The Role of Mothers in "Uncle Tom's Cabin"

Seminar paper from the year 2017 in the subject American Studies - Literature, grade: 1,7, University of Bonn, language: English, abstract: In 1852 one of the most famous slave-narratives and a best-selling novel, Uncle Tom¿s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe was published. The book is steeped in history because it aroused 19th century American society to set against the institution of slavery. In Uncle Tom¿s Cabin slavery disrupts whole families and can only be saved by the heroic mothers within the novel. The book is often regarded as an example of early feminism because it demonstrates the moral power of women within the novel. For that reason, this term paper deals with virtues of True Womanhood and the role of mothers in Uncle Tom¿s Cabin. It is concerned with the question how Harriet Beecher Stowe uses the selected mothers to argue against slavery.