Tragic mulatto
Encyclopedia
The Tragic mulatto is a stereotypical fictional character
that appeared in American literature
during the 19th and 20th centuries. The "tragic mulatto" is an archetypical mixed race person (a "mulatto
"), who is assumed to be sad
or even suicidal
because they fail to completely fit in the "white world" or the "black world". As such, the "tragic mulatto" is depicted as the victim of the society they live in, a society divided by race. They cannot be classified as one who is completely "black" or "white".
The female "tragic octoroon" was a stock character
of abolitionist literature: a light-brown-skinned woman raised as if a white woman in her father's household, until his bankrupty or death has her reduced to a menial position and sold. She may even be unaware of her status before being reduced to victimization. This character allowed abolitionists to draw attention to the sexual exploitation in slavery, and unlike the suffering of the field hands, did not allow slaveholders to retort that the sufferings of Northern mill hands were no easier, since the Northern mill owner would not sell his own children into slavery.
The "tragic mulatta" figure is a woman of biracial heritage who must endure the hardships of African-Americans in the antebellum South
, even though she may look white enough that her ethnicity is not immediately obvious. As the name implies, tragic mulattas almost always meet a bad end. Lydia Maria Child's 1842 short story
"The Quadroons
" is generally credited as the first work of literature to feature a tragic mulatta, to garner support for emancipation and equal rights. (Child followed up "The Quadroons" with the 1843 short story "Slavery's Pleasant Homes", which also has a tragic mulatta character. )
Writer Eva Allegra Raimon notes that Child "allowed white readers to identify with the victim by gender while distancing themselves by race and thus to avoid confronting a racial ideology that denies the full humanity of nonwhite women." The passing character in Nella Larsen
's Passing has been deemed a "tragic mulatta".
Generally, the tragic mulatta archetype falls into one of three categories:
A common objection to this character is that she allows readers to pity the plight of oppressed or enslaved races, but only through a veil of whiteness — that is, instead of sympathizing with a true racial "other", one is sympathizing with a character who is made as much like one's own race as possible. The "tragic mulatta" often appeared in novels intended for women, also, and some of the character's appeal lay in the lurid fantasy of a person just like them suddenly cast into a lower social class after the discovery of a small amount of "black blood" that renders her unfit for proper marriage.
Films Featuring "Tragic Mulatto" & "Tragic Mulatta" Characters in Pivotal Roles:
Televisions Movies and Series Featuring "Tragic Mulatta" Characters in Pivotal Roles:
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
that appeared in American literature
American literature
American literature is the written or literary work produced in the area of the United States and its preceding colonies. For more specific discussions of poetry and theater, see Poetry of the United States and Theater in the United States. During its early history, America was a series of British...
during the 19th and 20th centuries. The "tragic mulatto" is an archetypical mixed race person (a "mulatto
Mulatto
Mulatto denotes a person with one white parent and one black parent, or more broadly, a person of mixed black and white ancestry. Contemporary usage of the term varies greatly, and the broader sense of the term makes its application rather subjective, as not all people of mixed white and black...
"), who is assumed to be sad
Depression (mood)
Depression is a state of low mood and aversion to activity that can affect a person's thoughts, behaviour, feelings and physical well-being. Depressed people may feel sad, anxious, empty, hopeless, helpless, worthless, guilty, irritable, or restless...
or even suicidal
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
because they fail to completely fit in the "white world" or the "black world". As such, the "tragic mulatto" is depicted as the victim of the society they live in, a society divided by race. They cannot be classified as one who is completely "black" or "white".
The female "tragic octoroon" was a stock character
Stock character
A Stock character is a fictional character based on a common literary or social stereotype. Stock characters rely heavily on cultural types or names for their personality, manner of speech, and other characteristics. In their most general form, stock characters are related to literary archetypes,...
of abolitionist literature: a light-brown-skinned woman raised as if a white woman in her father's household, until his bankrupty or death has her reduced to a menial position and sold. She may even be unaware of her status before being reduced to victimization. This character allowed abolitionists to draw attention to the sexual exploitation in slavery, and unlike the suffering of the field hands, did not allow slaveholders to retort that the sufferings of Northern mill hands were no easier, since the Northern mill owner would not sell his own children into slavery.
