# Master Epps — Twelve Years a Slave character guide > Master Epps in Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northup. **Role:** major **Also known as:** Epps, Young Master Epps, Edwin Epps, old Epps, said Edwin Epps, Massa Epps **First appearance:** 0010-vii ## Snapshot A cotton planter whose drunken rages and sexual jealousy make him the most feared master Solomon ever endures. ## Who they are Epps owns the Louisiana plantation where Solomon spends his longest years, and he rules through whips, caprice, and a jealousy that poisons everyone near him. His obsession with Patsey turns his wife into an enemy of the same enslaved girl, so that master and mistress compete in cruelty. Epps embodies the book's argument that slavery corrupts the enslaver as thoroughly as it destroys the enslaved. ## Relationships ### [Patsey](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/twelve_years_a_slave_se/characters/patsey) _psychological_ Epps obsessively exploits and brutalizes Patsey, subjecting her to relentless abuse and sexual coercion. ### [Bass](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/twelve_years_a_slave_se/characters/bass) _professional_ Bass works as a carpenter for Epps but secretly opposes his brutal treatment of slaves. ### [Mistress Epps](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/twelve_years_a_slave_se/characters/mistress_epps) _romantic_ Epps and his wife have a volatile marriage marked by his infidelity with Patsey and her jealous rage. ### [Platt](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/twelve_years_a_slave_se/characters/platt) _professional_ Epps owns Platt as a slave, demanding hard labor and punishing him brutally for any perceived failure. ### [Uncle Abram](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/twelve_years_a_slave_se/characters/uncle_abram) _professional_ Uncle Abram is an elderly slave owned by Epps, who works him relentlessly despite his age. ### [Wiley](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/twelve_years_a_slave_se/characters/wiley) _professional_ Wiley is a slave driver under Epps, enforcing his master's harsh discipline on other slaves. ### [Armsby](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/twelve_years_a_slave_se/characters/armsby) _professional_ Armsby is a poor white man who betrays Platt's trust by reporting his escape plans to Epps. ### [Bass](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/twelve_years_a_slave_se/characters/bass) _professional_ Bass works as a carpenter for Epps but secretly opposes his brutal treatment of slaves. ### [Platt](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/twelve_years_a_slave_se/characters/platt) _professional_ Epps owns Platt as a slave, demanding hard labor and punishing him brutally for any perceived failure. ### [Patsey](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/twelve_years_a_slave_se/characters/patsey) _psychological_ Epps obsessively exploits and brutalizes Patsey, subjecting her to relentless abuse and sexual coercion. ### [Uncle Abram](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/twelve_years_a_slave_se/characters/uncle_abram) _professional_ Uncle Abram is an elderly slave owned by Epps, who works him relentlessly despite his age. ### [Bass](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/twelve_years_a_slave_se/characters/bass) _professional_ Bass works as a carpenter for Epps but secretly opposes his brutal treatment of slaves. ## In the story ### [Twelve Years a Slave](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/twelve_years_a_slave_se/chapters/twelve-years-a-slave) Brutal plantation owner who subjects Solomon and others to severe cruelty. ### [XI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/twelve_years_a_slave_se/chapters/xi) Purchases Solomon from Tibeats, becoming his new master. ### [Chapter XII: The Slave's Daily Life on Bayou Boeuf](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/twelve_years_a_slave_se/chapters/xii) Cruel and calculating slaveholder who feeds his hogs shelled corn but gives his slaves corn in the ear, and who flogs slaves for breaking cotton stalks or failing to meet picking quotas. ### [Chapter XIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/twelve_years_a_slave_se/chapters/xiii) Portrayed as hard, cruel, and unjust, valuing profit over human life, and licentious toward Patsey. ### [XIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/twelve_years_a_slave_se/chapters/xiv) Beats Patsey frequently, especially when drunk; involved in a feud with Marshall; influenced by his wife's cruelty. ### [Chapter XVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/twelve_years_a_slave_se/chapters/xvi) Confronts Solomon about the letter plot, is temporarily convinced by Solomon's lies, and later threatens him with a knife. ### [Chapter XVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/twelve_years_a_slave_se/chapters/xvii) Owns Wiley; whips him severely and searches for him after he runs away. ### [Chapter XVIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/twelve_years_a_slave_se/chapters/xviii) Displays his cruel and irrational nature, flogging Solomon for wanting to leave and stabbing Uncle Abram in a drunken rage. His jealousy toward Patsey leads to a horrific whipping. ### [XIX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/twelve_years_a_slave_se/chapters/xix) Defends slavery with racist arguments, laughing off Bass's moral objections. Remains oblivious to Solomon's true identity. ### [XX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/twelve_years_a_slave_se/chapters/xx) Hosts Bass, boasts about Solomon's value, and whips Solomon for oversleeping. ### [XXI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/twelve_years_a_slave_se/chapters/xxi) Solomon's current owner, who reacts with anger and threats upon learning of the rescue attempt. ### [Chapter C: The Legal Emancipation of Solomon Northup](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/twelve_years_a_slave_se/chapters/c) Edwin Epps, the slaveholder who surrenders Solomon Northup after being satisfied with the proofs of his free status. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/twelve_years_a_slave_se/characters/master_epps - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/twelve_years_a_slave_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/twelve_years_a_slave_se/characters