Female Representation in Uncle Tom's Cabin

Uncle Tom’s Cabin was seen as a progressive novel in many ways, but primarily because of its importance as an abolitionist text that illuminated the horrors and struggles of the system of slavery. It provided the public with a new perspective in the issue of slavery and caused many to reevaluate their role in the system. However, Stowe’s novel was not only progressive in the way it portrayed slaves, but also progressive in the way it portrayed women. Female representation in Uncle Tom’s Cabin was different from the way women were portrayed in other stories and different from the way women and their roles were perceived in society at the time.

Although the women in Uncle Tom’s Cabin still occupy traditional female roles – and even take pleasure in them – Stowe portrays them with a special type of power typically not assigned to women. Despite their roles as housewives and mothers, and the importance placed on these duties, the women in the novel often act as a moral compass and a voice of reason to those around them. Their strong emotions help to display the true nature of slavery, and the horror and heartache that accompanies it. Stowe smartly places the women in traditional roles, but with untraditional outcomes. Instead of creating submissive characters, she stresses the amount of power that comes with being a woman, wife, and mother and ultimately makes the case that women can be the driving force behind changing the world. Below are the ways that Uncle Tom’s Cabin progressively represents females.

Women often act as the voice of reason and the moral compass. The best example of this is the character of Mrs. Bird, who happily occupies her position as a wife, but who is perceived as more compassionate, more morally sound, and ultimately more powerful than a white man in a government position. She is described as "a force of character every way superior to that of her husband" but he discounts her opinion at first because she is a woman. Although she does so respectfully, she is eventually able to change her husbands mind about what should be done in the situation, and openly criticizes "a shameful, wicked, abominable law" that contradicts the moral teachings of the Bible. This is progressive because at the time women were seen as inferior to men (Mr. and Mrs. Bird even comment on this belief) but regardless of this idea, Mrs. Bird is the one who uses reason and morality in order to take charge of the situation.

The emotions and sentimentality of women is used to display the horrors of slavery. At the time, women were not typically in the public sphere; therefore, the conversation surrounding slavery was heavily dominated by men who saw expressing emotion as a weakness. This lack of emotion when discussing slavery allowed the grislier details of the system to be swept under the rug and slavery was seen as an economical necessity to many. However, Stowe’s decision to make the novel female-centered and told from the perspective of a woman allowed for a more emotional story to be told. The women in the novel, both black and white, repeatedly lament the tragic occurrences that slavery creates. They look past the systematic nature of slavery usually discussed and go straight to the heart of the issue and the pain that it causes – something that the men of the novel aren’t able to do.  

The position of black women is elevated in the novel. Stowe helped to change the representation of black women involved in slavery by showing how much they had in common with their white masters. During that time period, it was not uncommon to think of slaves as property with less emotional and logical intelligence than white people. However, Stowe completely demolished this idea by mirroring the characteristics found admirable in white women, and showing that black women and slaves are capable of the same things. This can be seen especially in the character of Eliza, who demonstrates many of the same qualities as Mrs. Shelby. She is described as an intelligent mother with strong Christian sensibilities and a drive to protect those she loves. Most of the women in the novel, both black and white, are described as good Christian women with strong maternal instincts. They display thoughts and actions grounded in morality, strength, and reason regardless of their skin color.

The idea of motherhood is seen as a tool to change society. Stowe places a special importance on motherhood throughout the novel and repeatedly shows the power that comes with this role. Rather than displaying women as submissive in this traditional role, she gives them strength and purpose and discusses how good parenting can change the world. She states "If the mothers of the free states had all felt as they should, in times past, the sons of the free states would not have been the holders, and proverbially, the hardest masters of slaves; the sons of the free states would not have connived at the extension of slavery.”

Therefore, instead of encouraging the belief that women are less than men, Stowe promotes the idea that they are more than submissive wives and mothers but have a profound influence on the men and the world around them. In her article "Domesticity in Dixie: The Plantation Novel and Uncle Tom's Cabin," author Lucinda H. MacKethan explains it best when she explains how Stowe uses Uncle Tom’s Cabin as a venue for "converting essentially repressive concepts of femininity into a positive (and activist) alternative system of values in which women figures not merely as the moral superior of man, as his inspirer, but as the model for him in the new millennium about to dawn.”

Questions:

1. Do you think the portrayal of women in Uncle Tom’s Cabin is helpful or harmful to the idea of women’s rights? Do the women’s adherence to traditional female roles discount the progressiveness of the novel?

2. It’s mentioned that both black and white women in the novel share certain admirable characteristics. Are there any differences? How do they affect your interpretation of the novel?

3. Do you think the novel would be different if a man wrote it? How so?