In Uncle Tom's Cabin, Harriet Beecher Stowe supplies the reader with two diametrically opposed characters, the two children, representatives of the two extremes of society. The fair, high-bred child, with her golden head, her deep eyes, her spiritual, noble brow, and prince-like movements; and her black, keen, subtle, cringing, yet acute neighbor. They stood representatives of their races. The Saxon, born of ages of cultivation, command, education, physical and moral eminence; the Afric, born of oppression, ignorance, toil and vice!
The two children, Evangeline and Topsy, teach us a lesson about love. While Evangeline's "form was the perfection of childish beauty" and "there was about her an undulating and aerial grace," the "expression of (Topsy's) face was an odd mixture of shrewdness and cunning" and "there was something odd and goblin-like about her appearance." When "no word of chiding or reproof ever fell on (Evangeline's) ear for whatever she chose to do" Topsy was "whipped with a poker, knocked down with a shovel or tongs, whichever came the handiest." "Always dressed in white," Evangeline moved "through all sorts of places, without contracting a spot or stain" while Topsy "was dressed in a single filthy, ragged garment, made out of bagging."
Of Evangeline, Miss Ophelia remarked, "Well, she's so loving! After all, she's no more than Christ-like," and of Topsy, "so heathenish." Evangeline told Tom her Christ-like feelings about slavery: "I've felt that I would be glad to die, if my dying could stop all this misery. I would die for them, Tom, if I could." The word "God," however, is meaningless to Topsy. When asked who her parents are, she responds, "I spect I grow'd. Don't think nobody never made me."
"A thousand times a day rough voices blessed (Evangeline), and smiles of unwonted softness stole over hard faces, as she passed; and when she tripped fearlessly over hard places, rough, sooty hands were stretched involuntarily to save her, and smooth her path." Such was not the case for our mischievous friend Topsy. When Evangeline spoke to Topsy about her habit of stealing things, she asked her, "Poor Topsy, why need you steal? You're going to be taken good care of, now. I'm sure I'd rather give you anything of mine, than have you steal it." These were "the first word(s) of kindness the child had ever heard in her life" and "something like a tear shone in (her) keen, round, glittering eye."
No matter what Miss Ophelia did, Topsy continued to get into trouble. She purposely threw away or destroyed her sewing tools, tormented servants who dared to vex her with unfortunate "accidents," and repeatedly put Miss Ophelia's chamber into disarray. Miss Ophelia taught her to read, to sew, to clean, and taught her the catechism; she tried locking her in closets and whipping her. Nothing seemed to work; Topsy would not behave.
When Miss Ophelia became thoroughly discouraged by Topsy's misbehavior, she consulted Mr. St. Clare, telling him that there was nothing she could do. Overhearing the conversation, Evangeline took Topsy aside and asked her, "What does make you so bad, Topsy? Why won't you try to be good? Don't you love anybody?" But Topsy told her that she had never had anyone to love, and that no one will ever love her because she is black. Evangeline burst forth, "Oh, Topsy, poor child, I love you! I love you, because you haven't had any father, or mother, or friends; because you've been a poor abused child! I love you, and I want you to be good." At this, Topsy's eyes filled with tears; she was finally reached by the most powerful of forces, not punishment, not material things, but instead the gift of love. Evangeline continued, "Don't you know that Jesus loves us all alike? He is just as willing to love you as me. He will help you to be good; and you can go to heaven at last, and be an angel forever, just as much as if you were white," and Topsy responded, "I will try, I will try; I never did care nothin' about it before."
Not only did Evangeline's kindness finally evoke an emotional response from Topsy, it taught Miss Ophelia a lesson as well. Mr. St. Clare sums it up as this: "Trust any child to find (prejudice) out; there's no keeping that from them. But I believe that all the trying in the world to benefit a child, and all the substantial favors you can do them, will never excite one emotion of gratitude, while that feeling of repugnance remains in the heart; it's a queer kind of fact, but so it is."
