# Tom — The Conjure Woman character guide

> Tom in The Conjure Woman by Charles W. Chesnutt.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Mars Tom, young Mars Tom

**First appearance:** 0000-the-goophered-grapevine

## Snapshot

A Northern white landowner whose scientific skepticism and genuine curiosity about Julius's tales make him the perfect foil for the old man's storytelling.

## Who they are

Tom represents the educated Northern outsider trying to make a go of vineyard farming in the post-war South, dependent on Julius's labor and local knowledge. He listens to Julius's conjure tales with a mixture of amusement and anthropological interest, never quite believing but never quite dismissing them either. His presence frames the stories for readers, modeling the tension between rational disbelief and the undeniable power of narrative.

## In the story

### [Mars Jeems's Nightmare](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_conjure_woman_se/chapters/mars-jeems-s-nightmare)

Julius's grandson, hired by the narrator but discharged for laziness and untrustworthiness.

### [A Victim of Heredity](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_conjure_woman_se/chapters/a-victim-of-heredity)

Young Mars Tom is the nephew who was robbed of his inheritance by his uncle Mars Donal', and who later saved Aunt Peggy from drowning.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_conjure_woman_se/characters/tom
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_conjure_woman_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_conjure_woman_se/characters