Women of Color: Their Presence, Representation, & Treatment to 18th Century British Lit and Society by LiaSchuermann

A SYLLABUS ON

WOMEN OF COLOR Their Presence, Representation, and Treatment in 18th Century British Literature and Society

Created by Lia Schuermann

Statement of Purpose This syllabus analyzes the novel The Woman of

Colour and the literature surrounding the long prose fiction for its historical context, critical race

analysis, and representation. This is significant

because while there is a number of works in 18th

century British literature, there is little scholarship and analyses of such literature by scholars, particularly of critical race studies.

Due to the lack of focus on the presence,

representation, and treatment of people of color in

this period, particularly women of color in regards to

the novel, even people inside the academy, whether in the field of literature or other relevant fields are largely unaware that works like The Woman of

Colour even existed in this time period. Thus, this

TABLE OF CONTENTS Statement of Purpose 2 Defining Key Terms - 3 Presence of WoC - 4 Authorship of TWoC 6 Representation of WoC - 7 Treatment of PoC - 9 Impact of TWoC - 12 Ending of TWoC - 14 Guiding Questions - 15 Notes - 16

leaves people outside of the academy, particularly

Further Readings - 18

of the presence and impact people of color had on

- 22

modern-day people of color, completely uninformed

Works Consulted/Cited

18th century British literature and society.

Thus, this syllabus seeks to discuss the presence of women of color, the authorship of The Woman of Colour, the representation of women of color, and the treatment of people of color in the 18th century British literature and society along with the

impact of the novel on past and present audiences, particularly with its ending. By exploring these elements, one can see how they interconnect to present significant

insights into the ways that people of color, and especially women of color, possibly helped to change the views, the laws, and the literature of British society to fight inequity and to write for all people of African descent.

Finally, by publishing this online syllabus, the creator hopes it can help to subvert the traditional beliefs that 18th century British literature is made solely of white, male authors and that society was only made of white British people. It can also draw

attention to the ways people of color were understood, represented, and treated as both characters in 18th century British literature and as people in 18th century

British society. Finally, it can show people of color today how they were present in

significant ways. And so, by examining this epistolary narrative and its surrounding

literature, this syllabus seeks to educate and make modern, everyday audiences aware of such works and the significant insights that can be gained by such analysis and knowledge.

WOMEN OF COLOR

DEFINING KEY TERMS AND CONCEPTS To best understand the terms and concepts used in the syllabus and in the area of

research being analyzed, defining these early on here will help you as you navigate this syllabus and its ideas.

First, we have long prose fiction, which is essentially, the novel. This was popularized

during the British 18th century and usually reflected the everyday life of characters and their interactions. While some novels were used to reinforce societal beliefs and values, others criticized society and the unequitable ways marginalized people were treated, particularly women and those of lower classes.

Next, we have the epistolary novel, which is a novel that structures its narrative in the

form of letters, usually exchanged between the protagonist and a person close to them. It was a popular format during this time, and one of the most widely known examples is Samuel Richardson's Pamela.

Moreover, we have people of color, which can have a different connotation compared to

the modern-day definitions. The use of the term in modern studies of this period tend to identify this term with people of this time period who were mixed-race or 'mulattoes,' with a black parent and a white parent. And so, this syllabus uses this term to in the same manner (for the most part).

Also, we have people of African descent, which refers to mixed-race people and blacks, also commonly referred to in the primary works as 'Negroes.' And, while these people

can be born or lived in England or in their colonies, this syllabus uses this term in an

attempt to represent them as a whole, all having African roots as part of their heritage. Then we have women of color, which usually refers to those of mixed-race during the period who were female. But this syllabus will tend to use this term to represent all

women of varying 'dark' complexions as race/complexion during this time was much

more fluid, lacking the rigid identity categories we have today. It will refer, at times, to the traditional meaning but will also represent those that seek to fight for liberation politics, to free women and people of African descent from societal oppression.

Finally, we have critical race studies, which refers to the framework of critical race theory "that examines the appearance of race and racism across dominant cultural

modes of expression. These scholars attempt to understand how victims of systemic

racism are affected by cultural perceptions of race and how they are able to represent

themselves to counter prejudice" ("Critical Race Theory"). As the field that should be at the front of studying works like The Woman of Colour, it will be referred to at times in the syllabus.

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Presence of Women of Color While many readers and scholars of traditional works of 18th century British

literature may expect the presence of women of color to be nonexistent, this is

not so. In this literary genre, it is not so much that Black women don’t exist but instead have a ‘spectral presence.’

