Uncle Tom's Cabin Chapter 26

Eva, her condition having worsened, is reclining on her bed one day when she hears her mother scolding someone for picking flowers. She hears Topsy explaining that the flowers are for Eva, and Marie tells Topsy that Eva wouldn't want flowers from a "good-for-nothing nigger." Eva tells her mother that she would love to have the flowers, and she asks Topsy to bring them to her. Topsy obliges, and Eva notices a tear on her cheek. She tells Topsy that she does a beautiful job of arranging flowers, and she asks her to make her a new arrangement every day. Topsy eagerly agrees. Eva explains to her mother that Topsy wanted to do something for her, and Marie tells her that Topsy only did it because she wants to do mischief. Eva expresses her sadness that Topsy has never had anyone to love her and says she is sad that so many are like her. Her mother tells her she should be thankful for what she has.

Topic Tracking: Morality 17

She then tells her mother that she wants to cut off some of her hair, so that she can give pieces of it to her friends while she is still alive. Miss Ophelia agrees to cut it, and St. Clare tells her to cut it so that her curls still look pretty for the time she goes to visit Henrique. She tells him that she will never go, as her health has been declining and she feels that her passing is near. She tells him to gather all the servants in her room, as she wants to speak to them as a group before she goes. He agrees, sadly. Once everyone is situated in her room, she addresses them all and tells them that she will be passing soon, and she has something she wants to say before she goes.

Everyone bursts into sobs, and she tells them that they should learn to live as Christians if they want to see her in Heaven. She starts to tell them that they should read the Bible, but stops short when she remembers that many of them can't read--a realization that makes her burst into tears and sob in her pillow. She tells them to pray even if they can't read, and as everyone around her cries, she gives them each a lock of her hair. She also gives one to Topsy, who tells Eva through her tears that she is trying to be good. After everyone leaves, St. Clare exclaims bitterly that God has dealt him a very bitter hand, and Eva asks him not to speak so violently against God. She asks him if he is a Christian. He tells her he doesn't know and asks her how she could love God if she has never seen him. She tells him that it doesn't matter, for she believes in a few days she will see him.

Topic Tracking: Redemption 7

After a few days, Eva passes away gently with Tom and St. Clare at her bedside.