Simon Legree
Appearance: "A little before the sale commenced, a short, broad, muscular man, in a checked shirt considerably open at the bosom, and pantaloons much the worse for dirt and wear, elbowed his way through the crowd, like one who is going actively into a business; and, coming up to the group, began to examine them systematically...He was evidently, though short, of gigantic strength. His round, bullet head, large, light-gray eyes, with their shaggy, sandy eyebrows, and stiff, wiry, sun-burned hair, were rather unprepossessing items, it is to be confessed; his large, coarse mouth was distended with tobacco, the juice of which, from time to time, he ejected from him with great decision and explosive force; his hands were immensely large, hairy, sun-burned, freckled, and very dirty, and garnished with long nails, in a very foul condition."
Personality: Simon Legree is a tyrannical brute. He is so wrapped up in his little world of power, greed and alcohol that if he is exposed to a religious or loving being, he fears them. He is also a very superstitious fellow, and hates to be made fun of or denied.
Family: None that names are provided for
Biography: As a child, Legree was brought up by a loving mother, but took after his tyrannical father. Soon, young Simon became a man of the sea, a merchant. One day, he returned to port to find a letter for him. He opened it, and a lock of brown hair wound itself around his finger like a snake. He quickly shook it off and read the letter itself. It said that his mother was dead, and that with her dying breath, she had professed her love for Simon, her son. After this, Legree became more and more superstitious, and walked farther and farther from the light of the Lord. Soon, Legree had set up his own plantation.
At first, he tried to look after his slaves, feeding and clothing them adequately, tending them when they were sick, but this did not last forever. Legree was unable to make enough money, so he tended his slaves less and less until he discovered that he made much more money if he didn't care for them in the slightest and merely bought more slaves when enough of them died. At some point he comes by Cassy, a slave raised among higher-class people.
Near the end of the novel, Legree buys Uncle Tom, and soon has Tom working out on the plantations. Tom is so obedient that Legree wants to make him into an overseer, but he sees that Tom is too kind. Because of this, Legree decides to "harden" Tom by making the poor black man flog another slave. Tom refuses and immediately, Legree orders his two current overseers to flog Tom himself. That night, Cassy reprimands Legree for flogging Tom, but the plantation owner hardly pays her any attention.
When Legree's two overseers come back with a little package that Tom apparently had on his person, Legree goes to open it. When a lock of golden hair twines its way around his fingers, Legree immediately flings it into the fire, certain that it is some sort of witchcraft. He spends the rest of the night drinking with his overseers to forget the incident and the nightmares that accompany it. From this point on, Legree begins to torment Tom, flogging him, starving him, exhausting him, and dehydrating him.
Some time later, Legree spots Tom at a cooking fire reading his old bible, and Legree tells the old slave to submit, or else continue suffering. Tom refuses, though his heart should be at its most hopeless. The next day, Tom is suddenly spry and happy again, which frustrates Legree to no end. Soon Tom has his own little religious following, which Legree bans from gathering, especially on Sundays. One night, Legree is drinking, and falls aslep, though he is sure that he has not consumed enough alcohol to induce this effect.
Soon after this, strange noises begin to come from the garret of Legree's house, a garret that was believed to be haunted. Legree begins having nightmares, and Cassy's presence only serves to make them worse. One day, Cassy and another slave are seen running away, but as Legree and his other slaves search for the two escapees, they cannot seem to find them. Legree is angry, so angry that he flogs Tom, and two days later, Tom dies. George Shelby, who was there in Tom's last moments of life, offers to buy the body, but Legree declines. He states that he doesn't sell corpses, especially not Tom's, since Legree hated the slave so much. Moments later, Legree is on the ground, having been punched by George. He never sees Tom or George again, but his nightmares become so terrible that he becomes a drunkard. We never hear of Simon Legree again.
Personality: Simon Legree is a tyrannical brute. He is so wrapped up in his little world of power, greed and alcohol that if he is exposed to a religious or loving being, he fears them. He is also a very superstitious fellow, and hates to be made fun of or denied.
Family: None that names are provided for
Biography: As a child, Legree was brought up by a loving mother, but took after his tyrannical father. Soon, young Simon became a man of the sea, a merchant. One day, he returned to port to find a letter for him. He opened it, and a lock of brown hair wound itself around his finger like a snake. He quickly shook it off and read the letter itself. It said that his mother was dead, and that with her dying breath, she had professed her love for Simon, her son. After this, Legree became more and more superstitious, and walked farther and farther from the light of the Lord. Soon, Legree had set up his own plantation.
