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
The story of Eliza and pursuing her child's freedom is a remarkable one. She literally does everything in her power to keep Harry from being a slave. She also will not allow him to be separated from her. She believes in herself, even at the worst of times. She is shown love and comfort and support from others, such as the Quakers. Without the help of others, Eliza's journey may not have been such a fine ending. She risked everything she ever had, to keep her son out of danger. Even later in the book, we witness a mother who killed herself after her baby was snatched from her. You can't break the bond between mother and child, no matter the race. A mother will surely do whatever it is they can, to ensure the safety and well being of her child.
ReplyDeleteYes, you can not break the emotional bond between mother and child. Although there are many times that mother and child were forced to physically separate. Eliza Harris was one of the few that was able to run away with her child. Many mothers were stripped from there children. Stowe shows us these scenes as well in her story.
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