Treatment of Women

James Baldwin writes in Good Country People “You lucky we pump some white blood into you every once in a while-your women! Here’s what I got for all the black bitches in the world-!” The treatment of women and mothers has shown very little difference from Uncle Tom’s Cabin to the other stories we read pervious. Women are constantly being forced into sexual situations and are often beaten.  In a Street Car Called Desire by Tennessee Williams, ”’STELLA: You lay your hands on me and I’ll-[She backs out of sight. He advances and disappears. There is the sound of a blow. STELLA cries out. BLANCHE screams and runs into the kitchen. The men rush forward and there is grappling and cursing. Something is overturned with a crash.]” It is unbelievable the treatment that women received. How that a woman could be raped or beaten by their husband and although the other men knew to stop the man from beating Stella they do nothing to help make sure Stella will be safe in the future. Uncle Tom’s Cabin expresses the same problem. Women are subjects to their husbands. Outside of the home women have no power and control. In Flannery O’Connor’s story, Going to Meet the Man, “Without the leg she felt entirely dependent on him.” Literally the woman in the story was dependent on the man, because he had just stolen her prostatic leg. Although I think there is another meaning. Men want to take control of women and they did take control of them. The idea that women only had control of the domestic sphere looks like a broken record as I read these stories. The men in these stories want women to be inferior to them. Including Uncle Tom’s Cabin look at Mrs. Bird, Mrs. Shelby, and all the other women, they had no choice, but to listen to their husbands regardless of what they thought. I am glad to see certain anti-discrimination laws and other laws have been put into place to allow women to gain back these rights that men have stripped from them. Although we have come far there is change that is yet to come as the pay gap between men and women.

William, Tennessee. "Street Car Called Desire." American
     Literature. Ed. Nina Baym and Robert S. Levine. Eighth ed. New York: W.
     W. Norton & Company, Inc., n.d. 1116-77. Print. Vol. 2 of The Norton
     Anthology. 2 vols

Baldwin, James. "Good Country People." American
     Literature. Ed. Nina Baym and Robert S. Levine. Eighth ed. New York: W.
     W. Norton & Company, Inc., n.d. 1340-53. Print. Vol. 2 of The Norton
     Anthology. 2 vols

O'Connor, Flannery. "Going to Meet the Man." American
     Literature. Ed. Nina Baym and Robert S. Levine. Eighth ed. New York: W.
     W. Norton & Company, Inc., n.d. 1328-39. Print. Vol. 2 of The Norton
     Anthology. 2 vols

Confessional Mothers

Having a depressed feeling can often be hard to talk about, especially if one is unhappy right after having a baby. It has often been society’s belief that this should be one of the happiest times of your life because you have a new baby, a new life. If one suffers from postpartum depression after having birth if will feel anything but “happiness.” This may cause one to feel as though they are not a good mother and the baby and the family would be better off without you. Anne Sexton, a confessional poet suffered from postpartum depression and many other confessional poets suffered from a range of mental disorders and depression. Confessional Poetry reminded me of Uncle Tom’s Cabin when the women were being forced to separate from their children. Anne Sexton writes in her poem Little Girl, My String Bean, My Lovely Woman, “Oh darling! Born in that sweet birthday suit and having owned it and know it for so long.” Women cherish their children and the deep depression a lot of these poems went into allowed one to visualize that sadness that some of these women felt when they lost their child. Although Anne Sextons poem Sylvia’s Death was not written for losing a child, confessional poetry is known for entering into the idea of death and sadness that other poems do not. I feel as though confessional poetry can allow you to tap into that emotion that is needed for understand Uncle Tom’s Cabin for all of those women and children that had to be separated.

