Uncle Tom's Cabin characters

Appears from the start

An enslaved man on Arthur Shelby's Kentucky estate, respected in the quarters for his honesty, Christian faith, and care for others. When Shelby sells him to satisfy a debt, Tom refuses an opportunity to run because he fears the remaining enslaved people would be sold instead.

First appears in chapter 4

Tom's wife and the cook in the Shelby household. Devoted to Tom and their children, she is devastated by his sale and measures the family's security against the possibility that any of them can be taken away.

Appears from the start

An enslaved woman in the Shelby household and the mother of young Harry. Having already lost children, she overhears plans to sell Harry and decides to flee with him rather than allow another separation.

First appears in chapter 3

Eliza's husband, enslaved on a neighboring estate despite his intelligence and mechanical talent. Repeated humiliation by his owner convinces him to seek freedom and reunite with his wife and child.

Also known as Mr. Shelby

Appears from the start

The indebted Kentucky landowner who sells Tom and the child Harry while describing himself as humane. His reluctance does not prevent him from treating people in his household as property when his finances are threatened.

Appears from the start

A slave trader who purchases Tom and Harry from Shelby. Coarse but businesslike, he pursues Eliza after her escape and views families chiefly in terms of sale value.

Also known as Mas'r George

First appears in chapter 4

The Shelbys' young son, fond of Tom and horrified that he is being sold. He promises to find Tom and bring him home when he is old enough.

First appears in chapter 9

An Ohio politician who has supported the Fugitive Slave Law. When Eliza and her child arrive exhausted at his home, the immediate human cost of that policy challenges the distance between his public vote and private conscience.

Also known as Eva

First appears in chapter 14

A young girl whom Tom meets on a Mississippi riverboat. Affectionate, spiritually serious, and unusually attentive to suffering, she persuades her father to buy Tom after he saves her from drowning.

First appears in chapter 15

Eva's charming, intelligent father and Tom's new owner in New Orleans. He recognizes slavery's corruption and treats the people in his household with relative kindness, yet his ease and indecision keep him from acting decisively against the institution.

First appears in chapter 15

Augustine's cousin from Vermont, who comes to New Orleans to help manage his household. Practical, strict, and opposed to slavery, she must confront the prejudice that persists beneath her principles.

First appears in chapter 16

Augustine's self-absorbed wife, preoccupied with her supposed illnesses and social standing. She treats enslaved servants as conveniences and has little patience for Eva's concern for them.

First appears in chapter 20

A mischievous enslaved child whom Augustine places in Miss Ophelia's care. Neglected and punished throughout her short life, she initially meets instruction with evasions and performance rather than trust.

First appears in chapter 30

A brutal Louisiana plantation owner who buys Tom at auction. He uses violence and fear to control enslaved laborers and regards Tom's religious conviction and refusal to harm others as challenges to his authority.

First appears in chapter 33

An enslaved woman on Legree's plantation whose intelligence and knowledge of the household give her limited power amid sustained abuse. She tends Tom after a beating and shares the history that has brought her to despair.

First appears in chapter 30

A frightened young woman bought by Legree at the same auction as Tom. Separated from her mother and singled out by her new owner, she comes under Cassy's protection.