# Aunt Chloe — Uncle Tom’s Cabin character guide

> Aunt Chloe in Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe.

**Role:** supporting

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

**First appearance:** 0003-volume-i-iv-an-evening-in-uncle-tom-s-cabin

## Snapshot

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.

## Who they are

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.

## Relationships

### [George Harris](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/uncle_tom_s_cabin_se/characters/george_harris)

_social_

Aunt Chloe and George Harris are acquaintances within the enslaved community, sharing a common plight but not a close bond.

### [Uncle Tom](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/uncle_tom_s_cabin_se/characters/uncle_tom)

_family_

Aunt Chloe is Tom's devoted wife, heartbroken by his sale and determined to save money to buy his freedom.

### [George Harris](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/uncle_tom_s_cabin_se/characters/george_harris)

_social_

Aunt Chloe and George Harris are acquaintances within the enslaved community, sharing a common plight but not a close bond.

### [George Harris](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/uncle_tom_s_cabin_se/characters/george_harris)

_social_

Aunt Chloe and George Harris are acquaintances within the enslaved community, sharing a common plight but not a close bond.

### [Uncle Tom](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/uncle_tom_s_cabin_se/characters/uncle_tom)

_family_

Aunt Chloe is Tom's devoted wife, heartbroken by his sale and determined to save money to buy his freedom.

### [Uncle Tom](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/uncle_tom_s_cabin_se/characters/uncle_tom)

_family_

Aunt Chloe is Tom's devoted wife, heartbroken by his sale and determined to save money to buy his freedom.

## In the story

### [An Evening in Uncle Tom's Cabin](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/uncle_tom_s_cabin_se/chapters/volume-i-iv-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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/uncle_tom_s_cabin_se/chapters/volume-i-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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/uncle_tom_s_cabin_se/chapters/volume-i-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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/uncle_tom_s_cabin_se/chapters/volume-ii-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”](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/uncle_tom_s_cabin_se/chapters/volume-ii-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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/uncle_tom_s_cabin_se/chapters/volume-ii-xliv-the-liberator)

Eagerly awaits George's return and news of her husband Tom; heartbroken upon learning of his death.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/uncle_tom_s_cabin_se/characters/aunt_chloe
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/uncle_tom_s_cabin_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/uncle_tom_s_cabin_se/characters