Character Relationship Map: Harriet

Characters

• Harriet Tubman (played by Cynthia Erivo) — protagonist

  Harriet Tubman is the central protagonist, formerly enslaved as Minty Ross before escaping Maryland. She returns repeatedly to rescue enslaved people, leads routes through the Underground Railroad, pr...

• William Still (played by Leslie Odom Jr.) — protagonist

  William Still is the chairman of the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society who receives Harriet after she reaches Philadelphia. He encourages her to choose a free name and initially helps her understand t...

• Marie Buchanon (played by Janelle Monáe) — supporting

  Marie Buchanon is a free-born boarding-house proprietor in Philadelphia who temporarily shelters Harriet after her escape. She supports Harriet's abolitionist work and becomes a trusted friend, but is...

• Ben Ross (played by Clarke Peters) — supporting

  Ben Ross is Harriet's freedman father. He confronts Edward Brodess with legal evidence that Harriet's mother should have been freed and later directs Harriet to Reverend Green for help escaping. After...

• Rit Ross (played by Vanessa Bell Calloway) — supporting

  Rit Ross is Harriet's mother and an enslaved woman on the Brodess plantation. Her promised freedom becomes part of Ben's legal challenge to Edward Brodess, and Harriet later chooses her new first name...

• Thomas Garrett (played by Tim Guinee) — minor

  Thomas Garrett is an abolitionist who assists Harriet immediately after she reaches Wilmington, Delaware. He transports her to the Pennsylvania border, giving her practical help at the beginning of he...

• Gideon Brodess (played by Joe Alwyn) — minor

  Gideon Brodess is Edward Brodess's adult son and Harriet's principal personal antagonist. He tries to sell her, pursues her escape, threatens her family, and later hunts her as the Underground Railroa...

• Walter (played by Henry Hunter Hall) — supporting

  Walter is a man who previously worked for Bigger Long as a slave catcher. He changes sides after meeting Harriet and chooses to accompany her toward freedom, becoming part of the group that resists th...

• Bigger Long (played by Omar J. Dorsey) — supporting

  Bigger Long is a slave catcher who works against Harriet and the Underground Railroad. He pursues Harriet alongside Gideon and kills Marie Buchanon while attempting to stop the escape network. During...

• Reverend Green (played by Vondie Curtis-Hall) — minor

  Reverend Green is the preacher whose sermon advises obedience and submission to the Lord's will. Despite that public message, Harriet's father later directs her to seek Green's help during her escape,...

• John Tubman (played by Zackary Momoh) — supporting

  John Tubman is Harriet's husband and a freedman when the story begins. He wants to start a family whose children will be born free and offers to flee with Harriet, but she leaves without him to protec...

• Rachel Ross (played by Deborah Ayorinde) — cameo

  Rachel Ross is Harriet's sister and a house slave who remains behind because Gideon has sold her children and she hopes to learn where they are. She reveals that Harriet is alive, later dies, and beco...

• Edward Brodess (played by Mike Marunde) — cameo

  Edward Brodess is the owner of the plantation where Harriet, Rit, and other family members are enslaved. He rejects legal evidence that Rit and her children should be free, tears up the lawyer's lette...

• Eliza Brodess (played by Jennifer Nettles) — cameo

  Eliza Brodess is identified as the widow of the Brodess family after the plantation falls into financial ruin. She vows to capture Harriet and uses Harriet's sister's children as bait, but Harriet's t...

Canonical Relationships

Family, romantic, and professional connections based on plot evidence.

• Gideon Brodess → Rachel Ross (Power Enslaver And Threatener) — Gideon's threats keep Rachel from fleeing while she hopes to learn where her children have been taken.

  Gideon threatens Rachel and her children after Harriet leads enslaved people to safety; Rachel reveals that Harriet is alive.

• Gideon Brodess → Edward Brodess (Family Son And Father) — After Edward dies, Gideon continues the family's control of Harriet by offering her for sale.

  The plot identifies Gideon as Edward Brodess's adult son.

• Harriet Tubman → Edward Brodess (Power Enslaved Person And Owner) — Edward rejects the legal challenge to his control over Harriet's family, reinforcing the conditions that drive her toward escape.

  Edward owns the plantation where Minty and her family are enslaved and tears up the lawyer's letter asserting their claim to freedom.