At first, he tried to look after his slaves, feeding and clothing them adequately, tending them when they were sick, but this did not last forever. Legree was unable to make enough money, so he tended his slaves less and less until he discovered that he made much more money if he didn't care for them in the slightest and merely bought more slaves when enough of them died. At some point he comes by Cassy, a slave raised among higher-class people.
Near the end of the novel, Legree buys Uncle Tom, and soon has Tom working out on the plantations. Tom is so obedient that Legree wants to make him into an overseer, but he sees that Tom is too kind. Because of this, Legree decides to "harden" Tom by making the poor black man flog another slave. Tom refuses and immediately, Legree orders his two current overseers to flog Tom himself. That night, Cassy reprimands Legree for flogging Tom, but the plantation owner hardly pays her any attention.
When Legree's two overseers come back with a little package that Tom apparently had on his person, Legree goes to open it. When a lock of golden hair twines its way around his fingers, Legree immediately flings it into the fire, certain that it is some sort of witchcraft. He spends the rest of the night drinking with his overseers to forget the incident and the nightmares that accompany it. From this point on, Legree begins to torment Tom, flogging him, starving him, exhausting him, and dehydrating him.
Some time later, Legree spots Tom at a cooking fire reading his old bible, and Legree tells the old slave to submit, or else continue suffering. Tom refuses, though his heart should be at its most hopeless. The next day, Tom is suddenly spry and happy again, which frustrates Legree to no end. Soon Tom has his own little religious following, which Legree bans from gathering, especially on Sundays. One night, Legree is drinking, and falls aslep, though he is sure that he has not consumed enough alcohol to induce this effect.
Soon after this, strange noises begin to come from the garret of Legree's house, a garret that was believed to be haunted. Legree begins having nightmares, and Cassy's presence only serves to make them worse. One day, Cassy and another slave are seen running away, but as Legree and his other slaves search for the two escapees, they cannot seem to find them. Legree is angry, so angry that he flogs Tom, and two days later, Tom dies. George Shelby, who was there in Tom's last moments of life, offers to buy the body, but Legree declines. He states that he doesn't sell corpses, especially not Tom's, since Legree hated the slave so much. Moments later, Legree is on the ground, having been punched by George. He never sees Tom or George again, but his nightmares become so terrible that he becomes a drunkard. We never hear of Simon Legree again.
Cassy
Appearance: "It was a woman, tall and slenderly formed, with remarkably delicate hands and feet, and dressed in neat and respectable garments. By the appearance of her face, she might have been between thirty-five and forty; and it was a face that, once seen, could never be forgotten,—one of those that, at a glance, seem to convey to us an idea of a wild, painful, and romantic history. Her forehead was high, and her eyebrows marked with beautiful clearness. Her straight, well-formed nose, her finely-cut mouth, and the graceful contour of her head and neck, showed that she must once have been beautiful; but her face was deeply wrinkled with lines of pain, and of proud and bitter endurance. Her complexion was sallow and unhealthy, her cheeks thin, her features sharp, and her whole form emaciated. But her eye was the most remarkable feature,—so large, so heavily black, overshadowed by long lashes of equal darkness, and so wildly, mournfully despairing. There was a fierce pride and defiance in every line of her face, in every curve of the flexible lip, in every motion of her body; but in her eye was a deep, settled night of anguish,—an expression so hopeless and unchanging as to contrast fearfully with the scorn and pride expressed by her whole demeanor."
Personality: Cassy is a heartbroken mother whose heart has gradually become hard. She still possesses the dignified air of her youth, but she has also become a hateful, miserable, scornful, disobedient, murderous, proud, insane woman. There are times when Cassy is capable of joy, but not as long as she remains on Legree's. She no longer believes in God, and her virtues have been worn away over time, leaving her with only a small amount of compassion and kindness remaining to her.
Family:
Biography: Cassy is a slave raised in New Orleans among higher-class folk, but as she begins to have children, they are sold away by her master, Mr. Simmons. At some point she is bought by Simon Legree, a man who the miserable and slightly insane woman comes to despise. Near the end of the novel, Legree buys Tom, and soon has Tom working out on the plantations. Cassy reprimands Tom when he tries to help another slave, and sure enough, Tom is flogged for it. Cassy brings him water and medicine after he has endured his punishment. She tells him that resistance is futile, and that the God he thinks so highly of does not exist, or else He would have saved the slaves by now.
That night, Cassy reprimands Legree for flogging Tom, but the plantation owner hardly pays her any attention. Cassy continues to disapprove of Legree's methods, even trying to use logic to stop the torture. One night, Legree is drinking, and Cassy slips something into his drink, causing him to fall into a deep slumber. Then the woman goes to Tom. She tells him that they and all of the other slaves can escape if Tom just "takes care" of Legree with an axe. Tom explains to the mad woman that escape in itself is fine, but not if it means murder. He reminds her that in the end, she will merely be judged all the more harshly by the Lord. Suddenly, Cassy comes up with an even better plan.
