Uncle Tom’s Cabin · Character

Simon Legree

A coarse, violent plantation owner whose calloused fists and bottomless cruelty turn the novel's argument about slavery into flesh-and-blood horror.

major

Also known as Mr. Legree, Legree, Simon

First appearance: Dark Places

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

Legree is the bullet-headed buyer who purchases Emmeline, Tom, and two other men at the auction, becoming their new master.

In the storyXXX: The Slave WarehouseOpen this moment free

See Simon Legree in XXX: The Slave Warehouse Book page

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Legree is a Yankee by birth who has come south to make his fortune in cotton, and he runs his Red River plantation on fear, whiskey, and the absolute power the law gives him over the bodies of the people he owns. He is not a hypocrite like St. Clare or a gentleman like Shelby—he is the system stripped of its genteel excuses, a man whose only interest in his slaves is what they can produce before they break. His arrival in Tom's life marks the point at which the novel stops asking whether slavery can be humane and starts showing what it looks like when it is not.

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The fuller portrait of Simon Legree sits in Reading Lens — open the free preview to keep reading with notes on the page.

See Simon Legree in Dark Places

Character Web

19 connections

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

Relationship types

Rivalry
Psychological
Other

Character groups

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

+14 more in the full Character Web

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Narrative arc

Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Rising action.

Setup
Escalation
Breaking point

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

Full beat labels and climax notes unlock in the reader.

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Relationships

Uncle Tom
rivalry · negative
Legree is Tom's brutal, sadistic master who seeks to break Tom's faith and will through… How this plays out →
Cassy
psychological · negative
Emmeline
psychological · negative
Uncle Tom
rivalry · negative
Legree is Tom's brutal, sadistic master who seeks to break Tom's faith and will through… How this plays out →
Cassy
psychological · negative
Cassy
psychological · negative
Emmeline
psychological · negative
Uncle Tom
rivalry · negative
Legree is Tom's brutal, sadistic master who seeks to break Tom's faith and will through… How this plays out →

Uncle Tom
Legree is Tom's brutal, sadistic master who seeks to break Tom's faith and will through violence and intimidation.
Cassy
Cassy is Legree's enslaved mistress, trapped in a relationship of hatred, manipulation, and shared trauma, plotting against him.
Emmeline
Emmeline is a young enslaved woman bought by Legree to be his sexual victim, living in constant terror of his brutality.
Uncle Tom
Legree is Tom's brutal, sadistic master who seeks to break Tom's faith and will through violence and intimidation.
Cassy
Cassy is Legree's enslaved mistress, trapped in a relationship of hatred, manipulation, and shared trauma, plotting against him.
Cassy
Cassy is Legree's enslaved mistress, trapped in a relationship of hatred, manipulation, and shared trauma, plotting against him.
Emmeline
Emmeline is a young enslaved woman bought by Legree to be his sexual victim, living in constant terror of his brutality.
Uncle Tom
Legree is Tom's brutal, sadistic master who seeks to break Tom's faith and will through violence and intimidation.

Relationship notes

How these ties play out is in the reading companion — open the free preview.

See Simon Legree in Dark Places

In the story

Simon Legree appears across 11 companion beats. Open any chapter in the free preview to see the notes beside the text.

XXX: The Slave Warehouse
Legree is the bullet-headed buyer who purchases Emmeline, Tom, and two other men at the auction, becoming their new master.
XXXI: The Middle Passage
Legree asserts dominance over Tom and the other slaves, boasting of his brutality and threatening them with violence.
Dark Places
Legree drives the wagon, drinks, forces the slaves to sing, and makes threatening advances toward Emmeline.
The Quadroon's Story
Legree is the brutal master who ordered Tom's beating and is the object of Cassy's hatred.
XXXV: The Tokens
Haunted by the memory of his mother and the lock of hair, Legree struggles with guilt and superstition, becoming more brutal yet internally tormented.
Emmeline and Cassy
Legree experiences a haunting nightmare about his mother and wakes in a rage. He is momentarily swayed by Cassy's manipulation but vows future revenge on Tom.
XXXVIII: The Victory
Legree torments Tom, beats him, and is enraged by Tom's newfound cheerfulness and faith.
The Stratagem
Falls for Cassy's tricks, organizes a hunt, and is outwitted.
The Martyr
In a rage over the escape of Cassy and Emmeline, he tortures Tom to death.
The Young Master
The brutal slave owner who beat Tom; he confronts George and is knocked down after taunting him.
An Authentic Ghost Story
Haunted by ghostly rumors and a terrifying nocturnal vision, he drinks heavily and experiences a supernatural encounter.

Chapter companion notes

Spoil-light check-ins for Simon Legree unlock in the free preview.

See Simon Legree in Dark Places

See Simon Legree in XXX: The Slave Warehouse