# Marie Leroy — Iola Leroy character guide > Marie Leroy in Iola Leroy by Frances Ellen Watkins Harper. **Role:** major **Also known as:** Aunt Polly **First appearance:** 0002-iola-leroy ## Snapshot Once a slave girl with the fatal dower of beauty, she became a planter's wife and now waits at the depot for children sold away from her. ## Who they are Marie's commencement oration on American civilization so moved Eugene Leroy that he married her and made her mistress of the plantation where she had been chattel. After his death she was robbed and enslaved again by the relative Lorraine, and her children scattered. Her restless pacing on the platform, peering into the dark for the train that carries her treasures, measures how much the war took and how much it might yet return. ## Relationships ### [Iola Leroy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/iola_leroy_se/characters/iola_leroy) _family_ Marie is Iola's mother, a former slave who raised her with love and later supports her daughter's quest for identity and justice. ### [Robert Johnson](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/iola_leroy_se/characters/robert_johnson) _family_ Marie is Robert's mother, and their bond is marked by deep affection and shared suffering under slavery. ### [Eugene Leroy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/iola_leroy_se/characters/eugene_leroy) _family_ Eugene is Marie's husband, a white planter who loves her but keeps her enslaved until his deathbed emancipation. ### [Harry Leroy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/iola_leroy_se/characters/harry_leroy) _family_ Harry is Marie's son, and their relationship is warm and supportive, with Marie encouraging his education and freedom. ### [Gilbert Haven](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/iola_leroy_se/characters/gilbert_haven) _friendship_ Gilbert Haven is a friend and ally to Marie, helping her navigate freedom and family reunification. ### [Uncle Daniel](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/iola_leroy_se/characters/uncle_daniel) _family_ Marie and Uncle Daniel are siblings, with a close relationship rooted in shared history and mutual care. ### [Iola Leroy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/iola_leroy_se/characters/iola_leroy) _family_ Marie is Iola's mother, a former slave who raised her with love and later supports her daughter's quest for identity and justice. ### [Robert Johnson](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/iola_leroy_se/characters/robert_johnson) _family_ Marie is Robert's mother, and their bond is marked by deep affection and shared suffering under slavery. ### [Robert Johnson](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/iola_leroy_se/characters/robert_johnson) _family_ Marie is Robert's mother, and their bond is marked by deep affection and shared suffering under slavery. ### [Iola Leroy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/iola_leroy_se/characters/iola_leroy) _family_ Marie is Iola's mother, a former slave who raised her with love and later supports her daughter's quest for identity and justice. ### [Eugene Leroy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/iola_leroy_se/characters/eugene_leroy) _family_ Eugene is Marie's husband, a white planter who loves her but keeps her enslaved until his deathbed emancipation. ### [Harry Leroy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/iola_leroy_se/characters/harry_leroy) _family_ Harry is Marie's son, and their relationship is warm and supportive, with Marie encouraging his education and freedom. ## In the story ### [Iola Leroy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/iola_leroy_se/chapters/iola-leroy) Iola's mother; a former slave who is married to Eugene Leroy and later dies. ### [IX: Eugene Leroy and Alfred Lorraine](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/iola_leroy_se/chapters/ix-eugene-leroy-and-alfred-lorraine) Discussed extensively; her beauty, faith, and history as a slave are central to Eugene's decision. ### [Shadows in the Home](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/iola_leroy_se/chapters/x-shadows-in-the-home) Expresses fears about her children's future due to racial prejudice; recalls her own past as a slave and her marriage to Eugene. ### [XI: The Plague and the Law](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/iola_leroy_se/chapters/xi-the-plague-and-the-law) Expresses dread of Alfred Lorraine; becomes widowed after Leroy's death from yellow fever. ### [XII: Schoolgirl Notions](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/iola_leroy_se/chapters/xii-schoolgirl-notions) Suffers from brain fever and nervous prostration after her husband's death; comforts Iola and urges Christian faith as tragedy looms. ### [XIV: Harry Leroy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/iola_leroy_se/chapters/xiv-harry-leroy) Mentioned as being too wretched to write; her marriage to Eugene Leroy has been declared invalid. ### [After the Battle](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/iola_leroy_se/chapters/xvi-after-the-battle) Iola's mother; her portrait is in the locket, and she is the sister Robert believes he has found. ### [XXII: Further Lifting of the Veil](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/iola_leroy_se/chapters/xxii-further-lifting-of-the-veil) Reunites with her son Harry after he is wounded in battle; later joyfully reunited with Iola at the depot. ### [XXIII: Delightful Reunions](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/iola_leroy_se/chapters/xxiii-delightful-reunions) Joyful in her reunion with Iola and Harry; recognizes Robert as her brother through the handkerchief memory; considers moving North. ### [Northern Experience](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/iola_leroy_se/chapters/xxiv-northern-experience) Marie is reunited with her mother and Iola after years of separation, settling into the Northern home. ### [An Old Friend](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/iola_leroy_se/chapters/xxv-an-old-friend) Introduced by Iola as her mother. She expresses anxiety for her son Harry's safety in the South and states she would rather see him as a friend of the poor than a companion of lawless men. ### [XXVII: Diverging Paths](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/iola_leroy_se/chapters/xxvii-diverging-paths) Iola references her mother's humiliating experience at a church communion and her failed attempt to help a colored girl at an asylum, illustrating racial prejudice. ### [Visitors from the South](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/iola_leroy_se/chapters/xxix-visitors-from-the-south) Unwell due to anxiety over her son Harry; discusses racial outrages and the term 'bloody shirt'. ### [XXX: Friends in Council](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/iola_leroy_se/chapters/xxx-friends-in-council) Expresses interest and pleasure in the evening, and welcomes the idea of more such conferences. ### [Conclusion](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/iola_leroy_se/chapters/xxxiii-conclusion) Lives with Robert in North Carolina, remains frail but helpful, and is described as having a sweet and dignified presence. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/iola_leroy_se/characters/marie_leroy - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/iola_leroy_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/iola_leroy_se/characters