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Henry B. Northup
Patsey is a twenty-three-year-old, beautiful slave girl belonging to Edwin Epps. She is raped by Epps regularly, making her the object of Mistress Epps’ jealousy and hatred and thus the recipient of even more brutal treatment. Stuck between Edwin Epps and Mistress Epps, Patsey is constantly beaten and punished for one thing or another. She is known among the other slaves for her bright spirit and extraordinary talent picking cotton. She is eventually beaten nearly to death by Epps, after which she is never the same.
Patsey Quotes in 12 Years a Slave
The 12 Years a Slave quotes below are all either spoken by Patsey or refer to Patsey. 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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Chapter 18
Quotes
It was the Sabbath of the Lord. The fields smiled in the warm sunlight—the birds chirped merrily amidst the foliage of the trees—peace and happiness seemed to reign everywhere, save in the bosoms of Epps and his panting victim and the silent witnesses around him. The tempestuous emotions that were raging there were little in harmony with the calm and quiet beauty of the day. I could look on Epps only with unutterable loathing and abhorrence, and thought within myself—“Thou devil, sooner or later, somewhere in the course of eternal justice, thou shalt answer for this sin!”
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Patsey Quotes in 12 Years a Slave
The 12 Years a Slave quotes below are all either spoken by Patsey or refer to Patsey. 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:
Chapter 18
Quotes
It was the Sabbath of the Lord. The fields smiled in the warm sunlight—the birds chirped merrily amidst the foliage of the trees—peace and happiness seemed to reign everywhere, save in the bosoms of Epps and his panting victim and the silent witnesses around him. The tempestuous emotions that were raging there were little in harmony with the calm and quiet beauty of the day. I could look on Epps only with unutterable loathing and abhorrence, and thought within myself—“Thou devil, sooner or later, somewhere in the course of eternal justice, thou shalt answer for this sin!”
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Related Literary Devices:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
