Twice-Told Tales Aunt Sally Phelps and the "Evasion" in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Twice-Told Tales offers a rereading of the character of Aunt Sally Phelps throughout the "Evasion" chapters at the conclusion of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. I argue that she is a character in whom Twain invested considerable energy and affection, that she should not be confused with the two characters who truly did try to "sivilize" Huck Finn: the Widow Douglas and Miss Watson. I show that she is a character of considerable spunk who can hold her own against Tom Sawyer. I also argue that she gains additional stature at the conclusion of the novel because of her particular association with Jim by virtue of the fact that he escapes captivity cross-dressed in one of her calico dresses. Finally, I show that she ultimately takes control of her own narrative, and in her own voice, through spirited exchanges with her gossiping neighbors.