Sexton, Anne. "Little Girl, My String Benan, My Lovely Woman." American
     Literature. Ed. Nina Baym and Robert S. Levine. Eighth ed. New York: W.
     W. Norton & Company, Inc., n.d. 1377-79. Print. Vol. 2 of The Norton
     Anthology. 2 vols

Women in the Home

In The Role of Women in Uncle Tom's Cabin, Christine Haug addresses how Stowe feels about the role of women. In the 19th century women were considered lesser or inferior to men. Their place was not out in the world. The woman's place was the home. Their job was to raise children, running the household and working with the house servants. In this period of time it was not considered acceptable for women to work in marketplace. Haug further explains that how women were seen as insignificant and completely unattached to the business of men. Haug states that in Uncle Tom's Cabin, this is not the case. Haug says that Stowe’s argument is that as wives and mothers, women have the ability to shape the morals, values and the actions of the men and children in their households. Haug stresses that within Uncle Tom's Cabin that women are more than the quiet and reserved that they are once to be thought in the 19th century, Haug says there is another theme in Uncle Tom's Cabin and it is that women have a great deal of an effect on the men that are around them. Women raise the child and therefore inflict the values of themselves onto the child. Likewise women are able to inflict there values on their husband. Haug references from Uncle Tom's Cabin to strengthen and give reason to her argument. Haug goes on to claim the connected idea that Stowe draws between the slavery of the African Americans and the submissiveness of the women in the 18th century and how both were searching for their place of power and freedom.

The point of view that Christine Haug gives in her article explains the reasoning for much of the idolization that appears within many of the mothers in Uncle Tom's Cabin. The motherly figure is one that is constantly idolized. "... the children all avowed that they wouldn't miss of hearing mother's chair for anything in the world. For why? for twenty years or more nothing but loving worlds and gentle moralities, and motherly loving kindness, had come from that chair;-head-aches and heart-aches innumerable had been cured there,-difficulties spiritual and temporal solved there,-all by one good, loving woman, God bless her!" (Stowe p 122) Stowe gives all motherly characters this same glow that is found in this quotation. In The Role of Women in Uncle Tom's Cabin, Christine Haug goes beyond that "glow", and extends into the power that is behind that maternal love. "Wives play a pivotal role in shaping the morals and actions of their husbands." (Haug) Yes, women in the 19 century could not vote or make important business decisions but something that women could do was influence their husbands. "You ought to be ashamed, John! Poor, homeless creatures! It's shameful, wicked abominable law, and I'll break it for one, the first I get a chance; and I hope I shall have a chance I do! (Stowe p 72) In the quotation Mrs. Bird is arguing her point about the disgrace of not being able to help slaves. Even though John, her husband, seems reluctant to come to terms with his wife, when a slave does turn up at their door, John does exactly what his wife would have wanted, without Mrs. Bird saying anything about the matter. Not only affecting the husband, the women in the home also affect the children they raise, in stowing their own values on them.

"Without a strong female figure, the domesticity of a home suffers and, in turn, affects the character and relationships of the men in her home." (Haug) When reading through this article Uncle Tom's Cabin becomes clearer. The role of women in the book was not just random or for the enjoyment of the author, the women’s roles were extremely precise. I believe Stowe intended for the women's movement to spark from this because her book showed all that women did at the time being and that women could do more. Stowe showed women as strong, able to care for a family and able to make decisions on moral choices and within the business.



Haug, Christine "Beyond Hearth and Home: Roles of Women in Uncle Tom's Cabin"
Victoriana, Victoriana Magazine. 1996-2012. 14 March 2013
http://www.victoriana.com/womensissues/uncletomscabin.htm\

Stowe, Harriet Beecher "Uncle Tom's Cabin"
Uncle Tom's Cabin Critical Edition
Ed Elizabeth Ammons
NY: Norton 2012 532 539

United Theme

Although we are different people and have different ways of thinking, in the end we all read the same book, in the same setting, and came up with many similar themes along the way. "They show many personalities such as heart felt, morally right, caring, powerful, ambitious, and they can persuade men. Harriet Beecher Stowe makes all of her female characters unique through these attributes." (Emond) The underlining theme that women had power beyond the home through their children and husbands, is a common theme when people beginning to understand the book.