She places a bottle in the wall of an old garret, one that is rumored to be haunted. The bottle makes ominous, ghostly noises when wind blows across it. Basically, the stormier the weather, the more paranoid Legree will get, for he believes his mother to be haunting him in the form of a spirit. One day, Cassy and another slave are seen running away, but as Legree and his other slaves search for the two escapees, they cannot seem to find them. It turns out that Cassy and her fellow fugitive had taken shelter inside of the old garret, for any sound or scene they make will only add to the idea that it is haunted. They remain there for a long time, and then slip out early one morning, disguised as a mourning widow and her slave.
The two get on to a ship up to Kentucky, the very same ship which George Shelby has just boarded after finding Uncle Tom. Cassy is listening in to the conversation of George Shelby and a Madame de Thoux one day, when she hears that Madame de Thoux's brother (who just happened to be an escaped slave by the name of George Harris), had been married to a beautiful young slave from New Orleans. This in itself is not strange, but then Cassy finds out that the slave's name was Eliza, and that she was bought from a man named Mr. Simmons.
Cassy immediately passes out, and wakes up sobbing, for Eliza is Cassy's long-lost daughter! Soon Cassy and Madame de Thoux travel up to Canada and meet up with their respective family members. Cassy takes a liking to little Eliza, for the girl is the spitting image of the older Eliza that gave birth to the small girl. Cassy moves to Europe, and then Africa with her family in pursuit of the abolition of slavery.
Personality: Cassy is a heartbroken mother whose heart has gradually become hard. She still possesses the dignified air of her youth, but she has also become a hateful, miserable, scornful, disobedient, murderous, proud, insane woman. There are times when Cassy is capable of joy, but not as long as she remains on Legree's. She no longer believes in God, and her virtues have been worn away over time, leaving her with only a small amount of compassion and kindness remaining to her.
Family:
- Eliza Harris-Daughter
- George Harris-Son-in-law
- Harry Harris-Grandson
- Little Eliza Harris-Granddaughter
Biography: Cassy is a slave raised in New Orleans among higher-class folk, but as she begins to have children, they are sold away by her master, Mr. Simmons. At some point she is bought by Simon Legree, a man who the miserable and slightly insane woman comes to despise. Near the end of the novel, Legree buys Tom, and soon has Tom working out on the plantations. Cassy reprimands Tom when he tries to help another slave, and sure enough, Tom is flogged for it. Cassy brings him water and medicine after he has endured his punishment. She tells him that resistance is futile, and that the God he thinks so highly of does not exist, or else He would have saved the slaves by now.
That night, Cassy reprimands Legree for flogging Tom, but the plantation owner hardly pays her any attention. Cassy continues to disapprove of Legree's methods, even trying to use logic to stop the torture. One night, Legree is drinking, and Cassy slips something into his drink, causing him to fall into a deep slumber. Then the woman goes to Tom. She tells him that they and all of the other slaves can escape if Tom just "takes care" of Legree with an axe. Tom explains to the mad woman that escape in itself is fine, but not if it means murder. He reminds her that in the end, she will merely be judged all the more harshly by the Lord. Suddenly, Cassy comes up with an even better plan.
She places a bottle in the wall of an old garret, one that is rumored to be haunted. The bottle makes ominous, ghostly noises when wind blows across it. Basically, the stormier the weather, the more paranoid Legree will get, for he believes his mother to be haunting him in the form of a spirit. One day, Cassy and another slave are seen running away, but as Legree and his other slaves search for the two escapees, they cannot seem to find them. It turns out that Cassy and her fellow fugitive had taken shelter inside of the old garret, for any sound or scene they make will only add to the idea that it is haunted. They remain there for a long time, and then slip out early one morning, disguised as a mourning widow and her slave.
The two get on to a ship up to Kentucky, the very same ship which George Shelby has just boarded after finding Uncle Tom. Cassy is listening in to the conversation of George Shelby and a Madame de Thoux one day, when she hears that Madame de Thoux's brother (who just happened to be an escaped slave by the name of George Harris), had been married to a beautiful young slave from New Orleans. This in itself is not strange, but then Cassy finds out that the slave's name was Eliza, and that she was bought from a man named Mr. Simmons.
Cassy immediately passes out, and wakes up sobbing, for Eliza is Cassy's long-lost daughter! Soon Cassy and Madame de Thoux travel up to Canada and meet up with their respective family members. Cassy takes a liking to little Eliza, for the girl is the spitting image of the older Eliza that gave birth to the small girl. Cassy moves to Europe, and then Africa with her family in pursuit of the abolition of slavery.