St. Clare tells Ophelia that he, and many other Southerners, know that slavery is wrong. If he feels this way, why does he own slaves? Why doesn’t he free his slaves?

Mr. St. Clare says that he doesn't like slavery, and tried to make up for it by giving his slaves as much freedom as possible. He tells a story of his days trying to run the plantation he inherited from his father with his brother. When he made free papers for a runaway from the plantation, the slave destroyed them and dedicated his life of servitude to St. Clare. Eva cries when she hears the story, and later helps Uncle Tom write a letter to his family.