In fact, there is a long chronology of the presence of women of color in 18th century British literature (shown below). Though there are fewer literal

presences, these spectral presences are found throughout the chronology (a shortened version shown below): Year 1688

1696 1720 1727

Title of Work

Oroonoko; or, The Royal Slave. A

True History

The Adventure of the Black Lady

Author

Character Name

Aphra Behn

Bellamora

Aphra Behn

Imoinda

The Life of Bavia; or, The

William Pittis

Holmesia,

The English Hermit; or,

Peter

Antiope, Diana,

Jamaican Lady

Unparalleled Sufferings and

Surprising Adventures of Mr. Phillip Quarll

Quomina

Longueville

Elizabeth, Juno

1761

Genuine Memoirs of the Late

Anonymous

Jane Douglas

1767

The Female American

Anonymous

Unca Eliza

1791

Memoirs of a Scots Heiress

Mrs. Charles

Miranda

1796

The Creole; or, The Haunted Island Samuel Arnold Elmira

1786

1800 1801

Celebrated Jane D****s

The Creole

Constantia Neville; or, The West

Indian

The Grateful Negro

1804 Zoflora, or, The Generous Negro Girl

1805 Adeline Mowbray; or, The Mother 1808

and Daughter

The Woman of Colour, A Tale

WOMEN OF COLOR

Lucy Peacock

Zemira

Mathews

Vanderparcke

Helena

Felicia Carleton

Maria

Clara, Esther,

Whitford

Edgeworth

Hector's wife

Jean Baptiste

Zoflora

Amelia Opie

Savannah

Anonymous

Olivia Fairfield,

Piquenard

Dido, Marcia

There were many instances of supporting black women characters or ‘spectral

presences’ in novels of the

genre. Furthermore, women of color in minor heiress

roles are literally present with white Britons in a

number of selections from late eighteenth century

fictional novels (“Appendix C” 215).

For example, Lucy

Peacock’s long prose fiction which focuses on a Creole heiress aligns itself

thematically with Negro

slaves with similarities to The Woman of Colour and

shows another example of

“a dark-skinned Carribean woman” in a tale of

morality (“Appendix A” 191).

Thus, this genre of fiction is present but often unexplored critically. In fact, the literature explains that “If The Woman of Colour was written by a Carribean

woman of color, she would not have been the first to have published in England” (“Appendix B” 212).

This is supported by an anonymous poem that states that it is written by a mixedrace female in which “The race neutral approach taken by this ‘Mulatto Woman’

poet presents the startling possibility that educated women of color like her and

Olivia could have published many such anonymous [works] in eighteenth century British texts” (“Appendix B” 212). Thus, this ultimately suggests that there is a

large presence of women of color as characters, both literal and spectral, and as authors of 18th century British literature.

WOMEN OF COLOR

AUTHORSHIP OF THE WOMEN OF COLOUR In recognizing that many

anonymous works from 18th

century British literature could be

attributed to women of color as the authors, many scholars are

interested in who wrote The Women of Colour to explore this possibility among others. One possibility that has been suggested was being

written by E.M. Foster, a typical author who used a pseudonym

which could have been possibly a single woman or a number of

women using the name to increase

sales. However, one of the sources suggest that Garside and

Schowerling “confidently disproved the authorship of [EMF]” (“Text” 31).

Another possibility is an unknown or known white woman or male. A number of factors within the

literature suggest that the author was most probably female.

And besides EMF, a possibility that holds much potential and interest is a

Carribean writer, possibly even a woman of color. While the racial specificity of the title, the Carribean context, and its positive representation of women of

color suggests a possible Carribean woman of color, it is only speculation until there is direct evidence (“Text” 32-3). While there was an attempt to identify the author through stylometry, it was unsuccessful in identifying who wrote

The Woman of Colour (Harol et al. 353). And yet, the possibility of The Woman of Colour’s authorship along with many other anonymous works holds much potential for critically exploring these works and their possibilities to be written by women of color in 18th century British literature.

WOMEN OF COLOR

Representation of Women of Color Women of color are represented well in The Woman of Colour. The main

character, Olivia, is a ‘mulatto West Indian’ who identifies herself also by her mother’s heritage and

combines the cultural and racial

aspects of herself to create “a wellbalanced, rather than conflicted, identity” (“Term and Title” 25).

