The narrator explains what has troubled Legree. It seems that he was well brought up in New England, by a kind, Christian mother, but he turned against her and went to sea, leading a life of depravity. His mother continued to pray for him, but when he next saw her he cursed her, choosing his sinful life once and for all. Soon he received a letter telling him of his mother's death and containing a lock of her hair. He was horrified, burning the hair and living in dread of his mother's ghost. Now, not knowing whose hair Tom had kept, he feared it as his mother's hair. His house begins to frighten him, and he tries to rouse Emmeline. She will not answer, however, and he is afraid to go upstairs after her. He starts up, but hears Emmeline singing about the Last Judgment; in fear and horror, he goes back downstairs. At last he calls in Sambo and Quimbo, and the three get drunk together; Cassy, returning, looks in at them and wonders if it would be sinful to kill Legree. She then goes upstairs to call upon Emmeline.
In Chapter 36, Emmeline is sitting up, frightened of the noise of the drunken men downstairs. She asks Cassy if they couldn't escape, but Cassy tells her this has been tried; even if one could survive in the swamps that surround the plantation, the dogs would find her. She implies that Legree has had would-be escapees burned at the stake. She tells Emmeline that the best thing for her would be to drink Legree's brandy, which would make it easier for her to give in to him — something she apparently has not yet done. (How Emmeline has managed to avoid Legree's advances so far is not explained, but one might infer that he wants to force her willing compliance, rather than simply rape her; also, it is implied that he is afraid of Cassy in this regard, as well as in other matters.)