The "tragic mulatta" figure is a woman of biracial heritage who must endure the hardships of African-Americans in the antebellum South
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
, even though she may look white enough that her ethnicity is not immediately obvious. As the name implies, tragic mulattas almost always meet a bad end. Lydia Maria Child's 1842 short story
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
"The Quadroons
Quadroon
Quadroon, and the associated words octoroon and quintroon are terms that, historically, were applied to define the ancestry of people of mixed-race, generally of African and Caucasian ancestry, but also, within Australia, to those of Aboriginal and Caucasian ancestry...
" is generally credited as the first work of literature to feature a tragic mulatta, to garner support for emancipation and equal rights. (Child followed up "The Quadroons" with the 1843 short story "Slavery's Pleasant Homes", which also has a tragic mulatta character. )
Writer Eva Allegra Raimon notes that Child "allowed white readers to identify with the victim by gender while distancing themselves by race and thus to avoid confronting a racial ideology that denies the full humanity of nonwhite women." The passing character in Nella Larsen
Nella Larsen
Nellallitea 'Nella' Larsen Nellallitea 'Nella' Larsen Nellallitea 'Nella' Larsen (born Nellie Walker (April 13, 1891 – March 30, 1964), was an American novelist of the Harlem Renaissance. She published two novels and a few short stories. Though her literary output was scant, what she wrote earned...
's Passing has been deemed a "tragic mulatta".
Generally, the tragic mulatta archetype falls into one of three categories:
- A woman who can "pass"Passing (racial identity)Racial passing refers to a person classified as a member of one racial group attempting to be accepted as a member of a different racial group...
for white attempts to do so, is accepted as white by society and falls in love with a white man. Eventually, her status as a bi-racial person is revealed and the story ends in tragedy. - A woman who appears to be white and thus passes as being so. It is believed that she is of GreekGreeksThe Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
or SpanishSpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
descent. She has suffered little hardship in her life, but upon the revelation that she is mixed race, she loses her social standing. - A woman who has all the social graces that come along with being a middle-class or upper-class white woman is nonetheless subjected to slaverySlaverySlavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
.
A common objection to this character is that she allows readers to pity the plight of oppressed or enslaved races, but only through a veil of whiteness — that is, instead of sympathizing with a true racial "other", one is sympathizing with a character who is made as much like one's own race as possible. The "tragic mulatta" often appeared in novels intended for women, also, and some of the character's appeal lay in the lurid fantasy of a person just like them suddenly cast into a lower social class after the discovery of a small amount of "black blood" that renders her unfit for proper marriage.
Popular culture
Literature Featuring "Tragic Mulatto" & "Tragic Mulatta" Characters in Pivotal Roles:- "The Quadroons", 1842 short story by Lydia Maria Child (introduced the literary character of the tragic mulatto)
- "Slavery's Pleasant Homes", 1843 short story by Lydia Maria Child
- Clotel; or, The President's DaughterClotelClotel; or, The President's Daughter is an 1853 novel by U.S. author and playwright William Wells Brown, an escaped slave from Kentucky who was active on the anti-slavery circuit...
, 1853 novel by William Wells BrownWilliam Wells BrownWilliam Wells Brown was a prominent African-American abolitionist lecturer, novelist, playwright, and historian. Born into slavery in the Southern United States, Brown escaped to the North in 1834, where he worked for abolitionist causes and was a prolific writer... - A Escrava IsauraA Escrava Isaura (novel)A Escrava Isaura is a novel written by the Brazilian writer Bernardo Guimarães. It was first published in 1875 by Casa Garnier publishers in Rio de Janeiro...
, 1875 novel by Brazilian author Bernardo GuimarãesBernardo GuimarãesBernardo Joaquim da Silva Guimarães was a Brazilian poet and novelist. He is the author of the famous romances A Escrava Isaura and O Seminarista. He also introduced to the Brazilian poetry the "verso bestialógico" , poems whose verses are very nonsensical, although very metrical... - Iola LeroyIola LeroyIola Leroy or, Shadows Uplifted, an 1892 novel by Frances Harper, is one of the first novels published by an African-American woman.-Plot introduction:...