By looking at it with all of the characters from Eliza, Mrs. Bird, Mrs. Shelby, etc. they all possess the same qualities that seem to echo beyond themselves. "The men [still] have power but the women are so convincing."(Emond) This goes back to that the women control the home and although women could not vote or hold any position, they had the power to convince the people within their home. This included their husbands and their children. With this sort of ideology was how the feminist movement began. Women realized they had power and wanted more than the silent power that they held in the home. Women wanted more. In the novel Stowe also draws a connection with the African American slavery and the inferiority of the women. The African Americans lacked rights and standing as much as the women did in the time period. Although in the time period women were expected to be lesser to men, in the novel Stowe gives women a power place in the household, shaping the lives of men. This gives women a more positive stance and they are able to be an influence in the men’s morals and values instead of being silent submissive wives and mothers, they in fact have a quiet but powerful influence on the men around them. It is as though Stowe suggest that women stopped men from slavery by enforcing their values into their husbands and children. Stowe's novel begins to fuel the feminist movement.

Emond, Chris "Women of Uncle Tom's Cabin"
14 Febuary 2013 American Literature II
http://eng263uwmanitowoc.blogspot.com/2013/02/women-of-uncle-toms-cabin.html?zx=cebf5bc8dee7a982
14 March 2013

Reviewing Uncle Tom's Cabin

When glancing at the reviews on www.goodreads.com for Uncle Tom's Cabin, the first thing one is aware of is the average rating is almost four out of five stars. The way people viewed the book could easily be broken into two straight forward groups. Those that did not care for the book as much and those that enjoyed it. The ones that enjoyed the book it was obvious why. The book was an amazing influential piece of literature. They enjoyed reading it because it contained meaning beyond something in their own live, but also had historical meaning.

Those that did not care for the book said little about the book itself. They seemed more hung up on the language or the dialect the author wrote in than the actual book. Those that rated it poorly failed to realize that Stowe was giving a real feel for the region, trying to give the reader a true grasp of what the South would have been like at the time.

The reviews for this book did not surprise me. Uncle Tom's Cabin is a book that contains the dialect of the time period and area. It is something that can be hard to comprehend if you do not contain patience. This would make individuals not be able to get into the book therefore giving it poor reviews. Also for some may have been forced to read the book for a class instead of pleasure also forcing a negative review.

The positive reviews obviously came from the people that enjoyed the book. "This book is one of the most moving, provocative pieces of literature I've ever read."(Tammy) Tammy also goes on to explain what she believes to be the most inspiring part of the story. "I will never be able to remove from my mind the vision of Eliza, panicked and frenzied, in the dead of the night with her baby boy in her arms, leaping across the frozen ice of the Ohio river." Tammy sees the same theme that many have in the story and that is the power of motherhood.

Another review is one done by Stephen. "I am glad I have finally read this book given its historical significance and the very positive impact that it had on American history."(Stephen) Stephen goes on to explain how he has come to love the book and how the character Tom has been idolized as his hero.

With all these reviews it is apparent that one once keep in mind the historical significance and the themes when reading this book. This book has with stood the test of time and therefore should be worth the read.

 

Stephen "Stephen's Review" Good Reads

03-05 May 2013

http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/92732654

Tammy "Tammy's Review" Good Reads

08 Septemeber 2008

http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/29926926

14 March 2013

Eliza Harris

In a poem written by Frances Ellen Watkins titles Eliza Harris, Watkins writes what he believes Eliza Harris would be like crossing the vigorous and icy Ohio River on that day she escaped. In the beginning stanza Watkins describes a woman holding a child, with both fear and determination in her eyes, she knows she is not yet safe. Then the author goes on to describe that Eliza is coming up to the bank of the river and she is not even thinking of the danger of the rushing water or the ice. She is only thinking of the freedom of her child. At this point Eliza child is a slave and she will not let him be one. Eliza would rather have them all die than to become slaves again. The poem goes on to explain how the horses and the dogs were coming up on Eliza, so she leaps onto the ice. Watkins describes how the ice is howling, blasting, and screaming that it is dangerous and going to break, but none of this is crossing Eliza mind until she is out of harm’s way and across the river. The author then goes on to question how you can make laws based on the colors of one's skin when even nature is feeling despair for this woman. As Eliza steps onto the ice with her child even though it was dangers and the path across was impossible, somehow, with the power of God she came to the other side of the shore where she was met with people that were to help her. Watkins explains that the child is what gives her energy. When crossing the river she is rejoicing. Eliza is free from all the chains and torture of slavery. Eliza has made her child free, which is all that she wanted and could ever ask for.

