Harriet Beecher Stowe: An American Author - Book Report/Review Example

The dynamics of American culture and the large number of hyphenated Americans makes it impossible to formulate a specific characterization of what itmeans to be American. The only common denominator is the concept of family and religion that appears to be a constant throughout US history and is manifestly evident by Harriet Beecher Stowe’s portrait of family structure and the role and men and women in American families in Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Race, gender and class struggles that have intruded upon Americanism have not been able to infiltrate the strong and abiding family ties that unite Americans. Harriet Beecher Stowe, a deeply religious African-American woman born in 1811 and died in 1896 understands the concept of the American family quite well. She was the seventh of nine children and her father was a minister. (Stowe, 1889) No one better than Stowe knows the importance of religion and family structure to American culture and as an American author who understands what it means to be American Stowe brings these concepts to light in her work Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Domestic sentimentalism is a concurrent theme in Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin and as such conveys the Stowe’s vision for what it means to be an American. Uncle Tom’s Cabin portrays the American woman in a matriarchal and purely domestic role. (Gatta, p. 4) While the role of women today has changed since Stowe’s time there is no denying the survival of the American concept that the female family members have a domestic role to play and it primarily involves nurturing the male members of the family as well as the children. While this might lend credence to theories of Deism, in that man follows that which is natural, this is not necessarily the only message intended by Stowe. American women are not domestic servants but the backbone of the American family. Even today, whether the woman is the breadwinner or not she remains the center piece of family strength and Uncle Tom’s Cabin indorses Stowe’s concept of “feminine piety centered especially on the saving force of maternity.” (Gatta, 53) This concept encapsulates the theory of deism, but in many ways it conveys the dynamics of the feminine role in the structure of the American family. This tendency for family members to look to the female members for guidance is not born of nature so much as it is born of the female’s ability to remain hopeful in adverse situations and to endure the most unpleasant of circumstances. It is this inner strength attributed to American women that commands respect and protection. While Stowe’s woman in Unlce Tom’s Cabin are wise and are able to withstand emotional pain, manhood is characterized by the ability to withstand physical pain. While masculinity is also defined by sexual exploitation of women it is also characterized by the fierce protective attitude toward women. Be that as it may, women represent a moral compass for the wayward man. She is the instrument that compels them to take the right path. Therefore the American woman is portrayed as the pillar of the community and the American man’s deference to her is romanticism personified. While Jane Tompkins submits that Uncle Tom’s Cabin is not only a book about women, but is a book for women(125) it is a book about the American matriarch and American women in general. Certainly Stowe focuses on the redeeming qualities of female domesticity and motherly love the typical status assigned to women of the Victorian era, elements of romanticism are prevalent in the protective and respectful role of American men. This is not to say that Stowe does not expose the flaws in the American man and woman. For instance it becomes clear that men are free to escape domestic duties and pursue outside interests. At the same time Stowe’s women are fiercely loyal to their husbands and children and men demonstrate no such domestic values. Eliza’s husband for example escapes the Shelbys’ plantation where he together with Eliza and their son are enslaved. Eliza, however, remains behind and when she learns that the Shelbys are about to sell Uncle Tom and her son she runs off with her son, not daring to be separated from him as her husband had done. This episode is demonstrative of the sacrificial qualities of American womanhood and the powerful role of motherly figures in what can only be described as domestic sensationalism. This ideology is manifested by the following passage: “For why? For treaty years or more, nothing but loving words, and gentle moralities, and motherly loving idalness, had come from that chair, head-aches and heart-aches innumberable had been cured there difficulties spiritual and temporal solved there, -- all by one good, loving woman, God bless her!”(Stowe, p. 163) It is obvious that Stowe’s American woman provides the basis for moral influence of women in American family structures and this is a concurrent theme throughout Uncle Tom’s Cabin. The portrait of domestic sensationalism presents man as the representation of head of the household the feminine influence operates in the background. Even today, American sentiment continues to express the ideology that behind every great man there is a woman. In one exchange between Mr. Shelby and Haley, Mr. Shelby avers that he would never sell Eliza into sexual servitude because his wife might never find it in her heart to forgive him. Stowe however allows a measure of role reversal where she injects some masculine qualities in some of her female characters and some feminine virtues in her male characters. This is no more than a real reflection of what it really means to be an American. In American society, men and woman take on the persona of the other to an extent that the egalitarianism is the cornerstone of American civil liberties in that “all men are created equal.” (US Declaration of Independence) While this may have only been so on a superficial level in 19th century America it is certainly a reality today where role reversals and egalitarian marriages are common place in America. Uncle Tom himself represents the concept of egalitarianism and romanticism in that he both sensitive and conscientious, character traits generally assigned to women. However, American ideology does not distinguish between man and woman to this extent and it is particularly today, perfectly acceptable for men to exhibit signs of sensitivity and conscience. Stowe’s Uncle Tom refuses to run away upon learning that the Shelbys are planning to sell him. Later on when he is traded to a cruel slave owner he bravely takes his beatings and remains stoic and forgiving. These qualities which are generally assigned to the women who endure great suffering and subjugation in silence are generously bestowed upon an American man in Uncle Tom’s Cabin. The idea is that domestic sensationalism is not merely assigned to American women. Just as women can be bread winners, men can have a moral influence. Just as men can often times take on a woman’s role in America women likewise can take on the man’s role and characteristics. Stowe adequately demonstrates this scenario in Uncle Tom’s Cabin. For instance, Tom’s wife Chloe puts on the façade of a simpleton to hide her real feelings from her master and mistress. Eliza, risks her life to save her son from an uncertain fate by running away with him. Mr. St. Clare, the slave owner who acquires Tom from the Shelby’s is also endowed with feminine moral virtues. Tom who is on his way to a slave market with Haley saves the life of a white girl who almost drowns. The girl is Mr. St. Clare’s daughter and he rewards Tom by buying him. During Tom’s tenure with Mr. St. Clare, he agrees to make arrangements for his slaves to be set free but dies before he can make the arrangements. This display of sensitivity and conscience is characteristic of American femininity. Another instance of the dynamics of role reversal in American culture is manifested by Stowe in Uncle Tom’s Cabin when George Shelby, son of Tom’s former master is moved to tears when he finds Tom in a weakened state, Stowe describes his crying as follows: "tears which did honor to his manly heart fell from the young mans eyes as he bent over his poor friend."