Uncle Tom’s Cabin · Character

Aunt Chloe

The Shelby plantation's celebrated cook, whose pride in her craft and fierce love for Tom anchor the novel's portrait of a family torn apart.

supporting

Also known as Chloe, Poor Aunt Chloe, old Chloe, Aunte Chloe

First appearance: An Evening in Uncle Tom's Cabin

As a supporting figure in Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Aunt Chloe is not background color—the story leans on what they do once the chapter opens.

Presides over the cooking with pride and skill, preparing supper and a pound-cake, and organizing the cabin for the weekly meeting.

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Aunt Chloe is Uncle Tom's wife and the Shelby kitchen's undisputed artist, a woman whose competence and temper are both formidable. When Tom is sold away, her grief and her determination to earn his freedom through her own labor give the novel one of its most human portraits of a family divided by slavery. Her practical ambition and her unshakable devotion to Tom make the abstract crime of slavery feel intimate and specific.

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Character Web

24 connections

A slice of how Aunt Chloe sits in the book — open the reader for the full interactive map.

Relationship types

Social
Family
Other

Character groups

St. Clare household and Shelby family
Legree's plantation victims and helpers
Protagonist

+19 more in the full Character Web

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Narrative arc

Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Exposition.

Setup
Escalation
Breaking point

The "Endnotes" chapter serves as the dramatic climax because it abruptly shifts the narrative focus from the c…

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Relationships

George Harris
social · ambivalent
Aunt Chloe and George Harris are acquaintances within the enslaved community, sharing a… How this plays out →
Uncle Tom
family · positive
George Harris
social · ambivalent
Aunt Chloe and George Harris are acquaintances within the enslaved community, sharing a… How this plays out →
George Harris
social · ambivalent
Aunt Chloe and George Harris are acquaintances within the enslaved community, sharing a… How this plays out →
Uncle Tom
family · positive
Uncle Tom
family · positive

George Harris
Aunt Chloe and George Harris are acquaintances within the enslaved community, sharing a common plight but not a close bond.
Uncle Tom
Aunt Chloe is Tom's devoted wife, heartbroken by his sale and determined to save money to buy his freedom.
George Harris
Aunt Chloe and George Harris are acquaintances within the enslaved community, sharing a common plight but not a close bond.
George Harris
Aunt Chloe and George Harris are acquaintances within the enslaved community, sharing a common plight but not a close bond.
Uncle Tom
Aunt Chloe is Tom's devoted wife, heartbroken by his sale and determined to save money to buy his freedom.
Uncle Tom
Aunt Chloe is Tom's devoted wife, heartbroken by his sale and determined to save money to buy his freedom.

Relationship notes

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See Aunt Chloe in An Evening in Uncle Tom's Cabin

In the story

Aunt Chloe appears across 6 companion beats. Open any chapter in the free preview to see the notes beside the text.

An Evening in Uncle Tom's Cabin
Presides over the cooking with pride and skill, preparing supper and a pound-cake, and organizing the cabin for the weekly meeting.
VII: The Mother’s Struggle
The cook who deliberately delays the dinner to hinder Haley's pursuit, expressing righteous anger against slave traders.
X: The Property Is Carried Off
Chloe prepares Tom's last breakfast, weeps bitterly, and voices her anger at the injustice of the sale.
XXI: Kentuck
Proposes to hire herself out as a confectioner in Louisville to earn money for Tom's redemption, showing resourcefulness and devotion.
XXII: “The Grass Withereth—The Flower Fadeth”
Mentioned in George's letter as being hired out to a confectioner in Louisville, earning money for Tom's redemption.
The Liberator
Eagerly awaits George's return and news of her husband Tom; heartbroken upon learning of his death.

Chapter companion notes

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See Aunt Chloe in An Evening in Uncle Tom's Cabin