This is important because rather

than inferiority, the novel and the literature on it suggests that as a

woman of color, Olivia does not need to be improved. This contrasts with the recurring theme of

‘improvement’ that defines women

of color throughout most literature of the period, drawing a striking

contrast to the perfected identity

Olivia has in her novel (“Appendix

C” 215). The novel shows that “With her Africanized body on full display in England,

Olivia subverts the societal stigmas and expectations of inferiority leveled at it by performing… English femininity” (“Term and Title” 25). Olivia immediately takes subversive actions that refute her “disempowered vulnerability as soon as she enters English society” (“Text” 28).

The novel’s subversion is most notablly shown in “Olivia’s polite yet aggressive

behavior as a guest as the Merton breakfast table [which] politicizes the domestic sphere, a space to which colonial black women had long been denied access”

(“Text” 29).Olivia positions herself here with people of color, ‘blacks,’ and white

Jamaican and British people through her words and actions (Salih 448). Overall,

Olivia’s connection to her “stigmatized blackness” is shown here as she refers to

her own physical body to teach a white British boy to re-evaluate his

discrimination against Olivia’s ‘negro’ maid Dido, advocating for equity for all “people of African descent” (“Text” 30-1).

WOMEN OF COLOR

Throughout the novel, Olivia resolutely acts to unite her

desire “for equitable treatment as a victimised women in

England with that of Negro

slaves in the colonies” (“Text” 29).

Olivia is shown to be a

‘tropicopolitan’ in the novel

and for the novel’s audience, threatening through her literal, subversive, and

political presence which is

meant to reveal the systematic discrimination in British

society and works to subvert it by affiliating with and reeducating its white people

(“Text” 31). This may be the

overall aim of the novel, which will be explored in a later section of the syllabus.

Also, the sole Negro character of Dido, alongside Olivia, questions the concept of

freedom in British society for people of African descent, through her own natural vernacular instead of the learned British refinement of educated woman of color

that is Olivia (“Black Pride” 35). This shows that it is not only ‘women of color’ as the literature of the time understands the term, but that all black women and people of African descent are represented within the novel.

This suggests that these acts of bravery by fictional women of color like Olivia and by real women of color from the time period “subtly transform traditional

female roles of ‘mother,’ ‘nurse,’ and ‘guest’ in England into politicized identities that forcefully demand racial equity” (“Text” 29). Thus, this suggests that The Woman of Colour is unique in the way it addresses the way people of color and black people were treated by British society.

WOMEN OF COLOR

TREATMENT OF PEOPLE OF COLOR Overall, “...popular historical and

social commentaries” from British

18th century reveal prejudices, one “...describing his interactions and sexual escapades with Creole and ‘Mongrel’ women of color”

(“Appendix D” 232). Furthermore, in letters from the period, the names people of color are called include

‘prints,’ ‘shadows,’ and ‘Mongrels,’

insults that work to show and jointly represent their status as marginal people, considered inferior

‘byproducts’ resulting from affairs between white and ‘black’ people (“Appendix E” 252).

Thus, the literature suggests that the British saw people of color as lesser and that these ‘histories’

represent the horrible stereotypes that fictional works like “The

Creole” and The Woman of Colour resist (“Appendix D” 232).

This historical context shows how people of color were not equal, not only in

the eyes of British people, but in the laws of British society, as “Until 1830, free people of colour were subject to numerous civil and legal ‘disabilities’” (Salih

448). Considering the Jamaican plantations, which is part of the context of The Woman of Colour, the literature surrounding it highlights this history,

particularly how people of color in Jamaica could make biological claims to whiteness but instead “were systematically denied legal access to the

fundamental privileges enjoyed by colonial whites” (“Text” 25). In fact, “Jamaicans… often petitioned the Jamaican Assembly to allow their

illegitimate, mixed-race children access to rights and privileges routinely

enjoyed by all classes of whites” (“Appendix G” 259). There were also women of color who as heiresses also made claims to these rights for their children (“Appendix G” 259).

WOMEN OF COLOR

These petitions became Acts which entitled people of color and their children “‘the same rights and

privileges with English subjects born of white parents, under

certain restrictions’” (“Appendix G” 259).

This informs the plot of the novel in which the good but errant

father’s ‘private acts’ oppress Olivia due to the still

disempowering ‘special privileges’

that require an arranged marriage and financial dependency that

mirrors the patriarchal Jamaican society which granted limited

rights to people of color (not equal to whites) and so did not

guarantee legal and financial protection for people of color

(“Text” 27). The novel shows this unjust treatment of people of color to its white British

audience. This is so that those of 18th century white British society can better

understand the treatment of people in color in 18th century British society and by their government. In most 18th century British literature, where people of

color appear literally or spectrally, “...blackness and fertility are deliberately

sanitized, [so that] the African woman appeals to, rather than threatens, [this] dominant white culture” (“Spectral” 15).