(Stowe, p. 148) Although the passage is replete with undertones demonstrative of the fact that it entirely unmanly for a man to display such emotions, it also demonstrates that man and woman are no different. Again this points to the foundation of American civil liberties as encapsulated in the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution. The egalitarianism of American culture is likewise manifested in Stowe’s Mrs. St. Clare who is rather masculine in her role. Following her husband’s death she sells the slaves to discharge pending debts. As a result Tom ends up with an entirely cruel slave owner. Ms. St. Clare is obviously not ruled by emotion and acts out of a sense of duty beyond domestic sensationalism. While this is certainly uncharacteristic of the American female ideology primarily portrayed throughout Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin it hints at some semblance of American egalitarianism. At the time of writing Uncle Tom’s Cabin, American conventional values were deeply constructed around ideals of religion, the home, family and motherhood. The man was perceived as and portrayed as self-centred while the woman was portrayed as self-sacrificing. Although these perceptions of Americanism have been modified, Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin provides a realistic background for the development of American culture and what being American has come to mean today. Religion and family values continue to rule America’s way of life although not to the extent that it did at the time portrayed in Uncle Tom’s Cabin. One typical scenario has the women and children preparing a meal while the father, off somewhere in the home is: "in his shirt-sleeves before a little looking-glass in the corner, engaged in the anti-patriarchal operation of shaving"(Stowe, p. 169) The implications are clear. Men plant the seed while women carry and care for the resulting children. Likewise, men bring home the wheat and women bake the bread. In contemporary America however, these roles are shared and one thing remains constant and that is the value placed on preservation of the family and the role of religion in our daily lives. Even in contemporary America where being a woman can mean struggling with dual roles and breaking away from the role of mother and nurturer, American men remain largely free to pursue dominant roles in societies.(Castro, 1984, 7) While women are free to pursue these ideals, they are more committed to domestic pursuits than men are. So while things may have changed they also remain the same. Women and men in American culture are as much committed to egalitarianism as they are to holding fast to family structure and religious values. Female liberation is obvious in Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin, although on a subtle level. What is prominently portrayed by Stowe is that liberation is a purely masculine pursuit. Stowe’s Topsy has no difficulty with resistance, although she later submits to the ideology of female virtues. The men are primarily portrayed, with noted exceptions as self-centered and dominant. Ironically, as previously noted there are many striking examples of their implicit reliance on the spiritual and nurturing influence of the women in their lives. The women demonstrate remarkable strength and courage and although subjugated for the most part, they are able to persevere. Although manhood is defined by dominance beneath the surface women are the dominant forces. They provide the refuge and the moral strength and for the men of means the women are advisors and influence male thought and direction. This much remains so even in contemporary America. The irony in Uncle Tom’s Cabin is the level of superficial male dominance. It may indeed by a man’s world, but it is fostered and preserved by the women that endure and give of themselves relentlessly and selflessly. In the absence of the self-sacrificing woman, man would not be free to pursue his manly goals. The women no doubt have similar desires, but they repress these desires to nurture and care for their families in a manner reflective of domestic sensationalism. As a contemporary American the role of the female woman as portrayed by Stowe is even obvious to me in today’s world where women enjoy equal opportunities to branch outside of the home and build independent careers. Even so, elements of domesticity prevail as well as the ideology that men will take the role of provider. This is obvious in the continued tradition where men typically pay for the date. Baby sitters are typically females in a way suggestive that our young women are preparing for motherhood. On the other hand it speaks to deism to the extent that women are naturally designed to nurture the young. (Gay, 1968, 47-48) Moreover, American men by and large subscribe to the role of protector. This is obvious when a man today will give up his chair for a woman. In this way Stowe’s portrayal of American men and women continue to characterize the American culture. Much of this ideology is built around religious doctrines a great part of American history and tradition. Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin forced me to recognize and appreciate the enduring strength and influence of the American woman in the development of this country. It lends itself to the idea that although often times inactive, women steer the moral path of this nation by adhering to an age old concept that charity begins at home and should not end there. Bibliography Castro, Ginette. American Feminism: A Contemporary History. New York University Press, 1984 Gatta, John. American Madonna: Images of the Divine Womanin Literary Culture. Oxford University Press, 1997 Gay, Peter. Deism: An Anthology. Krieger Publishing Company, 1968 Stowe, Harriet, Beecher and Stowe, Charles, Edward. Life of Harriet Beecher Stowe. Houghton Miffin and Company, 1889 Stowe, Harriet, Beecher. Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Bantam Classics, 1982 Tompkins, Jane. “Sentimental Power: Uncle Tom’s Cabin and the Politics of Literary History.” In Sensational Designs: The Cultural Work of American Fiction, 1790-1860 New York: Oxford University Press, 1985 US Declaration of Independence Read More