# Eugene Leroy — Iola Leroy character guide

> Eugene Leroy in Iola Leroy by Frances Ellen Watkins Harper.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** IX Eugene Leroy, Eugene, Leroy

**First appearance:** 0011-ix-eugene-leroy-and-alfred-lorraine

## Snapshot

A wealthy Mississippi planter who braved his neighbors' contempt to marry the enslaved Marie and raise their children as free and educated.

## Who they are

Leroy listens to Marie's graduation speech with a shadow of annoyance that dissolves into admiration, then marries her and installs her as mistress of his mansion. His female neighbors never enter his doors again, and his male friends call the marriage the great mistake of his life. His death is the hinge on which his family's freedom turns to bondage, since the inheritance he meant to secure them is stolen by a distant relative.

## Relationships

### [Marie Leroy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/iola_leroy_se/characters/marie_leroy)

_family_

Eugene is Marie's husband, a white planter who loves her but keeps her enslaved until his deathbed emancipation.

### [Alfred Lorraine](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/iola_leroy_se/characters/alfred_lorraine)

_rivalry_

Alfred Lorraine is Eugene's cousin and antagonist, scheming to steal the Leroy family fortune and uphold slavery.

### [Alfred Lorraine](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/iola_leroy_se/characters/alfred_lorraine)

_rivalry_

Alfred Lorraine is Eugene's cousin and antagonist, scheming to steal the Leroy family fortune and uphold slavery.

### [Marie Leroy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/iola_leroy_se/characters/marie_leroy)

_family_

Eugene is Marie's husband, a white planter who loves her but keeps her enslaved until his deathbed emancipation.

### [Alfred Lorraine](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/iola_leroy_se/characters/alfred_lorraine)

_rivalry_

Alfred Lorraine is Eugene's cousin and antagonist, scheming to steal the Leroy family fortune and uphold slavery.

### [Marie Leroy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/iola_leroy_se/characters/marie_leroy)

_family_

Eugene is Marie's husband, a white planter who loves her but keeps her enslaved until his deathbed emancipation.

## In the story

### [Iola Leroy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/iola_leroy_se/chapters/iola-leroy)

Iola's father; a wealthy white planter who marries a slave woman and raises Iola as white.

### [IX: Eugene Leroy and Alfred Lorraine](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/iola_leroy_se/chapters/ix-eugene-leroy-and-alfred-lorraine)

Defends his decision to marry Marie, recounting her care during his illness and his moral awakening.

### [Shadows in the Home](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/iola_leroy_se/chapters/x-shadows-in-the-home)

Discusses with Marie the need to educate their children in the North to avoid racial prejudice; reflects on his marriage and the social consequences.

### [XI: The Plague and the Law](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/iola_leroy_se/chapters/xi-the-plague-and-the-law)

Discusses national politics and secession with Marie; dies of yellow fever while traveling North.

### [XIV: Harry Leroy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/iola_leroy_se/chapters/xiv-harry-leroy)

Deceased; his death from yellow fever triggered the legal attack on his family.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/iola_leroy_se/characters/eugene_leroy
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/iola_leroy_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/iola_leroy_se/characters