Black representation in a dominant white culture frightened white British

society, their presence and power threatening the way their society operated

traditionally. Thus, even the “...white West Indian women resented creoleness as an affront to their beauty, Britishness, and whiteness” (“Term and Title” 23). And so, the literature infers that this focus on beauty, Britishness, and

whiteness together by British society shows how they perceived the blackness and the presence of people of color to threaten what they valued.

WOMEN OF COLOR

And so, The Woman of

Colour's decision to make racial identity publically apparent through its title, its Caribbean

context, and Olivia’s

African roots is telling as Jamaican people of color

were often “stigmatized” since its considerable

mixed-race population

reminded British society of its “lax social mores”

(“Term and Title” 24) and the blackness that they perceived to threaten them.

This further explains,

not only another reason

why people of color were

treated unjustly, but also that the novel and its

anonymous writer had an intended impact for its British audience.

Before going into this impact, however, it’s important to note that the fight for

full rights by people of color was often in their own self-interest and ignored or harmed the rights of “Negro slaves” (“Text” 27). Thus, this suggests that

Olivia’s position and perspective as a person of color from Jamaica appears to contradict her antislavery beliefs (Murray 93). And so, The Woman of Colour then sits in a unique position as it stands against what most 18th century

British literature suggests, that people of color ignored the rights of ‘black’ people.

WOMEN OF COLOR

Impact of The Woman of Colour The Woman of Colour is a novel that protests and critiques British prejudices

while still appealing to a white British audience (“Tradition” 38). In the novel,

Olivia represents a virtuous, light-skinned woman of color and an anti-slavery

sentiment, fighting for women of color & all people of African descent to impact its white British audience. And so, a reviewer from the period describes Olivia with “good and superior qualities” and “a wonderful quantity of magnanimity,

fortitude, and religion” (“The Critical Review” 257-8) with another stating that the story “is interesting [and] the useful aim and good principles of the novel are

deserving of commendation” (“The Monthly Review” 258). And so, the literature shows that the novel did successfully impact its intended audience by ascribing positive traits to a woman of color and the story and moral it told.

Furthermore, the literature states that the author wanted to show that “race is a

socially constructed discourse, and fiction should be a means of deconstructing it especially when it relates to gender” (“Black Pride” 34). There are many women

described with varying skin colors within the novel, deconstructing the concept of race. Thus, by focusing on women and complexion (race), the novel’s design

reveals and subverts two British prejudicial beliefs that demeans all women with ‘blackness’ and exalts ‘whiteness’ (“Black Pride” 34).

The literature and novel thus not only shows these themes but also how real and fictional epistolary narratives about people of color have the ability to impact

British society and its people’s beliefs (“Appendix E” 252). And so recognizing how the presence and representation of people of color can do this, the literature

points out how important it is to critically examine and publish work on this kind of literature, especially in critical race studies.

WOMEN OF COLOR

The literature states that “Kim Hall and other early modern race critics believe that

black female characters have a definite literary impact even when they are textually

absent” (“Spectral” 12). Thus, it is not only The Women of Colour that should be further analyzed, but also other works of 18th century British literature that have ‘spectral presences’ of people of color and black women. In realizing black women’s ‘spectral

presence,’ it holds a large potential to broaden current knowledge and understanding

about the possible influence of women of color and ‘black’ women during the peak of the British movement for abolitionism in the latter half of the eighteenth century

(“Spectral” 15). Their presence in the literature of the period is not often recognized or

critically explored when considering abolition in British society, so this potential needs to be realized.

Even though there is a large amount of easily accessible texts available on ‘black’ women and women of color, they haven’t been deemed subjects worthy of study

(“Spectral” 18). Moreover, contemporary critical race studies have mainly focused on the actions of men and that scholars of British fields are apathetic to the

potential broader knowledge of’ black’ women and women of color’s lives holds in providing critical insight on the politics and intersections of race, gender and class in the 18th century (”Spectral” 18).

Furthermore, “the novel’s sustained critique of commerce is ultimately in service of its antislavery politics, a politics predicated on an absolute rejection of

commerce and its dehumanizing and deracinating tendencies” (Murray 98). Thus,

the literature shows how 18th century British literature like The Woman of Colour works at providing this insight. And so, it is important to recognize that

eighteenth century ‘black’ women and women of color were powerful tools who play a real role in fighting prejudice in British society and slavery at large (“Tradition” 41-2).

