Harriet Beecher Stowe- "Uncle Tom's Cabin"

Journal #2
Posted by Melissa Veum
English 48A
09/28/09

"Sublime is the dominion of the mind over the body, that, for a time, can make flesh and nerve impregnable, and string the sinews like steel, so that the weak become so mighty (Stowe, 1712)."

"The truth is the kindest thing we can give folks in the end (Stowe, quotationspage.com)."

Harriet Beecher Stowe is explaining to the reader in the quote that mind over matter is what really matters in the end. Even the weakest of people can be strong if the cause is worth fighting for. In this case Eliza needs to get away from this trader who is trying to take her son away from her. She has not eaten much and has been traveling all night, but in order to save her son from a life with no mother, she takes all her strength and crosses a treacherous river by jumping on broken pieces of ice. She musters up all the strength she had in her little body and clasping onto her son, makes it across the river, where a Christian gentlemen helps her up the bank.

I think that Eliza is a very brave, independent woman who in not wanting her son taken away from her, she uproots herself and flees for a better life. In this passage she is not only doing this for herself, but she has her little baby with her. When doing something for someone you love, you gain immense strength and power to do whatever you see fit. In this case, Eliza is doing everything she can to ensure a better life for her son, even if it means possibly getting into more trouble than she has ever imagined. Having strength in your mind and within yourself, if nowhere else, is all that Eliza has right now and she can overcome anything just by thinking that she has the power to do so.