Simon Legree in Uncle Tom's Cabin

Who is Simon Legree?

Simon Legree is introduced as a swaggering, whiskey-soaked planter who inspects newly arrived captives with contempt and immediately establishes a regime of brutality. He values profit and the expendability of enslaved people, boasting that he “uses up” laborers rather than caring for them. On his decaying plantation he appoints vicious deputies (Sambo and Quimbo) to maintain discipline and sets out to break Uncle Tom when Tom resists cruelty. Legree delights in intimidation—striking Tom, ordering savage punishments, and attempting to force betrayals. He is also haunted by a repressed memory of his pious mother, a scrap of which (a curl) unnerves him and briefly undermines his bluster. As Cassy and Emmeline plot escape, Legree’s fear and superstition are manipulated against him; his drinking and nightmares accelerate. After Tom’s martyrdom, Legree remains sullen and impotent before the moral force of Tom’s faith and the condemnation of those around him, his authority eroded even if the legal system protects him.

In the book: We first meet him as a rough Louisiana cotton planter on the river, swaggering through a sale and sizing people up like livestock, loud with whiskey and threats. He matters because the moment he stomps onto the scene, everyone tenses—he’s the kind of owner whose presence makes danger feel immediate.

Personality

Cruel

He strips Tom of fine clothing, forces coarser garments on him, strikes him, and orders Sambo and Quimbo to 'break' Tom for refusing to flog Lucy (Ch. 31, 33).

Domineering

He proclaims his authority on the boat, haranguing captives to look at him and obey, and loudly asserts ownership over Tom’s body and labor (Ch. 31, 33).

Vindictive

When the search for Cassy and Emmeline fails, he singles out Tom as a scapegoat and savagely beats him to force a confession or betrayal (Ch. 40).

Superstitious / Haunted

He is thrown into terror by a lock of fair hair and later by noises and visions in the garret, dreaming of a veiled figure and hearing a voice saying 'Come! come! come!' (Ch. 35, 42).

Alcohol-dependent

Legree repeatedly drinks to drown remorse and to bolster his bluster, carousing loudly with drivers and using drink after nightmares (Ch. 31, 35, 36).

Character arc

Legree first appears as an immediate, physical menace: loud, swaggering, and intent on establishing a regime of terror from the moment the captives arrive (Ch. 31). Early on his cruelty is straightforward—inspection, degrading clothing, threats, and blows. As the story continues at his plantation, his methods escalate to calculated brutality: he organizes broken quarters, appoints vicious drivers, and plans to break Tom into obedience (Ch. 32–33). Yet Stowe also exposes fissures in his apparent invulnerability. Haunted memories of his pious mother surface when a curl and a silver dollar provoke inexplicable fear, and his drinking and nightmares deepen (Ch. 35). Cassy exploits his superstitions, and his impotence before the garret’s staged hauntings reveals that terror can be turned back on its practitioner (Ch. 39). His physical assaults culminate in the savage beating of Tom, but rather than securing dominance this act accelerates his moral unraveling: Tom’s steadfast faith and martyrdom leave Legree sullen, haunted, and unable to command true respect; community gossip and ghostly reports underscore his decline even as he remains legally unpunished (Ch. 40–42).

Relationships

• Uncle Tom Legree is Tom's brutal owner who attempts to break Tom's spirit and force him to betray hidden fugitives, ultimately beating him to death.
• Cassy Cassy is a proud, traumatized woman whose defiance and cunning directly oppose Legree; she manipulates his superstitions and undermines his control.
• Sambo Sambo is one of Legree's principal drivers, a vicious deputy whose drunken revelry and brutality Legree relies on to terrorize the other slaves.
• Quimbo Quimbo is another trusted driver who enforces Legree's harsh discipline and participates in the violence Legree orders.
• Emmeline Emmeline is a terrified young captive whose pleas and fear highlight Legree's threats; Legree flatters and menaces her while she seeks rescue.
• George Shelby George Shelby confronts Legree after discovering Tom at the plantation; Legree remains insolent and legally unrepentant in the face of Shelby's anger.

Quotes by Simon Legree

““I’m your church now! You understand,—you’ve got to be as I say.””

Volume 2, Chapter 31Legree asserts total authority over Tom, inverting spiritual language into domination and foreshadowing religious and moral coercion on the plantation.

““Use up, and buy more, ’s my way;-makes you less trouble, and I’m quite sure it comes cheaper in the end;””

Volume 2, Chapter 31Legree states his brutal economic calculus, revealing a commodifying mentality that treats human beings as disposable assets.

““Shut up, you black cuss!””

Volume 2, Chapter 32Legree’s coarse command silences Tom’s hymn and reveals his brutality and contempt.

“I telled ye I didn’t buy ye jest for the common work; I mean to promote ye, and make a driver of ye; and tonight ye may jest as well begin to get yer hand in.”

Volume 2, Chapter 33Legree declares his intention to 'break in' Tom by forcing him to assume the role of overseer and to flog another slave.

““I’ll break every bone in his body, but he shall give up!””

Chapter 35Legree threatens a rebellious slave, showing his violent resolve and temper before the later terror when the curl appears.

“"I hate him!" said Legree, that night, as he sat up in his bed; "I hate him! And isn't he MINE? Can't I do what I like with him? Who's to hinder, I wonder?"”

Volume 2, Chapter 40Legree articulates his consuming hatred and sense of ownership over Tom after the fugitives escape, foreshadowing his violent revenge.

Why Simon Legree matters

Legree embodies the moral rot and institutional cruelty at the heart of slavery: a man who weaponizes brutality and superstition to sustain economic power. His contempt for human dignity and his treatment of Tom dramatize how slavery degrades both victims and perpetrators. Yet his haunting by maternal memory and his susceptibility to fear suggest that violence cannot fully silence conscience; Stowe uses Legree’s unraveling to argue that slavery corrupts the soul and invites divine or moral reckoning. As antagonist, he clarifies the novel’s central contrast between Christian love and systemic depravity.

Chapters with Simon Legree

• Volume 2, Chapter 31
• Volume 2, Chapter 32
• Volume 2, Chapter 33
• Chapter 35
• Volume 2, Chapter 36
• Volume 2, Chapter 38
• Volume 2, Chapter 39
• Volume 2, Chapter 40
• Chapter 41
• Chapter 42
• Volume 2, Chapter 45

More Uncle Tom's Cabin characters

• Uncle TomProtagonist
• Augustine St. ClareMajor character
• EmmelineMinor character
• Eliza HarrisMajor character
• Little EvaMajor character
• CassyMajor character
• Marie St. ClareMajor character
• Mr. ShelbyMajor character