The end of chapter 7 presents Eliza's escape across the ohio river, possibly the most famous scene in the novel.
The main theme of this chapter is the bond between a mother and her child. Another important theme is Eliza's reliance upon God. Indeed, the details of Eliza's flight are quite melodramatic. She runs all night, screaming to the heavens, and the whole while her innocent child sleeps with his "small, soft arms trustingly holding on to your neck." Stowe's purpose in over-emphasizing the drama and emotion of each scene is to create a sense in the reader that this is a novel about good and evil. She has to convince her readers, many of whom did not disagree with slavery, that Eliza and her son deserve to be free and Haley is a villain for wanting to own them.
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