• Harriet Tubman → Rachel Ross (Family Sisters) — Rachel remains enslaved because Gideon has sold her children and she hopes to learn where they are. Harriet later hears that Rachel has died.

  The plot identifies Rachel as Harriet's sister and says Harriet's rescue group excludes her parents and sister at first.

Story Dynamics

Alliances, conflicts, and narrative interactions that evolve throughout the story.

• William Still → Harriet Tubman (related)
• Eliza Brodess → Harriet Tubman (Conflict Adversary) — Eliza attempts to use Harriet's family as leverage, but Harriet's team overwhelms the family members guarding them and retrieves the remaining enslaved people.

  After the plantation falls into financial ruin, Eliza vows to catch Harriet and uses Rachel's children as bait.

• Ben Ross → Edward Brodess (Conflict Legal Opponents) — Ben challenges Edward's control of the family through legal evidence, but Edward rejects the claim.

  Ben approaches Edward with a lawyer's letter asserting that Rit should have been freed and her children born free; Edward tears it up.

• Harriet Tubman → Reverend Green (Social Religious Guide) — Reverend Green is connected to Harriet's escape through Ben's instruction to seek his help.

  Ben tells Harriet to go to Reverend Green for help with her journey.

• Harriet Tubman → Walter (Alliance Changed-Sides Ally) — Walter abandons his former work with a slave catcher and joins Harriet's effort to seek safety beyond the United States.

  Walter had worked for Bigger Long as a slave catcher, then meets Harriet and decides to go with her.

• Harriet Tubman → Bigger Long (Conflict Pursued Conductor And Slave Catcher) — Bigger Long's pursuit threatens Harriet and her network; Gideon shoots him as he is about to kill her.

  Bigger Long works against Harriet and the Underground Railroad, pursues her with Gideon, and later tries to kill her.

• Bigger Long → Marie Buchanon (Conflict Murderer And Victim) — Bigger Long kills Marie as part of his effort to stop Harriet's escape network.

  The plot states that Bigger Long beats Marie to death while pursuing Harriet.

• Harriet Tubman → Marie Buchanon (Social Trusted Friend) — Marie shelters Harriet and becomes part of her support network; Bigger Long later beats Marie to death while pursuing Harriet.

  Marie temporarily lodges Harriet in Philadelphia and supports her abolitionist work.

• Harriet Tubman → Thomas Garrett (Alliance Escape Helper) — Thomas gives Harriet practical assistance at the start of her journey to freedom.

  After reaching Wilmington, Harriet locates Thomas Garrett, who takes her to the Pennsylvania border.

• Harriet Tubman → William Still (Alliance Abolitionist Ally) — William provides support in Philadelphia and warns Harriet that helping her family has become more difficult.

  William Still receives Harriet in Philadelphia, encourages her to choose a free name, and later admits her to the Underground Railroad committee.

• Harriet Tubman → Gideon Brodess (Conflict Escaped Enslaved Person And Pursuer) — Their conflict spans Harriet's escape and repeated rescue missions. In their final confrontation she subdues Gideon but spares his life.

  Gideon offers Harriet for sale, pursues her escape, threatens her family, and later hunts her as a conductor on the Underground Railroad.

Story Analysis

Harriet transforms escape from slavery into sustained resistance, repeatedly risking her freedom to rescue others and protect her family.

Plot Progression

1. A Letter Denied — Minty faces enslavement on the Brodess plantation despite her family's claim to freedom. After Edward dies and Gideon offers her for sale, a vision strengthens her resolve to escape.
2. Crossing Into Freedom — Harriet escapes pursuit by jumping from a bridge and reaches Wilmington and Philadelphia. With help from Thomas Garrett and William Still, she begins her life under a new name.
3. The Return North — Harriet returns to Maryland to rescue enslaved people and discovers John has remarried. She leads a group to safety while Gideon threatens Rachel and learns Harriet is alive.
4. A Widening Pursuit — As Harriet continues her work, the Fugitive Slave Act makes escape more dangerous and she insists on guiding people to Canada. Gideon and Bigger Long pursue her in Philadelphia, where Marie is killed.
5. Rescue and Reckoning — After hearing of Rachel's death and receiving a warning about Ben, Harriet returns to take her parents north. She confronts Gideon, spares him, and her later service is recounted in the epilogue.