This novel should and “will prompt students and scholars to continue

investigating the presence of people of colour in the colonial textual imaginary” (Salih 450). And so modern day audiences, particularly those of color, can find

themselves represented as activists from the British 18th century. And as the title of the novel suggests, it is not just people of color, but particularly women of

color who are fighting for equity and must deal with the oppressive elements of both marriage and slavery within British society, shown most strongly through the novel’s ‘novel’ ending.

WOMEN OF COLOR

ENDING OF THE WOMAN OF COLOUR Olivia’s marriage plot at first demonstrates how her skin color and well-

intentioned, but oppressive will of her father represents “the taint of enslavement” that reinforces marriage and slavery’s parallel connection (“Black Pride” 36). However, the marriage plot fails, and Olivia even refuses a separate, second proposal.

This as an intentional statement about the freedom women and blacks can use to

empower themselves to resist “the oppressive insitutions of marriage and slavery”

(“Black Pride” 37). Referring to the ending, a contemporary reviewer and ‘a friend’ of the editor both complain that Olivia is not rewarded with the husband that she is deserving of, due to her virtuous nature and actions (“Tradition” 38; “British Critic” 257).

However, the editor of the novel replies that:

“if these pages should teach… one sceptical European to look with

compassionate eye towards the despised native of Africa - then, whether

Olivia Fairfield’s be a real or an imaginary character, I shall not regret that I have edited the Letters of a Woman of Colour’” (“Tradition” 38).

Thus, the novel resists the typical marriage plot of its genre teleologically to serve a purpose (“Tradition” 38). This novel among “other female-authored

political novels of the long eighteenth century” end their prose fiction with

discordant conclusions that highlight oppressed, yet autonomous women who

educate British people on racial, sexual, and gender prejudices of British that they and other moral women “unjustly experience and seek to combat in England” (“Tradition” 39).

By self-proclaiming herself as a widow, Olivia returns to Jamaica to resist the

oppression of her situation and to aid the blacks of her homeland (“Tradition” 39). And so, the novel is able to make a significant contribution to black

Atlantic writing and should be considered within the “abolitionist literary

canon” by subverting the traditional marriage plot to instead create a conscious political statement on abolitionism and the rights of both ‘black’ people and

people of color (“Tradition” 39). And so, the ending serves not only a political purpose, but one that informs modern audiences and scholars of the need to

recognize the novel and its surrounding literature due to the politics of gender, race, and class they reveal.

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Guiding Reflection Questions Here are some guiding questions that you can reflect on and use to better understand the ideas this syllabus seeks to communicate:

- What have you learned about The Woman of Colour,

particularly how women and people of color are present,

represented, and treated in both British literature and British society?

- What have you learned about how The Woman of Colourâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

feminist themes, particularly its subversion of the conventional marriage plot?

- What can future critical race studies and/or other kinds of

analysis bring to largely ignored or critically unexplored works in 18th century British literature like The Woman of Colour? - How might explorations and re-publications (with critical

and/or historical context) of works like The Woman of Colour be relevant for modern, everyday audiences?

- Do you think further research and exploration of the

unknown authorship is necessary and significant for The Woman of Colour particularly and/or along with other

anonymous works from the 18th century British literature that have the potential to reveal authors of color?

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NOTES

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Further Readings The Woman of Colour, A Tale, edited by Lyndon B. Dominique, Broadview Press, 2008.

This Broadview edition comes with

several selections in the introduction with fantastic insights by the editor, along with appendixes with primary and relevant sources that further discuss the topics and historical context of the novel.

Fryer, Peter. Staying Power: This History of Black People in Britain, Pluto Press Broadview Press, 2018.

This book discusses black people in Britain, their presences, and their impact on its culture, history, and society. Fryer, Peter. Staying Power: This

History of Black People in Britain, Pluto Press Broadview Press, 2018.

This book analyzes the influence of

black women and men on the British eighteenth century.

WOMEN OF COLOR

Wheeler, Roxann. The Complexion of Race: Categories of Difference in

Eighteenth Century British Literature, University of Pennsylvania Press, 2000.

This book discusses the emergence of skin color to defining race in 18th century British literature.

Hall, Kim F. Things of Darkness: Economies of Race and Gender in Early Modern

England, Cornell University Press, 1995. This book discusses how gender, race, and economics in the 16th & 17th century formed the modern Britain identity.

Aravamudan, Srinivas. Tropicopolitans: Colonialism and Agency , 1688-1804, Duke University Press Books, 1999. This book analyzes the colonial

discourse of peoples and cultures to represent agency of the oppressed.

WOMEN OF COLOR