, 1892 novel by Frances HarperFrances HarperFrances Ellen Watkins Harper was an African American abolitionist and poet. Born free in Baltimore, Maryland, she had a long and prolific career, publishing her first book of poetry at twenty and her first novel, the widely praised Iola Leroy, at age 67.-Life and works:Frances Ellen Watkins was... - The Wife of His Youth and Other Stories of the Color-LineThe Wife of His Youth and Other Stories of the Color-Line"The Wife of His Youth" is the title story of Charles W. Chesnutt's short story collection, The Wife of His Youth and Other Stories of the Color-Line, first published in 1899, the same year Chesnutt published his short story collection, The Conjure Woman. William Dean Howells reviewed The Wife of...
by Charles W. ChesnuttCharles W. ChesnuttCharles Waddell Chesnutt was an American author, essayist, political activist and lawyer, best known for his novels and short stories exploring complex issues of racial and social identity in the post-Civil War South, where the legacy of slavery and interracial relations had resulted in many free...
(1899) - The House Behind the CedarsThe House Behind the CedarsThe House Behind the Cedars is a 1927 silent race film directed, written, produced and distributed by the noted director Oscar Micheaux. It was adapted from the 1900 novel of the same name by the African-American writer Charles W. Chesnutt, who explored issues of race, class and identity in the...
, 1900 novel by Charles W. Chesnutt - The Marrow of TraditionThe Marrow of TraditionThe Marrow of Tradition is a historical novel by African-American author Charles Chesnutt first published in 1901.-Plot introduction:A fictional retelling of the rise of the white supremacist movement, specifically as it aided the fomentation of what was originally referred to as the “race riots”...
, 1901 novel by Charles W. Chesnutt - The ClansmanThe ClansmanThe Clansman: An Historical Romance of the Ku Klux Klan is the title of a novel published in 1905. It was the second work in the Ku Klux Klan trilogy by Thomas F. Dixon, Jr. that included The Leopard's Spots and The Traitor. It was influential in providing the ideology that helped support the...
, 1905 novel by Thomas Dixon, Jr.Thomas Dixon, Jr.Thomas F. Dixon, Jr. was an American Baptist minister, playwright, lecturer, North Carolina state legislator, lawyer, and author, perhaps best known for writing The Clansman — which was to become the inspiration for D. W... - "Cross", poem by Langston HughesLangston HughesJames Mercer Langston Hughes was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist. He was one of the earliest innovators of the then-new literary art form jazz poetry. Hughes is best known for his work during the Harlem Renaissance...
published 1925 - "Mulatto", poem by Langston Hughes published 1927
- The White Girl, 1929 novel by Vara Caspary
- Passing, 1930 novel by Nella Larsen
- Light in AugustLight in AugustLight in August is a 1932 novel by the American author William Faulkner.Light in August is an exploration of racial conflict in the society of the Southern United States. Originally Faulkner planned to call the novel Dark House, which also became the working title for Absalom, Absalom!...
, 1932 novel by William FaulknerWilliam FaulknerWilliam Cuthbert Faulkner was an American writer from Oxford, Mississippi. Faulkner worked in a variety of media; he wrote novels, short stories, a play, poetry, essays and screenplays during his career... - Imitation of LifeImitation of Life (novel)Imitation of Life is a popular 1933 novel by Fannie Hurst, which was adapted into two successful films for Universal Pictures: a black-and-white film in 1934, and a color remake in 1959.-Plot summary:...
, 1933 novel by Fannie HurstFannie HurstFannie Hurst was an American novelist. Although her books are not well remembered today, during her lifetime some of her more famous novels were Stardust , Lummox , A President is Born , Back Street , and Imitation of Life... - "Father and Son", short story by Langston Hughes published 1934
- Mulatto: A Play of the Deep South, 1935 drama by Langston Hughes
- Lost Boundaries, 1940 book by William L. White
- The Wind From Nowhere, 1943 novel by Oscar MicheauxOscar MicheauxOscar Devereaux Micheaux was an American author, film director and independent producer of more than 44 films...
- The Barrier, 1950 opera by Langston Hughes and Jan Meyerowitz
- "African Morning", 1952 short story by Langston Hughes
- A Soldier's PlayA Soldier's PlayA Soldier's Play is a drama by Charles Fuller. The play uses a murder mystery to explore the complicated feelings of anger and resentment that some African Americans have toward one another, and the ways in which many black Americans have absorbed white racist attitudes.This play is loosely based...
