Mistress Epps is the wife of Edwin Epps, and the mother of at least two children (though the only one who appears in the narrative is Young Master Epps). Although she is presented as being polite to the slaves (she even cries when Solomon is rescued because she’ll miss his talent for the fiddle), Mistress Epps fosters a wicked hatred for Patsey due to jealousy, since Patsey is beautiful and is the helpless object of Edwin Epps’ sexual abuse. For these reasons, Mistress Epps frequently convinces Epps to beat and whip the slave girl.
Mistress Epps Quotes in 12 Years a Slave
The 12 Years a Slave quotes below are all either spoken by Mistress Epps or refer to Mistress Epps. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 13
Quotes
[…] it had fallen to her lot to be the slave of a licentious master and a jealous mistress. She shrank before the lustful eye of one, and was in danger even of her life at the hands of the other, and in between the two, she was indeed accursed.
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Explanation and Analysis:
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Mistress Epps Quotes in 12 Years a Slave
The 12 Years a Slave quotes below are all either spoken by Mistress Epps or refer to Mistress Epps. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 13
Quotes
[…] it had fallen to her lot to be the slave of a licentious master and a jealous mistress. She shrank before the lustful eye of one, and was in danger even of her life at the hands of the other, and in between the two, she was indeed accursed.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
