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Mr. Henry
Uncle Siah is Aunt Hetty’s husband. A northern-born gentleman brought to poverty by ill luck, Uncle Siah bears his fate with patience and faith. He and Aunt Hetty secretly teach Hannah how to read and the tenets of Christianity. When they’re caught by the master’s overseer, they are thrown in jail for breaking the laws against teaching enslaved people. Eventually, a relative bails them out and gives Aunt Hetty and Uncle Siah a comfortable place to live in their older years. Uncle Siah dies peacefully of natural causes shortly before Hannah and Aunt Hetty are reunited.
Uncle Siah Quotes in The Bondwoman’s Narrative
The The Bondwoman’s Narrative quotes below are all either spoken by Uncle Siah or refer to Uncle Siah. 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:
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Chapter 1: In Childhood Quotes
At such times, however, I tried to remember the good things they had taught me, and to improve myself by gathering up such crumbs of knowledge as I could, and adding little by little to my stock of information. Of course my opportunities were limited, and I had much to make me miserable and discontented. The life of a slave at best is not a pleasant one, but I had formed a resolution to always look on the bright side of things, to be industrious, cheerful, and true-hearted, to do some good though in a humble way, and to win some love if I could. “I am a slave” thus my thoughts would run. “I can never be great, nor rich; I cannot hold an elevated position in society, but I can do my duty, and be kind in the sure and certain hope of an eternal reward.[”]
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Chapter 18: Strange Company Quotes
[“]I have heard them, when they called it praying, and when it seemed to me they were talking to themselves, or master, or some one else. Ministers used to come among us and pray, but I never minded them. They mostly prayed that we the slaves might be good and obedient, and feel grateful for all our blessings, which I know was fudge. It hardened my heart, and I could not bear it.”
She says this slowly and studiously, and occupies a long time in doing it. How I pitied the poor benighted soul to whom the sweetest influences of religion had become gall and wormwood.
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Uncle Siah Character Timeline in The Bondwoman’s Narrative
The timeline below shows where the character Uncle Siah appears in The Bondwoman’s Narrative. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1: In Childhood
...be wealthy but who have since fallen on hard times, Aunt Hetty and her husband Uncle Siah take Hannah under their wings. They do not see her as inferior because of her...
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Following Aunt Hetty’s and Uncle Siah ’s example, Hannah strives to live a virtuous life of her own, and she sees...
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But eventually, Master’s overseer catches Hannah with Aunty Hetty and Uncle Siah . Although Hannah escapes direct punishment, to her great grief, Aunt Hetty and Uncle Siah...
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About a year after Aunt Hetty’s and Uncle Siah ’s disappearance, Master prepares to marry. All of the enslaved workers at Lindenhurst work hard...
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Chapter 19: An Old Friend
...the master’s overseer discovered her giving lessons to Hannah. The master had Aunt Hetty and Uncle Siah arrested for breaking the law forbidding anyone to instruct an enslaved person. They languished in...
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