Living being in The Oz Series
Uncle Henry
A hardworking Kansas farmer, Aunt Em's husband; gray from beard to boots, stern and joyless; has returned from Australia to the farm in Kansas.
Appears in 14 chapters, first in chapter 1, last in chapter 92.
This encyclopedia covers chapters 1 to 100 of the story and shows the world as it stands at chapter 100, so it contains spoilers up to that point. To read it spoiler free, one chapter at a time, open the interactive codex.
What the story establishes
| Affiliation | The Kansas farm household; husband of Aunt Em and head of the farm (as of ch. 1) |
| Age | An adult man with a long beard (as of ch. 1) |
| Appearance | Gray all over from beard to boots, stern and solemn looking; now with hair turned quite white and his hands and face grown thin and wasted from illness. (as of ch. 69) |
| Being nature | An ordinary human man |
| Body conditions | His hair had turned quite white and his hands and face were thin and wasted. |
| Conflict | As a poor Kansas farmer his livelihood depends on good weather for his corn, oats, and wheat crops. (as of ch. 90) |
| Current goal | Working his Kansas farm and trusting that Dorothy, who has wandered off, will come home safe as she always does. (as of ch. 90) |
| Dialogue style | Terse and plain; he rarely speaks and gives short, practical statements (as of ch. 1) |
| Equipment | A briar pipe, which he smokes while resting in Sydney. (as of ch. 69) |
| Gender identity | man (as of ch. 1) |
| Health condition | Improved and recovering: brightened and declared himself 'better already' once Dorothy arrived to nurse him, though he had been thin, wasted, and worn from his long illness (as of ch. 69) |
| Is alive | yes (as of ch. 1) |
| Maturation stage | Adult |
| Motive | To keep his Kansas farm productive and avoid poverty, depending on his crops of corn, oats, and wheat. (as of ch. 90) |
| Personality | Grave, stern, and laborious; humorless and taciturn, a man who does not know joy (as of ch. 1) |
| Quirks | Never laughs: he works from morning till night and does not know what joy is, wearing gravity like his gray beard. (as of ch. 1) |
| Referential profile | masculine (as of ch. 1) |
| Sex profile | male (as of ch. 1) |
| Skills | Farming and stock-keeping: he works the Kansas farm and tends the cows and horses in the sheds, and can read the weather — he is the first to spot the coming cyclone from the behavior of wind and grass. (as of ch. 1) |
| Social status | A poor, hardworking Kansas farmer (as of ch. 1) |
| Status | Living on the Kansas farm as a poor working farmer; Dorothy is alive and out on an errand from the farm. (as of ch. 90) |
Relationships
- provides service ← Dorothy ch. 69Dorothy leaves Oz to return to the Kansas farm to help Uncle Henry and Aunt Em, who need her.
- located in → Hugson's Ranch ch. 70Uncle Henry has returned to the farm in Kansas, where he and Aunt Em are in mourning because they believe Dorothy was killed by the earthquake; he is no longer at Hugson's Ranch.
- guardian of → Dorothy ch. 49Uncle Henry is Dorothy's guardian uncle. Worried by his ailing appearance in Ozma's magic picture, Dorothy gives up the Nome King's magic belt to be wished to his side in Sydney, where he brightens and begins to recover in her care; they then travel together back to San Francisco and toward Kansas.
- romantic partner of · Aunt Em ch. 1Aunt Em is Uncle Henry's wife, sharing the Kansas farm household with him.
- communicates with ← Dorothy (ended) ch. 69Reunited in Sydney, Dorothy tells Uncle Henry she was not drowned and has come to nurse and care for him, urging him to get well soon; he answers that he already feels better with her there.
- scries ← Dorothy (ended) ch. 69Dorothy asks the magic picture to show Uncle Henry and remotely views him in Sydney, sad and lonely, with white hair and a thin, wasted face, prompting her to decide to return to him.
- located in → Australia (ended) ch. 68–69Uncle Henry recovered in Sydney, Australia after Dorothy's nursing, and has since left Australia with her, traveling by ship back to San Francisco.
- communicates with ← Dorothy (ended) ch. 49Sheltering in the storm-tossed cabin, Dorothy speaks to Uncle Henry and the other passengers, relaying the Captain's order to stay below and keep quiet until the storm passes lest they be blown overboard.
- scries ← Dorothy (ended) ch. 89Using Ozma's enchanted picture, Dorothy remotely views Uncle Henry, seeing that he has returned to the farm in Kansas.
- mourns → Dorothy (ended) ch. 89Believing his niece Dorothy was killed by the earthquake, Uncle Henry has returned to the Kansas farm dressed in mourning for her.
- located in → Sydney (ended) ch. 69–70Uncle Henry resided in a pleasant room in Sydney, Australia while recovering; after Dorothy arrived to nurse him and he began to improve, they left Sydney together and sailed back toward San Francisco.
- warns → Aunt Em (ended) ch. 1Uncle Henry calls out to Aunt Em that a cyclone is coming before running to look after the stock.
- located in → Kansas (ended) ch. 1–69Uncle Henry lives and farms on the Kansas prairie.
From the text
"There's a cyclone coming, Em," he called to his wife. "I'll go look after the stock."Chapter 1
Uncle Henry never laughed. He worked hard from morning till night and did not know what joy was.Chapter 1
He looked sad and lonely, and his hair was now quite white and his hands and face thin and wasted.Chapter 69
See Uncle Henry chapter by chapter in the interactive codex →