Race and the American Novel Part 1: Uncle Tom's Cabin Critical Commentary

Power: Part 2

          In a "Review of Uncle Tom's Cabin," author George F. Holmes accuses Harriet Beecher Stowe of grossly misrepresenting slavery in the south.  Holmes begins by questioning Stowe's character, and deems her not a "lady writer," but a "female writer," and he believes that she is out of line and raises scripture against her,"Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection.  But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence." (Holmes 505)  Holmes makes it pretty clear here how he feels about the duties of men and women.  After attacking Stowe's character and belittling her writing prowess he continues to pragmatically falsify character portrayals and plots throughout "Uncle Tom's Cabin."  To paraphrase a bit,  Holmes believes, "Mr. Shelby could have done more to control Mrs. Shelby, she in turn should have been more obedient to her husbands wishes.  Slave owners, like Haley, would not want their property back dead, and fugitive hunters couldn't just go around shooting runaways.  He even states that Stowe's eyewitnesses should be guilty of accessory to murder if they in fact saw what they say they did."  (Holmes 506-510)  Holmes basically breaks down every character and several plots and points out how inaccurate they are in comparison to the "reality" of southern life.  

          After venting a bit, Holmes employs a little logos, and points out that there are many laws concerning slave safety and protecting them from their owners.  These laws included, "The Slave is entirely subject to the will of his master, who may correct and chastise him, though not with unusual rigor, nor as to maim or mutilate him, or expose him to the danger of loss of life, or to cause his death.  If any slave be mutilated, beaten, or ill treated contrary to the true intent and meaning of this act, when no one shall be present, the owner or other person having management of said slave thus mutilated, shall be prosecuted without further evidence, unless said owner can prove the contrary by means of good and sufficient evidence, or can clear himself by his own oath."  (Holmes 511)  According to this a slave owner cannot be truly violent to his property, but if he does, he can apparently take an oath and clear his name.  

         Holmes finishes his accusations by painting his own picture of the south,"as for the comfort of their daily lives and the almost parental care taken of them on well-regulated plantations, we may say that the picture of the Shelby estate, drawn by Mrs. Stowe herself, is no bad representation. (Holmes 512)  In Holmes opinion, the average slave in the south was more or less willing and had a pretty decent life.  In concluding his review Holmes calls Stowe a liar and offers her a holy warning, "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor." (Holmes 514)

          I believe that Holmes is a representative of the southern slave owner.  He has a lot to lose with the abolition of slavery, and wow, is he ever on the defensive.  What Holmes is failing to understand is that, while based in reality, "Uncle Tom's Cabin" is a fiction, and in fiction certain details may be embellished for dramatic effect.  As a reader in modern times I think that too accurate of a depiction of slavery would have appalled the readers of its time, and would have made it easier to dismiss.  She really could have embellished on the violence and cruelty of slavery, but instead kept the violence quite mild.  Stowe used a more subtle way to reach the minds of Americans and entered through their hearts.  All of Holmes' bluster and defensiveness leads me to believe that even he knows that there is some truth to Stowe's depiction of slavery, because it's often quite easy to blow off a lie, the truth on the other hand stings.

          While I disagree with most of what Holmes has to say, I do believe his critique adds to my understanding of "Uncle Tom's Cabin," by highlighting its ambiguous reception.  Today's audience inherently knows that slavery was and is wrong, but in the mid 19th century it wasn't so cut and dry.  Let's face it, the U.S. got pretty rich from slave labor, which gave many Americans of the time a desire to uphold slavery.  Also, in the mid 19th century, the only media sources available were books and newspapers, which were more than likely owned and run by rich white men and presenting their opinions, making it very easy for average Americans to ignore slavery or to believe what they are told by the media.  Due to these facts there were very mixed feelings towards slavery and slavery related literature.  I think that ambiguities like these really present the boundless reach of man's greed, and show us that people will do almost anything to get and stay rich.

Works Cited:

Stowe, Harriet Beecher, Ammons, Elizabeth, and Cairns Collection of American Women Writers. Uncle Tom's  Cabin : Authoritative Text, Backgrounds and Contexts, Criticism / Harriet Beecher Stowe ; Edited by Elizabeth  Ammons. 2nd ed. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2010. Print. Norton Critical Edition.

Holmes, George F., "Review of Uncle Tom's Cabin": (504-514). The Southern Literary Messenger 18. Oct.1852.    Print.