, 1981 drama by Charles Fuller - Devil in a Blue DressDevil in a Blue DressDevil in a Blue Dress is a 1990 hardboiled mystery novel by Walter Mosley.The text centers on the main character, Ezekiel "Easy" Rawlins, and his transformation from a day laborer into a detective. The story begins with Easy out-of-work and unable to pay his mortgage...
, 1990 novel by Walter Mosely - The Human StainThe Human StainThe Human Stain is a novel by Philip Roth. It is set in late 1990s rural New England. Its first person narrator is 65-year-old author Nathan Zuckerman, a character in previous Roth novels, including American Pastoral and I Married a Communist ; these two books form a loose trilogy with The Human...
, 2000 novel by Philip RothPhilip RothPhilip Milton Roth is an American novelist. He gained fame with the 1959 novella Goodbye, Columbus, an irreverent and humorous portrait of Jewish-American life that earned him a National Book Award...
Films Featuring "Tragic Mulatto" & "Tragic Mulatta" Characters in Pivotal Roles:
- The Birth of a NationThe Birth of a NationThe Birth of a Nation is a 1915 American silent film directed by D. W. Griffith and based on the novel and play The Clansman, both by Thomas Dixon, Jr. Griffith also co-wrote the screenplay , and co-produced the film . It was released on February 8, 1915...
(1915) - Within Our GatesWithin Our GatesWithin Our Gates is a silent race film that dramatically expresses the racial situation in America during the violent years of Jim Crow, the Ku Klux Klan, the Great Migration, and the emergence of the "New Negro".-Production background:...
(1920) - The Virgin of the SeminoleThe Virgin of the SeminoleThe Virgin of the Seminole was a 1922 race film directed, written and produced by Oscar Micheaux. The film focused on a young black man who joins the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and becomes a hero by rescuing a captive mixed-race woman from a hostile American Indian tribe...
(1922) - Scar of Shame (1926)
- The House Behind the CedarsThe House Behind the CedarsThe House Behind the Cedars is a 1927 silent race film directed, written, produced and distributed by the noted director Oscar Micheaux. It was adapted from the 1900 novel of the same name by the African-American writer Charles W. Chesnutt, who explored issues of race, class and identity in the...
(1927) - Veiled AristocratsVeiled AristocratsVeiled Aristocrats is a 1932 race film directed, written, produced and distributed by Oscar Micheaux. It dealt with the theme of "passing" by mixed-race African Americans to avoid racial discrimination.-Plot:...
(1932) - Imitation of LifeImitation of Life (1934 film)Imitation of Life is a 1934 American drama film directed by John M. Stahl. The screenplay by William Hurlbut, based on Fannie Hurst's 1933 novel of the same name, was augmented by eight additional uncredited writers, including Preston Sturges and Finley Peter Dunne...
(1934) - God's Step ChildrenGod's Step ChildrenGod's Step Children is a 1938 American drama film directed by Oscar Micheaux and starring Jacqueline Lewis. The movie is inspired by a combination of elements shared from two previous released Hollywood productions: Imitation of Life and These Three....
(1937) - The BetrayalThe Betrayal (film)The Betrayal is a race film written, produced, and directed by Oscar Micheaux.-Plot:Martin Eden is a successful African American farmer in South Dakota. He is in love with Deborah Stewart, but he believes that she is white and that she would not be interested in him. He is unaware that Deborah...
(1948) - Lost BoundariesLost BoundariesLost Boundaries is a film released in 1949. The film was directed by Alfred L. Werker and starred , Mel Ferrer, and Susan Douglas Rubes. The film is based on the book by William Lindsay White, relating the true story of , a graduate of Rush Medical College whose family passed for white while living...
, 1949 - Pinky (1949)
- Il MulattoIl MulattoIl Mulatto is a 1950 Italian drama film directed by Francesco De Robertis.-Cast:*Angelo Maggio ... Angelo, il mulatto*Renato Baldini ... Matteo Belfiore*Bianca Doria*Jole Fierro*H. Mohammed Hussein*Giulia Melidoni*Nino Milano...
, 1950 Italian film released as "Angelo" in the United States - Show BoatShow Boat (1951 film)Show Boat is a 1951 Technicolor film based on the musical by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II and the novel by Edna Ferber....
(1951) - Band of AngelsBand of AngelsBand of Angels is a 1957 romantic drama film set in the American South before and during the American Civil War, based on the novel of the same name by Robert Penn Warren. It starred Clark Gable, Yvonne De Carlo, and Sidney Poitier. The movie was directed by Raoul Walsh.-Plot:Amantha Starr is the...