Eliza Harris crossing the river is the most power part of the book from a mother perspective or any other perspective for that matter. The maternal love is a theme that can be found even when not looking at it from the perspective of Stowe's. With this poem it gives another view point of what happened as Eliza crossed that river. Although the story in Uncle Tom's Cabin and Eliza Harris both similarly convey the same message Eliza Harris is able to focus on it more and in better detail. In the poem one can feel Eliza as he holds her child tightly to her chest. "The life of her heart, the child of her breast."(Watkins p 526) One can envision the horses coming up to the bank after her and the men shouting. "As the trample of horses and the bay of the hound."(Watkins p 526) Using this poem as a tool makes it is easier to see what Stowe was trying to make known to the reader. The power and the swiftness that comes when a mother's child is in danger is a powerful thing, that power that came forth from this situation is mesmerizing.

Watkins, Frances Ellen. "Eliza Harris"

Uncle Tom's Cabin Critical Edition

Ed Elizabeth Ammons

NY: Norton 2010 532 539

A Mother's Pain

In an article from William Wells Brown called Another Kidnapping he expresses the feeling of a mother's love for her lost child. In the story a man is traveling to Ohio and is passing through Georgetown when he notices a gathering of people on the streets and they are talking as if something had just happened. The narrator learns that last night a group of five or six men broke into a house of a colored man, beat the man and the wife and took their fourteen year old boy. It became apparent to the narrator that the village of neighbors had tried to get the child back but it was no use since the men had already crossed the Mississippi into Virginia.

The character in this story that I would like to take the most note of is the mother. This story is short and although she is only briefly mentioned, I believe she holds the most impacts. When the men come to tell her that her child has been lost forever the mother says the only dialogue in the whole story. "Oh, my boy! oh, my boy! I want to see my child!" (Brown p442) The words she says are not only meaningful within themselves, but what is more expressive than the words is the fact they are the only dialogue in the story. The only words this author thought worth while to quote were the ones from the mother, bleeding both in heart and from physical abuse from the intruder. The amount of a women's love for her child and then to have that feeling of losing their child brought the author to add only these words.

The mother in this story related almost directly to Eliza Harris in Uncle Tom's Cabin. In Uncle Tom's Cabin, Stowe has a very distinct perception of motherhood and when reading Another Kidnapping it is apparent she is not the only one that shares that view point. When reading Stowe's writing the halo she put mothers in seems to be almost too surreal until I read another author's view point. Maybe this love for a child is more powerful than I originally thought. Stowe writes, "But stronger than all was maternal love." (Stowe p 45) In this quotation Eliza Harris is running away with her child before he is to be sold and with powers she never knew she had before she escapes into the night. "She [Eliza Harris] wondered within herself at the strength that seemed to be come upon her." (Stowe p 45) Stowe makes is known that the power Eliza possess in the story is nothing "supernatural", but one that rears forth with the natural love that comes with bearing a child. Within the whole text of Uncle Tom's Cabin the women are the only ones that hold this meaningful characteristic love.

Brown, William Wells "Another Kidnapping"
Uncle Tom's Cabin Critical Edition
Ed Elizabeth Ammons
NY: Norton 2012 532 539

Stowe, Harriet Beecher "Uncle Tom's Cabin"
Uncle Tom's Cabin Critical Edition
Ed Elizabeth Ammons
NY: Norton 2012 532 539

Picture: Stowe, Harriet Beecher. Uncle Tom's Cabin. London: Trischlen and Company, 1891
"The huge green fragment of ice on which she alighted pitched and creaked as her weight came on it, but she staid there not a moment. With wild cries and desperate energy she leaper to another and still another cake;-stumbling-leaping-slipping-springing-upwards again! Her shoes are gone-her stockings cut from her feet-while blood marked every step; but she saw nothing, felt nothing, till dimly, as a dream, she say the Ohio side, and a man helping her up the bank."(Stowe p55)

Stowe, Harriet Beecher "Uncle Tom's Cabin"

Uncle Tom's Cabin Critical Edition

Ed Elizabeth Ammons

NY: Norton 2012 532 539