# Tom Brent — The Uncalled character guide

> Tom Brent in The Uncalled by Paul Laurence Dunbar.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** old Tom Brent

**First appearance:** 0000-i

## Snapshot

The drunkard father whose name clings to Fred like a stain, old Tom Brent haunts every pulpit his son ascends before he ever speaks a word.

## Who they are

Tom Brent is a brute and a drunkard who beat his wife, drove her to divorce and drink, and vanished from Dexter without a trace. Though he never appears in the flesh, his reputation precedes Fred everywhere — when the young student rises to preach, nine-tenths of the congregation sees not Frederick Brent but "old Tom Brent's boy." His shadow is the inherited shame against which his son's entire struggle for self-definition is waged.

## Relationships

### [Elizabeth Simpson](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_uncalled_se/characters/elizabeth_simpson)

_family_

Elizabeth is Tom's sister-in-law, and they share a warm, supportive family bond.

### [Mrs. Hester Hodges](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_uncalled_se/characters/mrs_hester_hodges)

_family_

Mrs. Hodges is Tom's mother, and their relationship is loving but overshadowed by her past mistakes.

### [Fred Brent](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_uncalled_se/characters/fred_brent)

_family_

Tom is Fred's biological father, though Fred does not know this, and their interactions are marked by Tom's guilt and distance.

### [Mrs. Hester Hodges](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_uncalled_se/characters/mrs_hester_hodges)

_family_

Mrs. Hodges is Tom's mother, and their relationship is loving but overshadowed by her past mistakes.

### [Elizabeth Simpson](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_uncalled_se/characters/elizabeth_simpson)

_family_

Elizabeth is Tom's sister-in-law, and they share a warm, supportive family bond.

### [Fred Brent](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_uncalled_se/characters/fred_brent)

_family_

Tom is Fred's biological father, though Fred does not know this, and their interactions are marked by Tom's guilt and distance.

## In the story

### [Chapter X](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_uncalled_se/chapters/x)

Fred's father, remembered as a drunkard, contributing to community prejudice against Fred.

### [XV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_uncalled_se/chapters/xv)

Tom Brent appears as the repentant temperance speaker, coughing and frail, seeking to return home before dying.

### [XVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_uncalled_se/chapters/xvi)

Returns to Dexter, is penitent and dying, and is buried on Tuesday morning.

### [XVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_uncalled_se/chapters/xvii)

His return, changed life, and death are still being discussed in Dexter.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_uncalled_se/characters/tom_brent
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_uncalled_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_uncalled_se/characters