UTC - Chapters 29-36

Because their master had not made provisions for them for after his death, St. Clare's slaves were sold at an auction. Marie refused to give Tom his freedom, even though her late husband had promised it to the honest man. Rosa was sent to a whipping house for talking back to her mistress. A whipping house was the most shameful and degrading way of punishing slaves. Emmeline, a new character to the story, was sold with Tom and two other men to Mr. Legree. Emmeline's mother tried her hardest to present her daughter as plainly as possible and not flaunt her natural beauty, but the two were separated in the end. Legree made Tom give him all his clothes and other personal belongings. He threatened all his slaves with his unusually large fist. I imagine a situation akin to Legree's plantation when I think back to pre-Civil War times. Though his actions may not have been common, the kindness of Tom's previous owners was more rare. Legree seemed to amass wealth that never was spent on anything he needed. Shelby and St. Clare, however, spent money they didn't have on things they did not need. Several of the slaves were surprised that Tom had a Bible; some had never heard of it before. Tom helped two women to grind their corn and they helped to make his corn cake. His small deeds of kindness changed the hearts of the slaves on Legree's plantation. Cassy, Eliza's mother, appeared for the first time in chapter thirty-two but was not developed until chapter thirty-four. She was Legree's mistress until he bought Emmeline. Cassy had cast a sort of spell over Legree and his slaves. She had a glare that made even her hard master tremble. Legree made Sambo and Quimbo whip Tom for not whipping another slave when he was told to. Cassy told the story of her life to Tom while tending to his wounds. She had been happily married to a man but he refused to give her her freedom. Two of her children were sold into slavery but she killed the third one when he was only two weeks old. The heart of a mother so longs to protect her children that she will kill to save them from the horrors of the inevitable. Legree was very superstitious and horrified of insane persons such as Cassy. When Sambo gave him the lock of Eva's hair that Tom had kept, Legree was horrified. He remembered his mother, who gave him a lock of her hair and forgave him for the evils he had done. Wicked men are more afraid than others because they don't know if someone wants to get revenge on them. Cassy talked Emmeline out of trying to run away and talked Legree into leaving Tom alone for a while. Legree tried to make Tom "recant" but Tom stood true to his faith. Cassy rescued Tom from another certain beating by drawing on Legree's superstitions.