# Topsy — Uncle Tom’s Cabin character guide

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

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Topsy, Poor Topsy

**First appearance:** 0019-volume-ii-xx-topsy

## Snapshot

A wild, unclaimed child who has never been loved, she meets Miss Ophelia's civilizing project with mischief, mimicry, and a desperate hunger.

## Who they are

Topsy is a young enslaved girl given to Miss Ophelia as a kind of moral experiment, a child so neglected she claims she was never born and has no family at all. Her pranks and defiance are armor against a world that has taught her she is worthless, and her gradual response to genuine affection exposes the difference between instruction and love. She matters because her transformation tests the conscience of the Northern characters and dramatizes the novel's argument that no child is beyond reach.

## Relationships

### [Eva St. Clare](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/uncle_tom_s_cabin_se/characters/eva_st_clare)

_friendship_

Eva shows unconditional kindness to the wild, mistreated slave child Topsy, inspiring her first feelings of love and humanity.

### [Eva St. Clare](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/uncle_tom_s_cabin_se/characters/eva_st_clare)

_friendship_

Eva shows unconditional kindness to the wild, mistreated slave child Topsy, inspiring her first feelings of love and humanity.

### [Eva St. Clare](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/uncle_tom_s_cabin_se/characters/eva_st_clare)

_friendship_

Eva shows unconditional kindness to the wild, mistreated slave child Topsy, inspiring her first feelings of love and humanity.

## In the story

### [Topsy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/uncle_tom_s_cabin_se/chapters/volume-ii-xx-topsy)

A young slave girl introduced as a 'fresh-caught specimen,' she is mischievous, clever, and resistant to discipline, yet good-natured and generous with her treats.

### [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)

Eva watches Topsy's antics with amusement, and Topsy has been taught to read by Miss Ophelia, though Marie dismisses the effort.

### [The Little Evangelist](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/uncle_tom_s_cabin_se/chapters/volume-ii-xxv-the-little-evangelist)

Moved by Eva's love, weeps and promises to try to be good.

### [XXVI: Death](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/uncle_tom_s_cabin_se/chapters/volume-ii-xxvi-death)

The mischievous child who brings Eva a carefully arranged bouquet and sheds a tear at her kindness.

### [XXVII: “This Is the Last of Earth”](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/uncle_tom_s_cabin_se/chapters/volume-ii-xxvii-this-is-the-last-of-earth)

Mourns Eva's death, feeling abandoned, but receives comfort from Miss Ophelia.

### [Results](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/uncle_tom_s_cabin_se/chapters/volume-ii-xliii-results)

Brought to Vermont by Miss Ophelia; grows in grace, is baptized, and becomes a missionary to Africa.

## Links

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