shelby, she becomes uneasy and later faints upon hearing details about her daughter's sale.
- Madame de Thoux
A French lady on the steamboat who reveals herself as George Harris's sister and inquires about her brother's fate.
- Simon Legree
Haunted by ghostly rumors and a terrifying nocturnal vision, he drinks heavily and experiences a supernatural encounter.
Key passages
“He could not keep himself from looking at her, and watching her perpetually.”
He found himself unable to stop staring at her, observing her constantly.
Describes George Shelby's persistent attention toward Cassy.
“I was sold to the South when he was a boy. I was bought by a good and generous man. He took me with him to the West Indies, set me free, and married me.”
I was sold to the South as a child, but a kind man purchased me, freed me, and later married me after taking me to the West Indies.
Madame de Thoux recounts her own story of enslavement and liberation.
“Legree could not help overhearing this whispering; and it was all the more exciting to him, from the pains that were taken to conceal it from him.”
Legree inevitably caught wind of the whispers, and the effort to hide them only made him more agitated.
Shows Legree's growing paranoia about the ghost stories.
“What a fool is he who locks his door to keep out spirits, who has in his own bosom a spirit he dares not meet alone.”
How foolish is the man who tries to bar ghosts from his room while harboring a guilty conscience he cannot face.
Reflects on Legree's inner torment and the futility of physical barriers against spiritual guilt.