(1957) - Kings Go ForthKings Go ForthKings Go Forth is a 1958 black-and-white World War II film starring Frank Sinatra, Tony Curtis, and Natalie Wood. The screenplay was written by Merle Miller from the novel of the same name by Joe David Brown, and the film was directed by Delmer Daves...
(1957) - Shadows (1959)
- I Passed for White (1960)
- The Black Klansman (1966), a.k.a. I Crossed the Color Line
- Purple RainPurple Rain (film)Purple Rain is a 1984 film directed by Albert Magnoli and written by Magnoli and William Blinn. Prince makes his film debut in this movie, which was developed to showcase his particular talents, hence, the film contains several extended concert sequences. The film grossed more than US$80 million at...
(1984) - A Soldier's StoryA Soldier's StoryA Soldier's Story is a 1984 drama film directed by Norman Jewison, based upon Charles Fuller's Pulitzer Prize-winning Off Broadway production A Soldier's Play. A black officer is sent to investigate the murder of a black sergeant in Louisiana near the end of World War II...
(1984) - Devil in a Blue DressDevil in a Blue Dress (film)Devil in a Blue Dress is a 1995 American neo-noir film directed by Carl Franklin and photographed by Tak Fujimoto.The film was based on Walter Mosley's novel of the same name, was executive produced by Jonathan Demme, and starred Denzel Washington, Tom Sizemore, Jennifer Beals, and Don Cheadle.In...
(1995) - The Human StainThe Human Stain (film)The Human Stain is a 2003 American romantic thriller film directed by Robert Benton. The screenplay by Nicholas Meyer is based on the 2000 novel of the same name by Philip Roth...
(2003)
Televisions Movies and Series Featuring "Tragic Mulatta" Characters in Pivotal Roles:
- Alex Haley's QueenAlex Haley's QueenAlex Haley's Queen is a miniseries adaptation of the 1993 Alex Haley/David Stevens novel Queen: The Story of an American Family, directed by John Erman and starring Halle Berry in the title role. The film tells the life story of a young slave girl named Queen, and illustrates the problems faced by...
, the acclaimed television series by Alex Haley offers a subversion of the "tragic mulatta" archetype, while making reference to many of its elements. - A Escrava IsauraA Escrava Isaura (novel)A Escrava Isaura is a novel written by the Brazilian writer Bernardo Guimarães. It was first published in 1875 by Casa Garnier publishers in Rio de Janeiro...
has been adapted to Brazilian television twice, first in 1976 (as Escrava Isaura), and again in 2004A Escrava Isaura (2004 TV series)A Escrava Isaura is a 2004 Brazilian telenovela based on A Escrava Isaura, an 1875 abolitionist romance novel by Bernardo Guimarães. The series tells the story of a coffee-plantation owner's passion for one of his slaves...
. - AngelAngel (TV series)Angel is an American television series, a spin-off of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The series was created by Buffys creator, Joss Whedon, in collaboration with David Greenwalt, and first aired on October 5, 1999...
(the television series) featured a tragic mulatta character (portrayed by Melissa MarsalaMelissa MarsalaMelissa Marsala is an American actress. Her most notable appearances were in hit shows such as The West Wing and Six Feet Under. She has also appeared in films Mickey Blue Eyes, Bringing Out the Dead and White Oleander.-Filmography:...
) in its 2000 episode Are You Now or Have You Ever Been.
See also
- MiscegenationMiscegenationMiscegenation is the mixing of different racial groups through marriage, cohabitation, sexual relations, and procreation....
- Passing (racial identity)Passing (racial identity)Racial passing refers to a person classified as a member of one racial group attempting to be accepted as a member of a different racial group...
- One-drop ruleOne-drop ruleThe one-drop rule is a historical colloquial term in the United States for the social classification as black of individuals with any African ancestry; meaning any person with "one drop of black blood" was considered black...
- Multi-FacialMulti-FacialMulti-Facial is a 1994 short film produced by and starring Vin Diesel. The story depicts the professional and emotional issues faced by Mike , a multiracial actor. The film was noticed by director Steven Spielberg, who would cast Diesel in Saving Private Ryan...
- Good Hair (African American Usage)